Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
Arts Journal weblog neighbor, Martha Bayles, published a great little article the other day about how the atmosphere at a typical Cineplex is one of the predominant factors in the declining attendance figures for that industry. Says Martha, “[Will] the new “Star Wars” prequel will reverse the overall decline in theater-going. Surely not! Long before we humble consumers figured out that we were not alone in preferring to watch DVDs at …
Last week’s article entitled There Goes Joe elicited several very passionate responses from readers. Although the issue of executive compensation has been examined here before, it’s certainly a subject worth continued discussion. First, was a response from a senior manager at an ICSOM level orchestra who takes issue with what I wrote in that article as well as several other articles which were published over the recent round of contract negotiations. …
The Partial Observer published an article of mine today which examines some of the techno inspired gadgets musicians use in their professional lives. Even music cases have come a long way in recent years, did you know you can buy a violin or viola case with a Tropicalization upgrade or hidden compartments? And how about having a dedicated pocket for your MP3 player with cut outs for the headphones? Even conductors …
When asked why he robbed banks, bank robber Willie Sutton answered, “Because that’s where the money was.” Sounds like a simple plan and simple plans usually work best (unless you’re like Willie and simply want to break the law). When the orchestra business examines their audience and realizes they need to start attracting a younger demographic they inevitably come to an obvious question, “Where do we find younger ticket buyers?” The …
There was an interesting article in the April 24th edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune by Valerie Scher which examined whether or not is was beneficial to have a number of outside orchestras visit a city which hosts a full time orchestra. The piece does a good job at examining both sides of the equation and has input from a number of different concerned sources. It presents an opinion on the …