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THE ARTS AND CULTURE COMPENDIUM

The latest issue of the Arts and Culture Compendium, officially known as Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview (cat. no. 4172.0) will be released on October 21, 2009. The 2009 issue includes updated data on Arts and Heritage in Australia from various statistical collections, including Cultural Funding by Government, Australia, 2007-08 and Museums, Australia, 2007-08, as well as non-ABS data, such as Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) data.

Topics covered include participation and attendance; tourism; household expenditure; funding by government and business; employment and other work; output of cultural industries; cultural trade; and profiles of the various cultural sectors (for example, museums, libraries, performing arts).

Some key findings from ABS sources include:

• The 2007-08 Survey of Museums found there were approximately 30.7 million admissions to museums during the year, 68% of which were free of charge. Art galleries accounted for 42% of all admissions. The survey found that for the 1,184 museum establishments in Australia, the total income in 2007-08 was $998.4m. About 66% of this income was provided by government, with the remainder made up by other income and fundraising.
• According to the Cultural Funding by Government survey, government funding for cultural activities totalled $6,311.4m, with state and territory governments providing almost half (47% or $2,952.2m), the Australian Government contributing 37% ($2,358.9m), and local government making up the balance of 16% ($1,000.3m).
• International Trade data showed that during 2007-08, Australia received $287m in royalty credits for music, film, television programs and video tapes. The vast majority of credits were from New Zealand ($84m), followed by the USA ($58m) and the UK ($43m). In the same period, Australia accrued royalty debits for music, film, television programs and video tapes worth $1,211m. More than half (62%) of debits were paid to the USA and 12% were paid to the UK. The remainder of debits were attributed to selected European members of the OECD, such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Ireland.