Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Enough Already!

Thu, Jun 6, 2014
If you’ve been away for the past week you may have missed the hoopla surrounding the YouTube video of Seattle Symphony Orchestra’s (SSO) performing Baby Got Back with Seattle rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot. The video has racked up nearly two million hits on YouTube as well as a great deal criticism and praise and it’s that

FREE Twitter Profile Survival Kit for Arts Organizations 2014

Wed, Jun 6, 2014
It’s time to update your Twitter skills and keep up with the learning curve. For those unaware, Twitter updated their user profile layouts to include a profile background image that looks a lot like Facebook profile headers. However, it functions differently than its Facebook peer in that it is responsive, meaning it will get resized

Borrowed Advice

Tue, Jun 6, 2014
I wanted to take a moment to pull together a few threads from different sources all discussing, to one degree or another, marketing and patron interaction amidst the digital age. And when you tie them together, they create a fascinating counterproductive cycle that ensnares too many groups: ex post facto planning > trying too hard

Pssst, Wanna Get Free Access Christopher O’Riley’s Recordings?

Mon, Jun 6, 2014
O'Riley backstage pass promo
For those of you who have been following the ongoing development of the ChristopherORiley.com website redesign, you know that we crossed the launch threshold early last week. In an enormous act of generosity, O’Riley decided to make his super-secret password protected Backstage Pass page available to any site visitor subscribing to his newsletter or blog;

Some Very Upbeat News On Single Ticket Strategies

Fri, Jun 6, 2014
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The 5/28/2014 edition of Direct Marketing News published an article by Elyse Dupre that highlights recent 450 percent post-show revenue gains at Opéra de Montréal (OM) resulting from a multichannel marketing strategy. As it turns out, OM’s Director of Sales and Marketing is Guillaume Thérien, who served as a fellow presenter for the Winning Websites

It Must Be Conference Time…

Thu, Jun 6, 2014
It must be conference time as Adaptistration Jobs is bursting at the seams following a slew of new listings this week, several of which are CEO and VP level openings at some highly desirable ensembles <cough>Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra</cough>. So take a break from the job hunting meat market that is the conference and peruse

Inside The Arts #LinkLove Humpday Edition

Wed, Jun 6, 2014
My blogging colleagues at Inside The Arts have been productive as of late and their labor has produced a number of worthwhile posts you don’t want to miss. Joe Patti explores two great topics over at Butts In The Seats: What Do You Know About Your Emails? examines some truths and myths about current email

“The Equivalent Of Needing A Babysitter And Hiring A Dingo”

Tue, Jun 6, 2014
Granted, regular readers have heard me raise alarms over the impending demise of net neutrality and the negative impact that will have on the entire field but compared to other topics, the degree of engagement is, shall we say, unenthusiastic. That’s okay, it can seem like a dry and overly geeky topic; fortunately, creative types

Peeling The Onion That Is the Met Budget

Mon, Jun 6, 2014
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The 5/30/2014 edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article by Jennifer Maloney titled New York’s Metropolitan Opera Opens Its Budget Curtain although that’s really a misnomer. Having said that, Maloney’s article manages to peel back the first paper thin layer of the onion that is the Metropolitan Opera (The Met) budget and

A Conversation About Orchestra Musicians, PR, And Change

Fri, May 5, 2014
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There was a terrific comment from a long time reader, Robert Simonds, the other day in response to the post about the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Musician website and communication initiatives. Always the deep thinker, Simonds presents some intriguing points that I took some time to address in a reply (albeit belatedly). It’s a great exchange
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