Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
On March 18, 2005 I published an article titled Staring At The Crossroads In Salt Lake which examined the pitfalls associated with the process and subsequent decision to merge the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera organizations into what is now the Utah Symphony & Opera (US&O). Since the merger, the organization has been rocked with numerous financial, operational, and governance problems. In 2005, the US&O hired Tom Morris to conduct an …
A recent article in the 12/11/2012 Minneapolis Star Tribune by Kristin Tillotson focuses on growing frustration among Minnesota Orchestra Association (MOA) and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) ticket buyers over the extended lockouts. Tillotson’s article got me thinking about the degree of volatility among stakeholders and I’m curious to know whether or not readers notice any substantive difference in such things from one labor dispute to the next. To that end, …
Where would we be without stereotypes? If nothing else, they provide fodder for late night talk shows. Case in point, this recent Conan O’brien Show interview with comedienne Retta who told a story about an encounter she had had with an older couple that centered on classical music and expectations. I know, I know; there’s a 30 second commercial without a shortcut. It sucks but it is what it is and …
The Nokia Conversation blog published an article on 11/9/2012 profiling one of their recent projects centered on using a live symphonic orchestra to record bespoke classical music ring tones. The project was created after Nokia conducted a preference study which determined classical music ring tones were the second most popular offering. As a result, the company decided to compose a series of ring tones and hire a symphonic orchestra to record …
A big hats off to Joe Patti over at Butts In The Seats for posting an absolutely terrific article on 12/3/2012 that casts a pragmatic eye on Baumol’s cost disease. And if there’s ever a topic in this field that is all but assured to raise hackles and inspire heel entrenchment, it’s Baumol’s cost disease. If you’re not up on the epidemic, here’s the quick and dirty description: it denotes an …