The recent Milan Music Week provided the perfect backdrop for Italy’s copyright agency SIAE to present a preview of its figures relating to concerts, for the first nine months of 2022.
During a panel discussion at the event, guests talked about the data and how the pandemic significantly impacted the live sector in Italy.
Despite the difficulties during COVID-19, data has shown that Italy’s live entertainment sector is bouncing back.
From January to September 2022, the total number of shows amounted to 24,119 with 13,013,269 admissions. Spending at the box office totalled €450,587,051 (£389m/$466m), with an average ticket price of €35.
During the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic, 29,951 shows took place with 12,263,624 admissions, while expenditure at the box office totalled €369,443,660 and the average ticket price came in at €30.
This means that despite a decrease in shows, there is a 6% increase in spectators and 22% increase in box office spending.
Concerts were held in locations such as the Circus Maximus in Rome and Campovolo Arena in Reggio Emilia. The Trentino Music Arena also welcomed the largest crowd in terms of pop music concerts, with 111,881 spectators attending in May.
While the SIAE said that the hunger from young people to return to events is strong, the agency said that rescheduled tickets contributed to the boom in attendance.
SIAE general director Gaetano Blandini said: “The first elaborations of the SIAE data for 2022 confirm a significant recovery especially in the concert sector. These are positive signs that bode well but to complete the crossing of the desert the help of the State with targeted interventions, tax incentives and other measures that give companies the opportunity to invest in technology and security to overcome the challenges of the future.”