Brad Carlin of TRG Arts and Karen Yair of the League of American Orchestras returned to present the latest findings from TRG's Arts and Culture Benchmark, offering a detailed look at trends in ticket sales, subscriptions, and donations among U.S. orchestras.
Drawing from one of the most comprehensive datasets in the arts sector, this session explored mid and long-term trends and gave attendees a glimpse into what’s shaping audience behavior in the 2024–2025 season.
TRG's Arts & Culture Benchmark continues to serve as an essential tool for arts leaders, enabling performance comparisons with sector peers and revealing insights that help guide strategic planning and audience development efforts.
Key Trends from the September 2025 Update
The session focused on emerging patterns and lingering challenges within the orchestra sector. While recovery from the pandemic continues, it remains uneven, prompting important strategic reflections.
1. Single Ticket Sales Show Mixed Results
Over the past three seasons (2022–2025), orchestras saw a 9% increase in single ticket volume and a 20% increase in revenue, even after adjusting for inflation. This revenue boost was largely driven by price gains, with per capita revenue climbing from $36.50 to over $40; a 10% increase, well above the 6% inflation rate during the same period.
Yet the number of tickets purchased per order dropped by 6%, and frequency of attendance remains flat at 1.3 times per season, indicating that organizations must work harder to convert occasional buyers into loyal patrons.
2. Subscription Stability and Growth Pockets
While subscription revenue has grown more modestly (4% over the past three years) early indicators for the 2025–26 season suggest promising momentum.
Compared to the same point in the 2023–24 campaign, subscription sales are up 23% in tickets sold and 21% in revenue. Even more notable: the average number of tickets per subscriber household increased from around 9.5 to 10.9, signaling that orchestras offering larger or more compelling packages are seeing higher levels of commitment from their subscribers.
3. Segment-Level Data Tells the Real Story
Audience segmentation continues to reveal critical nuances. Over the last three years, orchestras have seen a 15% increase in the number of single ticket buying households, underscoring broader reach.
However, this growth hasn’t translated into increased frequency, and it’s not coming from subscribers. This trend highlights the need for strategic segmentation and targeting to convert these new buyers into return attendees and supporters.
4. Donor Behavior Is Shifting
Gift volume is rising, but average gift value is declining. Over the past three years, orchestras saw a 10% increase in the number of donations, but a 4% decrease in the average gift size, falling from $1,845 to $1,774.
This shift aligns with the growth in first-time single ticket buyers; many of whom may give, but at lower levels than seasoned subscribers. It reinforces the need to bridge loyalty and philanthropy through more tailored engagement strategies.
5. Overall Ticket Performance Is Rising... But Not Evenly
Looking holistically at ticket sales, orchestras experienced a 6% increase in total ticket volume and a 16% increase in overall revenue from 2022 to 2025.
The growth is encouraging, but it’s also disproportionately coming from single tickets, not long-term behaviors like subscriptions or increased frequency. Without strategic intervention, the sector risks building breadth without depth; lots of new buyers, but too few returning patrons.
Strength in Numbers: Join the Arts & Culture Benchmark
The more arts organizations involved in the Arts & Culture Benchmark, the more powerful and robust the insights become.
With richer data, organizations like yours can benchmark performance more accurately, spot trends earlier, and make smarter, data-led decisions for the future.
Want to translate these insights into action for your organization?
Schedule an exploratory call with us to explore your own data, identify your biggest opportunities, and chart a course for sustainable growth.