Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

People Are Attracted To Winners

Tue, Aug 8, 2010
That’s precisely what I told Jeff Karoub from the Associated Press yesterday when we were talking about the differences between for profit and nonprofit business strategies for dealing with a tough economy. One substantial difference is related to what I call the Fragile Powerhouse concept, which dictates that not only do performing arts organizations fail

Detroit Deadline Passes, Now What?

Mon, Aug 8, 2010
In short, “not much.” It seems that both sides have agreed to play and talk under the terms and conditions from the expired contract. However, the term play is used loosely in this sense as there are no concerts scheduled until October. I’m planning on posting something more about all of this later in the

Detroit Rebuttal and Venture’s Launch

Fri, Aug 8, 2010
Now that primary development recently wrapped up, we’ve been hard at work getting Venture’s sales and support site ready for launch. To that end, I’m happy to say that all things being equal, that should take place sometime between Monday and Wednesday next week…

The Minions Have Spoke!

Thu, Aug 8, 2010
There’s nothing quite as cumbersome as an email list filled with non-responders and as it turns out, the email list here at Adaptistration has grown so large that my email list minions told me we needed to weed out some names. Fortunately, the email service I use, Vertical Response, has a handy feature that lets

A Comprehensive Look At Detroit

Wed, Aug 8, 2010
The 8/24/2010 edition of the Detroit Free Press published an article by Mark Stryker that digs into the details surrounding the ongoing, and increasingly entrenched, negotiations between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and their musicians. Stryker’s article focuses on the fundamental issue of musician compensation: its history, current standing, and potential future…
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