Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
Artist housing is a topic long time readers know we cover every few years and over all this time, the idea has yet to catch on. At the same time, the need for affordable musician housing at summer festivals and regional orchestras is stronger than ever. Having to rely on the largesse of patrons to provide housing is not a long-term solution and the latest jump in hotel and Airbnb rooms …
The 8/16/22 edition of the Buckeye Flame published an article by Ken Schneck that reports on a lawsuit filed against the Cleveland Orchestra (CO) and Business Administrators & Consultants Inc (BAC), CO’s contracted healthcare administrator, for discrimination after they refused to cover a necessary surgery. According to the plaintiff, Rem Wransky who works as a full stack developer for the orchestra, the organization denied her surgery because she is a trans woman. …
Sure, building a new hall is an exciting and terrifying endeavor that can propel an orchestra to new artistic levels and provide a venue that serves as one of the city’s crown jewels. But they never tell you about the bird cost. Case in point, the 5/13/2022 edition of The Tennessean published an article by Kirsten Fiscus that reports on the Nashville Symphony’s efforts to prevent migratory birds from roosting in …
At the end of last week, news broke about Plácido Domingo’s alleged ties to an Argentinian crime syndicate. Nutshell: law enforcement has wiretap recordings that include an individual they believe is Domingo making arrangements with a representative of the crime syndicate for a clandestine meeting with a sex worker. While Domingo is not being sought by Argentinian authorities, the individual on the phone call has been arrested and several other classical …
H/T Michael Granados for posting a link to a blog post by on-demand ticketing provider WW&L where they espouse the benefits of on-demand event ticketing. Nutshell: instead of paying for ticket printers, stock, and related labor costs, performing arts organizations can outsource the entire thing to a third-party provider. I’ve had a number of conversations with colleagues over the years about this idea and while there are a few groups like …