Another Major Newspaper Critic Position Enters Limbo
Wed, Jul 7, 2015
by Drew McManus
Continuing the decade-long trend of traditional newspapers eliminating cultural reporters, the Dallas Morning News may eliminate the full time music critic position following the departure of the current professional occupying that spot, Scott Cantrell. Cantrell recently accepted a buyout from the paper and ArtAndSeek.net published an article on 7/28/2015 by Jerome Weeks that details the
New Feature: Comment Rating
Tue, Jul 7, 2015
by Drew McManus
The title says it all today, there’s a new reader feature in the form of comment ratings; meaning, you’ll be able to up/down vote individual comments. It’s super simple to use, at the bottom of each respective comment, you’ll find a thumbs up and thumbs down icons along with a total count for each. Now
Activate Search Tracking: Another Change To Google Analytics Anyone Can Do (and everyone should)
Mon, Jul 7, 2015
by Drew McManus
Knowing what visitors are searching for at your site is one of the most useful metrics you have to tweak content, adjust navigation architecture, and improve conversion but by default, Google Analytics (GA) does not track visitor searches. So even though you may notice the default menu item for Site Search via your Reporting admin
Automate Your Audition Scheduling
Fri, Jul 7, 2015
by Drew McManus
Not long ago, I began offering Venture Platform users a reservation function via our e-commerce platform that also serves as an ideal tool for arts orgs to use for automating much of the audition scheduling process (including notifications, confirmations, and even changes). Even though it’s designed as an e-commerce function, it can be used in
Knowing When You Shouldn’t Get Involved
Thu, Jul 7, 2015
by Drew McManus
One of the most frequent reader questions coming in from musicians is “do you ever write about [insert musician oriented topic here]?” By and large, although the topic may be fascinating it really doesn’t have much impact from an administrator’s point of view and unless its byproduct becomes something to be attended to administratively (such
Using Pay-As-You-Wish Pricing To Self-Correct Artificially Inflated Ticket Prices
Wed, Jul 7, 2015
by Drew McManus
WQXR Blog published an article by Brian Wise on 7/21/2015 that examines Pay-As-You-Wish ticket pricing for classical music concerts, which was recently implemented in the U.K. via the Hallé Orchestra. Although it is doubtful that Pay-As-You-Wish pricing will become any sort of mainstream ticket strategy, it does serve as a worthwhile conduit for continued examination
Please, Pretty Please, Stop Damaging Everyone’s Eyesight With Small Font Sizes
Tue, Jul 7, 2015
by Drew McManus
H/T to Thomas Cott for inspiring this latest entry into what seems to be an ongoing rant regarding font size. No, I’m not complaining about Cott’s font sizes, his are terrific, but one of the articles at arts.gov included in his latest newsletter made me realize that there continue to be far too many arts
Atlanta Sees A Sliver Of Sunshine
Mon, Jul 7, 2015
by Drew McManus
The 7/16/2015 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an article by Howard Prousner that reports on some good news for the beleaguered Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in the form of an undisclosed six figure surplus for the 2014/15 season that started off with a nine week lockout. Though final fiscal 2015 figures will not be
So Many Fantastic New Openings
Fri, Jul 7, 2015
by Drew McManus
If you haven’t checked in at Adaptistration Jobs in a bit then you’re missing out; there have been more than a dozen new openings listed in the past two weeks alone and among those are some positions in historically coveted departments, such as the Milwaukee Symphony’s Director of Operations. Additionally, you’ll find listings throughout symphonic,
Why You Should Be Paying Attention To The Ongoing Worker Status Debate
Thu, Jul 7, 2015
by Drew McManus
Although it doesn’t get very much attention, how orchestras define employees, both on-stage and administrative, has a large impact on its operations and expense structure and one of the hot button political issues taking shape in the upcoming presidential election is how employers go about classifying workers either as independent contractors or employees. At the
