Australians prefer films to live music: study

Cinemas are the most popular arts venues in Australia, with concerts lagging behind films as the way in which most Australians get their cultural fix.

That’s according to new data from the Australian government, which has released figures on the proportion of people aged 15 and over who attended arts events from June 2013–14 (the newest available data).

Drawing on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australia Council for the Arts found 66% of people went to the cinema that year, compared to 33% for popular music events and 20% for classical music or opera, for an “any music” total of 42%.

Live music was, however, the second most-popular cultural pursuit, outperforming libraries and archives (35%), performing arts (32%), museums (28%) and art galleries (27%).

The Australian live entertainment industry contracted in 2015, with revenue and attendances falling 6.7% and 0.9%, respectively.

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