In 2009, each Australian aged 15 years and older spent an average of $756 on entertainment and media, a report from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI), based at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), found.

Together, Australians spent $17 billion in 2009.

Dr Sandra Haukka, author of A Data Picture of Australia’s Arts and Entertainment Sector, says the statistics gathered for the report confirmed that Australia’s arts and entertainment sector made a significant contribution to the Australian economy.

“The sector underpins cultural and social innovation, improves the quality of community life, is essential to maintaining our cities as world-class attractors of talent and investment, and helps create ‘Brand Australia’ in the global marketplace of ideas,” she says.

“We located a range of impressive facts and figures. For example, PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts Australia’s digital recorded music market will be the fastest growing digital recorded music market in the Asia Pacific region over the next five years.

“Just over 30% of people surveyed by the Australia Council for the Arts in 2009 used the internet to research, view or create any kind of music, writing or artistic performance. The Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 72% of creative and performing arts businesses made a profit in 2007-08.”

However, Dr Haukka says Australia continued to experience a large entertainment trade deficit.

“We imported $2.4 billion in cultural goods in 2009-10 compared to exports of $540 million. The World Economic Forum ranked Australia 38th in the world for the value of its creative industries exports,” she says.

CCI Professor Greg Hearn says the Australian entertainment industry did not have the scale of expertise needed to compete globally.

“It’s not that we do not produce for Australian consumption, but that the industry isn’t producing enough export due to lack of resources and skilled individuals,” he says.

“The world market for entertainment has long been dominated by certain countries and it’s very difficult for Australia to compete when these nations have greater investments, better technology and access to a wider pool of talent.

“It’s a vicious cycle.”

The full report can be viewed at http://tiny.cc/prj7k