Summary Reports by Budget Size and Regions
Each year for almost half a century, Orchestras Canada has been collecting financial and audience information from member orchestras and producing an annual comparative Report. The detailed Report is shared with participating orchestras and used by OC for advocacy purposes. The 2021-22 Comparative Report contains information from 73 orchestras. It includes all member orchestras with budgets over $1.5 million, and almost all other orchestras which historically have had budgets over $50,000.
The 2021-22 Summaries are compiled using information from the Report. They provide an overview of the Canadian orchestra industry for the 2021-22 season, organized budget size and by regions. Percentages are calculated in two ways: 1) based on the aggregate totals, and 2) “averages-of-percentages” using the individually calculated percentages for each of the participating orchestras. This approach is useful when considering relatively small samples of organizations of disparate sizes and scopes, especially by region.
We continue to report “Cost per audience contact” (CPAC) calculations in the Summaries. In these unprecedented times, the value of this calculation is questionable; even eyebrow-raising. That said: the CPAC is a tool which individual organizations may find useful for assessing business efficiency in their own organization, and we are reporting it to stay consistent with past practice.
Summaries of Summaries-2018-19 to 2021-22by Budget Size and Regions
COVID-19’s dramatic impact on orchestras began in March 2020 with the shutting down of performance venues. Within weeks, many orchestras began pivoting to various forms of online presentation. Not surprisingly, the 2019-20 financial and attendance numbers came in radically below results from the previous (2018-19) season.
2020-21 was fully COVID-affected season. Budgets receded further. The vast majority of orchestras pivoted to online activity almost exclusively. The 2018-19 aggregate live audience of 2,843,000 collapsed to 53,000 in 2020-21: a drop of 98%!
2021-22 indicated significant recovery. The minuscule live audience of 2020-21 rebounded to 1,061,664-still a long way from the pre-COVID 2018-19 audience of almost 3 million.
While these Summaries of Summaries are packed with information, we hesitate to over-analyze. The 2022-23 seasons are already at, or past, their mid points. We already know that numbers for 2022-23 will be significantly different from 2021-22. We look forward to reporting fully on this season in the coming months. We will continue to produce Summaries of Summaries, looking forward to some stability from season to season.
Online activity: In 2018-19, online content sharing by orchestras was a rarity. This changed substantially in 2019-20. In 2020-21 (the season of closed concert halls), online activity blossomed. Excepting a very few small orchestras, every organization had online audiences. In 2021-22, as concert halls re-opened, we saw a reduction in online activity. We will continue to monitor this in 2022-23 and beyond.
As snapshots over time, the Summaries of Summaries are fascinating. In all the years that we have been preparing the Comparative Report and summaries, we never expected to see numbers like this. We commend the Summaries and Summary of Summaries to you for vigorous discussion in your organization.
General disclaimer
We produce these Summaries using straightforward information and commonly accepted definitions, avoiding subjective judgments as much as possible. The accuracy of the Summaries is dependent primarily on the accuracy of information provided by the 73 participating orchestras, followed by accurate transfer of information to master spreadsheets. If significant errors are noticed, we would appreciate knowing.
Respectfully submitted
C Stephen Smith (Statistician, Orchestras Canada)
February 2023