Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Inauguration Day’s Lessons In Streaming

Mon, Jan 1, 2021
It isn’t as though this Inauguration Day isn’t filled with enough significance, but there’s an something special for performing arts orgs in the form of the several live-stream broadcasts that need to operate inside pandemic health and safety guidelines. The inauguration schedule is available at official event website, and was kicked off by an event

That Odor You Smell Is Disaster Blowing In The Wind

Fri, Jan 1, 2021
As a board member, it’s difficult to get an independent assessment of the institution and its strategic direction during periods of labor distress. There’s a natural inclination to look inward and draw strength from colleagues while not letting too many outside voices become a distraction. Having said that, you know things might be getting out

If There Was Ever A Time To Consider Loyalty Programs, It’s Now

Thu, Jan 1, 2021
A recent post from Joe Patti examines a report from the Advisory Board for the Arts that found “while people may donate at a certain level to gain perks, taking away those perks won’t cause them to reduce their giving, by and large.” This is certainly good news for arts orgs in a post-COVID environment,

AFM-EPF Tries Again

Wed, Jan 1, 2021
The American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund (AFM-PEF) continues to scrape along. Back in March 2020 they managed to settle a suit filed against Trustees that alleged poor management and unnecessarily risky investment strategies. Both sides have claimed victory in the suit, and the reality is the AFM-EPF agreed to a $26.85 million

Creating Concert Programs Doesn’t Need To Be A Pain

Tue, Jan 1, 2021
If you’ve ever been responsible for creating a concert program in Microsoft Word, you probably know how tricky it is to align everything in a way that conforms with traditional program layouts. The harder you try; the more elusive alignment becomes but you can’t figure out why. Here’s a tip to know when things start