Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

2016/17 Season Is Now Available At The Orchestra 990 Download Library

Mon, Oct 10, 2019
Today’s a good day because all the 2016-2017 season files have been processed and added to the  downloadable Orchestra 990s at the Adaptistration Store. This brings the total number of seasons up to 18. A big thank you to everyone who has already purchased copies and keep in mind, the more you buy, the less it costs

When Was The Last Time You Updated Your Twitter Account Branding?

Fri, Oct 10, 2019
Adaptistration People 131
If you’re like me and use a client like TweetDeck to manage Twitter activity across one or more accounts, it’s not unusual to go weeks or months without actually visiting your Twitter account page. The problem with that is you can inadvertently overlook outdated branding in the header graphic; out of sight, out of mind.

Sick Days

Wed, Oct 10, 2019
I am up to my eyeballs in getting through a summer cold so for the time being, I’m taking today and possibly tomorrow off. For now, I’m going to post some of my upcoming conference appearances, one of which, #20NTC, I was just notified about: Chicago, IL League of Chicago Theaters Click. Click. Done. Must

Art Scars

Tue, Oct 10, 2019
Adaptistration People 134
Recently, violinist Holly Mulcahy published an article at Neo Classical that takes an unfiltered look at the problems with the type of one-way patron communication that dominates the orchestra field. Mulcahy wants to reverse that process by changing how we communicate with our patrons. In the orchestra field we don’t do a fantastic job of

Baltimore Symphony Gets A New Board Chair

Mon, Sep 9, 2019
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In the wake of the acrimonious labor dispute that led to a summer-season killing work stoppage, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) announced that the board chair who led the group through that stakeholder fight is stepping down. While it isn’t unusual to see key leaders depart after the end of a bitter labor dispute, the

Will Gelb’s Tenure Survive The Latest Met Scandal?

Fri, Sep 9, 2019
Adaptistration People 136
In case you aren’t already familiar with the PR crisis unfolding in real-time at Metropolitan Opera, here’s a quick overview: Singer Plácido Domingo, who is facing multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, was scheduled to appear as part of the company’s Macbeth In response to internal and external concerns, Met general manager, Peter Gelb, confirmed Domingo

Today Is Your Last Chance To Register For The ArtsU Data Driven UX Webinar

Thu, Sep 9, 2019
Today is the final day you can register for tomorrow’s Americans for Arts ArtsU webinar on using metrics to refine and enhance your website’s user experience. Better yet, the special discount code A4A set up so non-members can use to reduce the registration fee is still active. About The Webinar Date: Friday, September 27, 2019 Time: 3:00PM

Keep These Marketing Talking Points Handy

Wed, Sep 9, 2019
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Arts marketers spend most of their time thinking about communicating with potential ticket buyers but there are plenty of other points of contact to consider. To that end, there’s a good piece at Muse by Damian Bazadona titled 7 Challenges of Marketing Live Events, Advertising’s High-Wire Act (h/t Scott Silberstein).  While I don’t think it

Baltimore Ratifies One-Year Deal

Mon, Sep 9, 2019
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The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) ratified a new on-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) Monday morning that gets the orchestra back into the hall for rehearsals ASAP. The Baltimore Sun published an article by Mary Carole McCauley and Christina Tkacik with initial details but that information is, at best, vague. On one hand, it appears that

Do We Really Want To Find Out How Much Is Too Much?

Mon, Sep 9, 2019
Adaptistration People 065
William Blake wrote “you never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough” and while that packs plenty of good, it isn’t something you should want when thinking about how far you can push employees beyond a breaking point. Joe Patti published a thought-provoking post last week about the discouraging earning
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