In the post-pandemic era, ticketing organizations have been experiencing varying degrees of employee burnout and staff turnover. Although audiences are coming back to cultural and entertainment venues in significant numbers, some organizations have been finding it difficult to translate that increased attendance into revenue growth while simultaneously upleveling the audience experience.
Spektrix recently partnered with the International Ticketing Association (INTIX) to conduct a survey of 268 global ticketing professionals to gauge their concerns on the current state of working in the ticketing and live events space. The results were presented at INTIX 2026 in Las Vegas.
Question: Why the Survey?
The Spektrix-INTIX survey asked questions ranging from “Did your work live up to the promise it held when you first entered the sector?” to “What would help you spend more time on the parts of your work that brought you joy?”
Erin D. Caldwell
Erin D. Caldwell, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Spektrix, says, “We launched this study because we kept hearing the same concerns across the live events sector post-pandemic: talent retention is challenging, and working conditions feel unsustainable. Our goal was to quantify how many people were actually planning to leave roles in ticketing, marketing or fundraising and understand the push-and-pull factors influencing that decision.”
She notes that the research team polled arts and events professionals around the globe, reaching respondents via both Spektrix and INTIX’s networks, including participants from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and beyond. Following the survey, the researchers conducted targeted interviews with a smaller, diverse cohort representing various countries and roles, whose qualitative insights added context and depth to the findings.
Bethany Nothstein, Strategic Brand and Sector Engagement Lead for Spektrix, recalls that for years at INTIX and other conferences across the sector, she kept hearing the same conversation, often focused on what wasn’t working with teams, but rarely moving toward solutions. When Caldwell joined the Spektrix team, the firm started asking what could be done that would truly benefit the INTIX community.
Nothstein says, “We landed on the idea that the most meaningful step was to better understand the people who make our organizations run day to day. In partnership with INTIX, the goal of the survey was to capture those perspectives and provide something that could help move the conversation forward — beyond identifying challenges and toward understanding what might actually improve things for the people doing the work.”
The Results
Some of the findings were unexpected. According to Caldwell, “One finding that surprised me was how consistently people pointed to systems and workflows, not motivation, as the thing that would help them do their best work. When we asked what would allow them to spend more time on the parts of their jobs that bring them joy, the top answers were better collaboration, clearer priorities, more efficient processes and easier access to data.”
She continues, “That feedback suggests the challenge isn’t a lack of passion. It’s that too many people are spending their energy navigating fragmented systems instead of focusing on the work that drew them to the sector in the first place.”
Bethany Nothstein
Nothstein concurs, adding, “There’s been a lot of conversation lately about staffing changes in the sector, but most of that attention has been on senior leadership roles. What stood out to me in the survey was how those shifts were affecting the rest of the team. Many respondents were thinking seriously about career progression and upward mobility, and how those factors influenced whether they planned to stay in their roles — or even in the industry.”
Still, other poll results confirmed what both had already been suspecting. What stood out to Nothstein was how strongly “passion for the work” came through in the responses. “In my own career,” she shares, “that passion has always been a driving force, and it was uplifting to see just how widely that feeling is shared. For many of the people who make this industry run, it’s not just a job. It’s something they care deeply about, and that sense of purpose was clear in the results.”
Caldwell was heartened by how eager respondents were to share their experiences. “The response rate, depth of written comments, and the engagement we saw in follow-up conversations showed a workforce that is deeply invested in the future of the field,” she states. “People didn’t just answer the survey — they reflected thoughtfully on their challenges and clearly articulated what would help them succeed in their roles.”
The Solutions
Based on the study's results, the question was posed to both Caldwell and Nothstein: “What changes or course corrections do you feel those who are leaders in the ticketing and live events space should make to prepare for the year ahead and beyond?”
The former responded that the message to arts leaders, in particular, coming out of the survey is that the workforce is deeply committed. But commitment alone is not enough to sustain the sector.
She elaborates, “Many of the improvements respondents described relate to how work is structured and supported: enhancing collaboration and communication, so teams can play to their strengths; enabling staff to work more efficiently with the right tools and processes; and defining clear priorities so everyone is aligned around shared goals. Respondents also emphasized the importance of better access to insights to make more informed decisions.”
Together, these findings suggest that by intentionally designing how work flows, not just what work gets done, leaders can help ensure the passion people bring to this field translates into sustainable, rewarding careers rather than burnout.
Nothstein notes that one idea that has resonated strongly since the survey closed came from Cheyenne Queen of Music Theatre Wichita. “Creating space for open, honest conversations with your team is key,” she says. “When leaders take the time to truly listen, they gain the insight needed to make thoughtful changes rather than relying on assumptions. The other area is making sure the systems and tools that staff rely on are truly supporting them. Technology, training and access to information should make someone’s job easier, not add friction to their day.”
The Biggest Takeaways
Caldwell and Nothstein had varying opinions on what the biggest takeaway is from the joint survey’s results. For Caldwell, she believes it’s that doing nothing is actually the most risky decision a leader in ticketing and live events can make. She says, “Encouragingly, many of the solutions respondents pointed to are not about making large new financial investments. They’re about shifting focus to the work infrastructure and supporting teams. When those elements are in place, organizations can reduce unnecessary strain, retain experienced staff and create the conditions for long-term stability in the sector.”
Nothstein, meanwhile, says the poll’s biggest takeaway is simply to “keep the conversation open.” She concludes, “Individual organizations can — and should — make changes within their own teams, but no single organization can shape the future of an entire industry on its own. Progress will come from sharing what’s working; being honest about what isn’t; and, finally, learning from one another along the way. Efforts like this survey are one way to keep checking in with the community and measuring whether the changes we’re making are actually helping. The answers are already within the people who do this work every day. We just have to keep listening to each other and moving forward together.”
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