Our history

In 2012, as a new charity, The Audience Agency set out to create a national data programme with funding from Arts Council England. We were motivated by a strong sense of the democratising power of data, to anticipate the needs of our current audiences and to find and connect with new and different audiences. 

The idea was a simple one: to collect comparative audience data from across the cultural sector and link it up with other useful data to create a tool enabling organisations to spot opportunities in the big picture. Simple though the idea was, it presented considerable operational and technical challenges. But with the support and engagement of hundreds of organisations in the wider Audience Finder community, we created a world first: a comprehensive national data-set of audiences, now drawn from over 800 organisations, representing over half the households in the UK, accessed by thousands of cultural practitioners to inform audience development and engagement

We make our largest set of aggregated data on cultural engagement anywhere in the world available for academic researchers.

We launch Audience Answers after our Arts Council England funding ends. Audience Answers was re-designed for and with cultural organisations, building on the 10-year development and success of Audience Finder Data Tools in the field to focus more than ever on putting insights into action, responding to individual user needs, and facilitating peer-to-peer collaboration. 

We continue to be funded by Arts Council of Wales and Creative Scotland standardising audience data collection.

The Audience Agency  merged with Culture24 in November 2023, bringing together two established and trusted independent charities with a shared mission and values. Together, they offer a vital new resource for the cultural sector combining complementary experience and expertise, built over many years of supporting and leading positive change.

The Audience Agency and Culture24 were both long-term recipients of funding from Arts Council England. Services and jobs were put at risk following the decision to drop both organisations from the Arts Council Portfolio in March 2023. Although both organisations have had to make redundancies, the new business model and merger mean that years of ACE investment in tools and resources, skills and experience will continue to benefit the sector. It also means The Audience Agency will be able to continue to provide services for Arts Council Wales and Creative Scotland.