What the data told us about how the arts are changing, in 2025

For those of us working to sustain the arts, this year’s challenge wasn’t finding data, it was making sense of the wealth of insights now available to us. Researchers from a wide range of organisations and interests have produced excellent work which, taken together, reveals not just where we are, but illuminates pathways forward.

Business models are ready for reinvention

The National Theatre’s Scene Change report, developed with more than 140 UK-based arts organisations, identifies a pivotal moment: 92% of organisations recognise that business model innovation is essential to their future. This remarkable consensus creates a unique opportunity for sector-wide transformation. The NT’s proposal for an Arts Business Model Innovation Fund could catalyse exactly this kind of forward-thinking change, helping organisations pioneer new approaches that the entire sector can learn from.

Record-breaking engagement shows the appetite is there

Museums, according to Arts Council England (ACE)’s Annual Museum Survey covering 2019-2024, have successfully expanded their digital reach, with 75% reporting social media followings up by more than 25%.

Meanwhile, the State of British Theatre report celebrates extraordinary achievement: Society of London and UK Theatre members welcomed more than 37 million audience members in 2024, with West End revenues surpassing £1 billion for the first time.

The same report highlighted that while 28% of organisations ran deficits in 2023-24, 72% achieved balanced budgets or a trading surplus, despite challenging conditions. Strong box office doesn’t automatically translate to financial sustainability when costs are rising faster than income, but as we have heard recently here on Arts Professional, innovative approaches like extending panto runs with adult-only performances can make a big difference.

A clear case for investment

The Campaign for the Arts (CFTA) published The State of the Arts: One Year On, providing robust evidence and clear recommendations for renewed government commitment. CFTA’s excellent explainers following the Chancellor’s three fiscal events this year demonstrate the sector’s capacity for sharp policy engagement.

Meanwhile, Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Annual Investment Survey reveals the real-world impact of tighter funding. In the face of cuts, performances in Northern Ireland were down 30% over three years, with audiences falling below 1 million for the first time since 2021-22. Politicians should be in no doubt that when funding tightens, parts of our sector see the impact immediately.

Innovation in fundraising shows what’s possible

ACE’s Private Investment in Culture Report, examining 2021/22 to 2023/24, showcases the remarkable innovation and resourcefulness organisations are demonstrating in fundraising. While operational costs are rising, the creativity being applied to income generation points toward new sustainable models. The mixed funding approach may be under pressure – sorry, IS under enormous pressure – but that pressure is driving experimentation that could yet define the sector’s future.

Infrastructure challenges create opportunities for transformation

The Theatres Trust’s 2025 at-risk register identifies 43 UK theatres needing major support, revealing patterns that inform solutions. The concentration of at-risk venues among local authority-owned, mid-to-small-scale spaces outside major cities highlights where targeted intervention could preserve vital cultural infrastructure. The State of British Theatre report’s case for a £500 million theatre infrastructure fund isn’t just about preservation – it’s about investing in the venues that will serve communities for generations to come.

The workforce is ready to lead change

Arts Professional’s Arts Pay 2025 survey, conducted with Baker Richards, captures something crucial: nearly 80% of culture workers have reached crisis point due to burnout and are seriously considered leaving our sector. Freelancers’ annual earnings have barely risen since 2022. Approximately 25% of entry-level workers struggle to cover basic costs. The earnings gap between global majority and white full-time professionals has widened.

The data on precarious working conditions and pay gaps identifies where improved conditions arising from business model innovation could unlock the full potential of this dedicated workforce.

Awareness of inequality is the first step to addressing it

The Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre’s policy brief on workforce and engagement trends provides granular, local authority-level analysis. This kind of detailed data helps us understand exactly where interventions will make the most difference. While class and ethnic inequalities have widened, the fact that we’re now tracking this at such a detailed level means we can design targeted, effective responses.

Nearly 60% of working-class respondents to the Arts Pay survey identifying barriers to entry, also reminds us that individually, or more likely collectively, our sector will benefit in the long run if we’re able to place still greater effort on opening up career pathways.

Better data infrastructure may amplify our impact

The Centre for Cultural Value’s report on developing a cultural indicator suite identifies an opportunity to integrate cultural indicators into regeneration, health, and education policy.

The report finds that fragmented data collection systems and inconsistent measurement make it harder to demonstrate cultural vitality or make evidence-based funding decisions. This report wisely recommends specifically integrating cultural indicators into regeneration, health, and education policy. This is the sort of under-the-bonnet geekery that really helps to shift policy focus, and would be worthwhile.

…and the report that never was

This year it became apparent, both before and after the UK government’s spending review, that the IT at every stage of ACE’s funding process from application, to allocation, to evaluation, is not performing to the best of its ability.

The absence of a dedicated, proactive report on this, or any real pressure to produce or publish one (the Hodge report raised more than a few eyebrows in this area), says something about the oversight of this vital funder. I’m keen to know what their National Council makes of all this, but as the comically sparse minutes are published with an indefensible one-year delay, it’d be unwise to hold your breath waiting to hear more.

What next?

All the data from 2025 tells us we’re at an inflection point, and inflection points are where transformation happens.

The evidence tells us some things with great clarity. Audiences want much of what we create (37 million theatre-goers don’t lie). The sector has evidenced its economic and social value. Demand, though unevenly spread, exists – particularly at larger venues where programming balances artistic ambition with broad appeal.

We know where the challenges are, which means we know where solutions will have the greatest impact. The question now is whether we can free up enough of the epic brainpower in the arts to seize this moment to reconfigure the infrastructure, support the workforce, and develop the business models that will carry the arts forward.

These reports from 2025 illuminate both where we’ve been and where we could go. With clear evidence, sector-wide commitment to innovation, and proven public demand, the conditions for a necessary transformation are in place.