Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback Edited Legal Collections Data

Williams, Mark --- "One ring to rule them all: rights in live performances" [2017] ELECD 301; in Richardson, Megan; Ricketson, Sam (eds), "Research Handbook on Intellectual Property in Media and Entertainment" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 195

Book Title: Research Handbook on Intellectual Property in Media and Entertainment

Editor(s): Richardson, Megan; Ricketson, Sam

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781784710781

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: One ring to rule them all: rights in live performances

Author(s): Williams, Mark

Number of pages: 25

Abstract/Description:

The yield in financial terms for live theatre, particularly musical theatre, can be remarkable. The Lion King reached a worldwide gross revenue of US$6.2 billion for its owners in September 2014 after 17 years. This surpassed a US$6.0 billion figure for Phantom of the Opera which has been running for 10 years longer. In Australia, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert grossed approximately AU$80 million in two years, an estimate based on published figures that it played to 100,000 paying spectators and has grossed approximately AU$300 million worldwide including US$48 million on Broadway. Based on a weekly running cost of around AU$800,000 per week, it is safe to estimate that the net profit on the Australian season alone could have been between AU$30 and 40 million. Whilst the net marginal cost of each performance never approaches zero as it might in the case of an electronic copy of a film or a book, scarcity of seats, touring to fresh audiences or the refreshment of productions with new stars all represent additional input costs but mean that a successful production can continue to attract premium pricing. Meanwhile, the marginal cost of the copyright elements conforms to other species of copyright in that it ‘costs’ the authors (and the producer) the most to produce the first hit opening night.