The SGAE takes stock in its Yearbook of the accumulated effects of the crisis on the sector

Factors such as the economic crisis, piracy, the increase in cultural VAT, changes in consumer habits, have affected the audiovisual, performing and musical arts to a greater or lesser extent.

This Wednesday, the SGAE Foundation presented the SGAE 2014 Yearbook of the Performing, Musical and Audiovisual Arts, a volume that offers basic statistical data to characterize the cultural sector and, in this fourteenth edition, is consolidated as a fundamental reference work for the sector.

The SGAE 2014 Yearbook offers rigorous and detailed information on the main sectors of the performing, musical and audiovisual arts, with tens of thousands of numerical data and more than 300 graphs and statistical tables. It arises as a result of a laborious process of capturing and processing data, compiling sources and analyzing this information.

This publication, born in 1999, has already become a fundamental tool for scholars of the Spanish cultural market.

This Yearbook presents information perfectly analyzed in quantitative and structural terms on the following sectors of the cultural panorama: performing arts (theater, dance and opera), classical music, modern music, cinema, recorded music, television, video, radio and new technologies. For each section, it presents a report that analyzes the main data of that sector, highlighting its characteristic aspects throughout 2013 and providing elements for comparison with the year 2012.

In order to offer this detailed analysis, the Yearbook includes specific data on multiple characteristics of the shows (attendees, collections, ticket prices), treated globally and presenting, in some cases, significant classifications (highest-grossing films, best-selling albums, stage productions with the largest audience...).

To prepare the Yearbook, nine journalists specialized in each section have participated, as well as a total of 36 professionals, mostly representatives of associations in the sector, who have been part of qualitative research that complements the statistical vision.

Cumulative effects of the crisis

In 2013 we once again observed declines in the indicators of the different markets in the cultural sector. After a period of growth that lasted until the first years of the 21st century, we have entered a period of decline that accumulates losses that we will detail in the following lines. Factors such as the economic crisis, piracy, the increase in cultural VAT, changes in consumer habits, have affected the different disciplines to a greater or lesser extent.

The performing and musical arts began their decline between 2008 and 2009, seeing their offer, attendance and revenue reduced and having to adapt to the changes that the crisis has marked.

Some markets such as video, cinema or the physical market for recorded music began a decline in their indicators at least 10 years ago, therefore accumulating very significant losses.

The opposite effect has been experienced by television and radio media, which have seen their average daily consumption increase, becoming a leisure alternative in a time of crisis, although the data for 2013 show slight decreases.

The declines, in any case, are much more pronounced in relation to advertising revenues generated by radio and television.

Cine

Film exhibition has suffered, like the rest of the cultural sector markets, a setback. Compared to 2008, it has accumulated total losses of 19.2% in the number of sessions, 28.9% in attendance and 20.1% in collection. We must take into account two facts. On the one hand, the slight declines began in 2007. And, on the other, the negative trend worsened mainly in 2013. In this year alone, 17.8% of viewers and 18.5% of revenue were lost.

Video

The video market is one of the sectors in which the decline began the earliest. Between 2003 and 2004 we found the maximums of all the indicators and from that moment on, significant falls accumulated for the sector. If we compare the revenue obtained in 2013 with that of 2008 we have a total decrease, in just five years and despite the consolidation of Blu-ray, of 69.2% in revenue. If we isolate the year 2013, and compare it with 2012, we observe that the value obtained in this last year falls by 22.8% compared to the previous year.

Television

Television consumption since 2008 has experienced an increase of 7.5%, exceeding in 2013 the average consumption per inhabitant per day of that year by 17 minutes, although, despite the overall increase, advertising revenues have been reduced in the last five years by 44.7%. In any case, in 2013, the number of daily minutes dedicated to television, in average terms, went from 246 minutes in 2012 to 244 in 2013, reducing slightly. Advertising revenues continued their downward path, assuming, in 2013, a drop of 6.2% compared to 2012.

Radio

Radio consumption has also increased by 6.7% since 2008, increasing the average daily consumption per listener by seven minutes from Monday to Sunday although, as was the case with the data referring to television, the average number of minutes spent listening to the radio decreased slightly this last year, going from 114 minutes in 2012 to 111 in 2013. However, despite the general increase in consumption, income advertising has been reduced by 37.1% since 2008. In 2013, compared to 2012, they also experienced a decrease, in this case of 11%.

