National Professional Presenters Compensation Survey 2018

Based on interest from presenters, Ontario Presents has worked with our partner networks across the country and with Outburst Performance to conduct the 2018 National Professional Presenters Compensation Survey.

This compensation study is a follow-up to the one conducted in 2013.

This year, one hundred responses were submitted and the results have been summarized and categorized.

This survey attempts to provide some data points when setting compensation levels for attracting or retaining people in a number of positions often found in presenting organizations.

The report includes a range of information, including:

  • Number of venue-based vs. festival presenters
  • Prevalence of over 30 job titles among presenters
  • Overlapping functions (when one person does many jobs!)
  • Minimum, median, and maximum salaries for a wide range of positions (e.g. Executive Director, Administrative Assistant, Box Office Manager, Technical Director, etc.)
  • Health benefit offerings
  • Retirement benefits

Some key findings from the 100 respondents include:

  • 73% of respondents are incorporated not-for-profits (17% are municipal, 1% are unincorporated community organizations, and 9% other)
  • Presenters range widely in budget, venue, and community size: communities ranged from under 1000 to 1 million+
  • Annual operating expenses ranged from under $100 000 to over 5 million. There was a fairly even distribution of budgets between $100 000 and under $2 million
  • Unsurprisingly, many individuals in presenting organizations hold more than one function. The majority of organizations do not have specialized positions such as HR Director or IT Analyst.
  • The most common positions were: Executive Director/General Manager (70%), Technical Director (49%), Artistic Director/Programming Head (45%), Marketing Director/Manager (43%), Volunteer Coordinator (42%), Front of House/Audience Services Manager (42%)
  • 46% of respondents offer a group benefits package. Of these, most offer prescription drug, paramedical, and vision coverage, as well as life insurance, accidental death benefits and long-term disability
  • The most common “additional employee benefits” are flexible hours, event tickets, and professional development
  • 50% of respondents do not offer retirement contributions

We hope that this information proves useful!

If you are interested in a copy of the report, please email info@ontariopresents.ca