Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Can. Of. Worms. (in a good way)

Thu, May 5, 2016
Can of Worms
Yesterday’s post about entrepreneurship courses running the risk of becoming the Second Great Lie Of Academia generated a considerable amount of interest. I can’t recall the last time so many readers from such a diverse cross section took the time to reach out directly via email and private social media messages. Long story short, there’s

The Second Great Lie Of Academia

Wed, May 5, 2016
Adaptistration People 150
At the beginning of April, we conducted a poll asking readers what they thought about the numbers of students graduating with music performance degrees. With more than 500 responses, the vast majority of readers, 73 percent, indicated that conservatories and schools of music produce too many classical music performance graduates. 18 percent indicated the numbers

Catch The Podcasting Wave

Tue, May 5, 2016
Adaptistration People 049
Although they have been around for more than a decade, podcasts have proven to be one of those digital mediums with sticking power. But if you don’t know how to go about creating and distributing your content, you can end up with a great idea that may end up doing more harm than good. Fortunately,

Hey Foundations: Here’s A Great Idea For Your Next Project

Mon, May 5, 2016
Adaptistration People 198
In the summer of 2015, the rural Swiss village of Graubunden launched a unique marketing campaign designed to pull more tourist traffic from cities to their mountain village (h/t Samantha Teter). Remarkably straightforward, it leveraged real-time streaming technology and the value of one-to-one connections over traditional passive advertisements. It features a digital kiosk with a local

Orchestra Compensation Reports Haikus

Fri, May 5, 2016
Adaptistration People 164
Most of us aren’t poets but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stretch our creative legs every now and then by writing some prose. And with the task of sifting through 65 orchestra IRS form 990s to extract data for June’s orchestra compensation reports at hand, it seemed fitting to revel in a bit of creativity

If Providing Company Cell Phones Has Been Too Expensive, Take A Look At Google’s Project Fi

Thu, May 5, 2016
Project Fi
A few weeks ago, we conducted a poll asking arts managers and artists if their employer provided a company cell phone/plan. Just over 200 readers replied with an 80/20 split between managers and artists and perhaps unsurprisingly, the poll confirmed that the vast majority do not receive a company cell phone. But there’s more to

Trump Not Interested In Supporting Philharmonic Board Chair

Wed, May 5, 2016
WMTS The Donald
Long before he was the GOP presumptive nominee, The Donald was a gag for one of Who’s Minding The Score? comics. At the time, no one working on the strip had an inkling that the person selected* to exemplify a stereotypical rich d-bag would end up where he is today. The strip features a bunch of

Lessons From The Give Local America Day Kimbia SNAFU Are A Work In Progress

Tue, May 5, 2016
Adaptistration People 082
In the wake of events following the Give Local America Day calamity that saw the entire program grind to a halt at mid-day and leave thousands of donors and nonprofits stranded, there is no shortage of commentary. Details surrounding why the web based payment platform collapsed are scant and the online fundraising and crowdfunding platform

Reinforcing The Ethical Significance Of Board Stewardship

Mon, May 5, 2016
Adaptistration People 065
For those of you following the tragic circumstances at Healing Arts Initiative (HAI), this weekend uncovered news that casts an even darker tone to the already tragic situation. If you are new to the details, HAI’s former bookkeeper, Kim Williams, allegedly orchestrated an attack against the organization’s executive director, Rev. D. Alexandra Dyer, that materialized

Why Do Things That Seem So Simple End Up Being So Difficult?

Fri, May 5, 2016
Adaptistration People 026
You copy some text from one document and try to paste it into another. It seems like such a simple task but far too often, it can turn into a frustrating time suck; especially when you’re trying to paste that copy into an online publishing platform for your website. Fortunately, there are some tools you
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