Video games

The video game market has also increased its losses in 2013 compared to 2008. Since this last year it has experienced a decline in its total income (hardware, software and peripherals) of 46.8%. The decrease would be 47.6% if we consider 2007 as the reference year. If we analyze the year 2013, the decrease experienced is 7.3%.

performing arts

The year 2008 represents a turning point for the performing arts, reaching a maximum in all indicators and beginning a significant decline from that moment on. The performing arts have accumulated losses in the last five years of 30.4% in the number of performances, 34.3% in attendance and 23% in revenue (24.7% less if we compare 2013 with 2009).

Another reflection that is essential to make is that the collection figures include VAT, so its increase, in the last third of 2012, implies that tax-free income has been substantially reduced. The difference between the decreases in attendance and collection is explained, to a large extent, by the incidence of certain shows with high prices, as well as the decrease in attendance at free or very reduced price events. Regarding the evolution between 2012 and 2013, it can be stated that the total number of performances decreased by 4.7%, that the total number of spectators decreased by 4.1% and that revenue, including VAT in these data, decreased by 3.5%.

Theater and dance

Since 2008, there have been accumulated declines that have reached 29.1% in the number of representations. Attendance has fallen by 33% compared to that year and the collection has seen its total income reduced by 15.8% (18.4% less compared to 2009, the year that houses the peak). If we compare the figures for 2013 with those for 2012, we can see how the number of performances has decreased by 4.4%, attendance by 3.2% and collections by 2%.

In dance, since 2008 the number of dance performances has fallen by 49.4%, attendance has decreased by 41.4% and revenue has dropped by 50%. Furthermore, it should be noted that dance begins the declines a year before theater and the lyrical genre, so these losses are even greater in relation to 2007. Regarding the year 2013 compared to 2012, it can be seen how the number of performances decreased by 10.6%, spectators decreased by 10.5%, as well as the collection (which also fell by 10.5%).

Opera, zarzuela and classical music

Since 2008, the number of performances has been reduced by 28.4%, the number of spectators has fallen by 41.8% and the collection has lost 45.3%. The declines are also more than perceptible in 2013, since if we compare its results with those of 2012, we observe that performances are reduced by 6.2%, spectators by 8.4% and receipts by 10.4%.

Classical music also experiences declines in all its indicators. If we compare the figures for 2013 with those obtained in 2008, we obtain drops of 18.7% in the number of concerts, 17.9% in the number of spectators and 17.2% in revenue. The decreases recorded in 2013 are 3.3% in the number of concerts, 4.1% in the number of spectators and 2.1% in revenue.

Popular music

2008 represented the maximum value of the main indicators, and from that moment on a decline began that in 2013 continues to become even deeper. If we compare both years, we obtain decreases that reach 25.5% in the number of concerts, 33.2% in attendance and 19.2% in revenue. If we discount the data for macro concerts and large festivals, these decreases reach up to 36.2% in attendees and 23.6% in collections. This difference is explained, to a large extent, by the impact of free activities on the total number of concerts. If only the evolution between 2012 and 2013 is analyzed, it is observed that the total number of concerts was reduced by 11.4%, that spectators fell by 12.4% (12.5% if we exclude the macro festivals) and that the collection contracted by 13.6% (15.4% if we leave the large events aside).

recorded music

There are several aspects to take into account in the recorded music market. The first of them is that if we compare the total collection figures for 2013 with those of 2008, 56.2% has been lost. This percentage increases if we compare it with the figures from previous years. Specifically, between 2012 and 2013, the value of sales has been reduced in global terms by 15.1%.

On the other hand, it must be highlighted that this market is changing: while in 2008 the physical market accumulated a relative weight of 88.5% of the total, in 2013 it has been reduced to 59.8%; Although it continues to be the predominant market, it has lost 28.7 points compared to the digital market. This fact has occurred because while the physical market has accumulated losses of 70.4% since 2008, the digital market has increased its sales by 53.1% since that same year. However, so far, the rise in income from the digital market has been unable to assume the losses of the physical market, which explains why recorded music accumulates greater losses each year. We believe it is important to point out that the digital market, for the first time, does not increase its income, obtaining 0.4% less in 2013 compared to 2012.