Françoise Nyssen, Minister of Culture announces the operational establishment of SIBIL, information system of the live show from 1er july 2018. This tool, available to performing artists, will enable the collection of ticketing data for statistical information purposes pursuant to section 48 of the Freedom of Creation, Architecture and Heritage Act.
The law «Freedom of creation, architecture and heritage» of July 7, 2016, provides in its article 48 that the entrepreneurs of live shows holding a license make available to the minister in charge of culture the information of ticketing relative, on the one hand, the total price paid by the spectator or, where appropriate, the mention of free admission and, on the other hand, the name of the show, the domain, the location and the type of place of each performance.
This measure establishes a mandatory and centralised legal system for collecting ticketing data in order to provide a national reference for information on the number of visitors to the live show and the overall ticket sales. It thus allows the State to equip itself with an observation tool for steering public policies of artistic creation and measuring their impact.
The system, much awaited by all professionals in the sector, is framed by Decree no. 2017-926 of 9 May 2017 on the transmission of data relating to shows organized by live entertainment entrepreneurs. It provides that:
- The transmission of data is done by electronic means, their collection can be automated from any system of information of ticketing structures;
- The data relating to the performances of the past quarter shall be transmitted by the show contractors responsible for the ticketing before the tenth day of the first month of each calendar quarter;
- The Ministry of Culture ensures the processing of the data collected in respect of statistical confidentiality and other secrets provided by law, and guaranteeing their anonymity and confidentiality;
- Failure to transmit data is subject to an administrative fine.
This information system will allow State services, actors and partners in artistic creation to access consolidated and reliable data for the purpose of observing the live performance in France. With SIBIL, performing arts entrepreneurs will also be able to track their seasons and retrieve their own data for tax returns and other taxes. Actors will have centralized repositories of show names, venues and festivals and will have access to macroeconomic data for the purposes of promoting the sector.
The Department has relaxed the implementation of the system by deploying in three waves:
- At 1er July 2018 for state operators, labeled venues, conventional stages and opera theatres of national interest (approximately 500 structures);
- At 1er January 2019 for CNV and ASTP show tax reporting structures (approximately 5,000 structures);
- At 1er April 2019 for a generalization to all performing arts structures (approximately 15,000 structures).