I received a call from a musician a few days ago who was very upset about a situation in their orchestra. The frustration in this person’s voice was almost palpable, even over the telephone. The problem had to do with some contradictory evidence about ticket sales. This particular player is currently volunteering as a musician representative to their orchestra’s marketing department and as such, they attend regular marketing committee meetings.
The musician explained that according to the information they were receiving in those meetings, the organization has been performing at 108% of their projected ticket sales. When I pointed out that reaching 108% of your projected sales expectations was a good thing, that’s when the player almost leapt out of their skin and said “Yes, but the hall is rarely filled at more than 60%!”…