Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Orchestras Don’t Survive On Earned Income. In Other News, The Sky Is Blue

Thu, Nov 11, 2016
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The 11/15/2016 edition of the New York Times published an article by Michael Cooper that examines a recent report form the League of American Orchestras announcing most orchestras rely more on unearned then earned income. Unearned income includes revenue not directly related to a consumer paying for a service, such as donations, investment income and

How Many Words Is This Picture Worth?

Wed, Nov 11, 2016
Although the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and its musicians returned to mediated bargaining at the beginning of the month, those talks have yet to produce enough momentum to prevent additional event cancellations. Case in point, the organization announced the latest round of cancellations for events through Monday, 12/5/2016. Since both sides agreed to a media

non divisi On Hiatus

Tue, Nov 11, 2016
Adaptistration People 102
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) concertmaster, Frank Almond, was one of the first new voices introduced at InsideTheArts.com via his blog, non divisi. His very first post was from January 7, 2008 and since then, he has been a bold voice when examining difficult issues and providing unique insights from a stakeholder role that often treads

What Do Managers Do During A Work Stoppage? Development Departments

Mon, Nov 11, 2016
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Recently, a reader reached out via email to ask what orchestra managers do during a work stoppage and as it turns out, we’ve never examined that topic so there’s no time better than the present to rectify that oversight. Like most topics within orchestra administration, this issue is impacted by a number of variables such

The Election’s Impact On Labor Relations

Fri, Nov 11, 2016
Adaptistration People 131
Although there will likely be no shortage of post-election bear traps springing up for the field, one area worth keeping a close eye on is labor relations. We tend to spend most of our time here focusing on the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) but one of the other labor unions which wields a degree

“Despair Is No Answer”

Thu, Nov 11, 2016
Adaptistration People 136
Today’s title comes from the closing paragraph of David Remnick’s 11/9/2016 New Yorker article and I wanted to take a moment to examine the full excerpt. But despair is no answer. To combat authoritarianism, to call out lies, to struggle honorably and fiercely in the name of American ideals—that is what is left to do.

Link Love Wednesday

Wed, Nov 11, 2016
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The thought of writing an article for the day after the election seemed a bit overwhelming but it dawned on me that I haven’t posted any sort of formal link love style post in quite some time. Consequently, it is high time to rectify that oversight so here’s what has been catching my attention as

There’s Unique And There’s Unique

Tue, Nov 11, 2016
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The 11/4/2016 edition of The Los Angeles Times published an article by Michael Hiltzik that examines the growing labor dispute at the Pacific Symphony. Currently, both sides appear to be approaching a work stoppage and the musicians have warned that if they are unable to reach a new agreement, they could declare a strike as

Bracing For Impact

Mon, Nov 11, 2016
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Simply put, tomorrow’s election scares the living daylights out of me. But as President Obama says, ‘Don’t boo. Vote!’ and that’s precisely what I hope everyone plans on doing tomorrow, if you haven’t done so already. But in an effort to keep the anxiety at bay, I decided to occupy my mind with mindless, but

Adaptistration Turns 13

Fri, Nov 11, 2016
Technically, yesterday marked Adaptistration’s thirteen-year anniversary, and what a year it’s been! According to data compiled by Google Analytics, here’s what happened. Audience New readers increased by 14 percent, one percent more than the previous year. Although the 25-34 age group comprise the majority of readers, the 35-44 age group increased their ratio by 25
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