Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Ning Off Already

Fri, May 5, 2009
On Wednesday, May 6, 2009 the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (SFS) launched a boutique social networking site based on the Ning platform. If you aren’t already familiar with Ning, it is an enterprise solution that allows users to create their own social networking sites, think of it like a do-it-yourself facebook…

Details from the WCO Settlement

Thu, May 5, 2009
Over the course of 2009 Take A Friend To Orchestra month, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO) reached a settlement; however, news reports have not focused on the agreement’s details. But since this is a negotiation we’ve been following for several months, it seems appropriate to examine some of those details, especially those sticking points that

Honolulu Lays It On The Line

Wed, May 5, 2009
The Sunday, 5/3/2009 edition of the Honolulu Advertiser published an article by Ruth Bingham that reports on the Honolulu Symphony’s latest fundraising effort to stave off financial insolvency. According to the article, the orchestra’s stakeholders have not been paid in nearly three months and although it isn’t mentioned in the article, some stakeholders have stopped

Additional Fallout From The IMG Artists Scandal

Tue, May 5, 2009
The 5/1/2009 edition of Bloomberg published a commentary by Norman Lebrecht that examines some of the early response within artist management circles to the Barrett Wissman scandal. Wissman, a hedge fund manager who also serves as Chairman of IMG Artists, pled guilty to securities fraud and agreed to pay $12 million in penalties in connection

Assessing Cultural Confidence As Seasons’ End Approaches

Mon, May 5, 2009
The latest polling cycle indicates cultural confidence levels are sinking slowly as the percentage of respondents indicating they believe economic conditions by the end of the season will be poor increased by the largest percentage since early February. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that with only several weeks left in most orchestra’s 2008/09 season,