Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
Are you looking for a nice pick-me-up in the face of what can seem like an otherwise grim arts news cycle? I’ve got just the thing to remind us why other fields look to creatives for ways out of situations where they feel trapped. From what I gather, the recording is live so what you’re hearing is singing through masks (if anyone knows for certain, I’d love to hear from you). …
Along with tracking orchestra manager and musician employment rates here at Adaptistration, I’ve been running a similar survey at ArtsHacker. In addition to a much broader cross section of arts admins, it also measures the impact among independent contractors such as consultants, service providers, practitioners, etc. One fascinating detail to emerge is how much harder independent contractors are getting hit. For example, 20 percent of independent contractors indicated their existing contracts …
With several weeks of data, our weekly employment status polls, which track both orchestra administrators and musicians, are beginning to illustrate trends. Weekly Report Perhaps unsurprisingly, as shutdowns continue, we’re starting to see more shifts in the ratio of workers indicating they are employed at a reduced rate or not at all. Administrators experienced a 30 percent increase toward workers indicating they were working at reduced employment status and/or being furloughed …
One of the most common questions I’m asked by arts admin students is which books they should read to learn about the latest trends in arts management. While that’s a fine endeavor, I usually respond saying there’s far more to learn by talking to as many retired or soon to be retired insiders as possible. The history of this field is poorly documented and much of the knowledge from past generations …
Rainer Glaap has enjoyed a long career as an arts marketing and box office authority. He’s based in Bremen, Germany and although recently retired, that doesn’t seem to be stopping him from being neck deep in one fascinating research project after another. One of his recent endeavors has been studying how much audiences are engaging with the initial round of online streaming offers from traditional cultural institutions. Granted, his subject base …