Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Just The Sort Of Thing To Help You Stay On Track

Thu, Sep 9, 2020
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I published an article at ArtsHacker yesterday pointing to something written by researcher Victor Yocco that provides exactly the sort of thing arts marketers need right now: effectively design to gain and hold attention for digital products. He had me at an overview of transient and sustained attention. The ArtsHacker articles covers some the highlights

Another Step Toward Monetizing Socially Distanced In-Person Concert Events

Wed, Sep 9, 2020
Jim Farber has been following classical music organizations making the leap from testing free in-person socially distanced events to those that are strictly admission based. His latest article in the 9/14/2020 edition of the sfcv.org examines Mainly Mozart’s efforts over the summer that have evolved into a sort of live concert terrarium testing environment. The

Shop Talk S01E03: Deconstructing Silos

Tue, Sep 9, 2020
In the beginning when Artsgod created nonprofit administration, the org chart was a formless void of jack-of-all-trades that covered the face of the deep. Then Artsgod said, “Let there be light” and there was light. Artsgod saw that the light was good; and he separated marketing from development. Artsgod called the light earned income and

In the Age Of COVID, Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention

Mon, Sep 9, 2020
Orchestras that aren’t shuttered through 2021 face a similar challenge in that they need to identify venues that meet local, state, and national safety guidelines. The trouble with that is many don’t own their own facility and as the Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra recently learned, an owner can pull the rug out from under you

Perspective And Pushback To Tommasini’s Commentary On Blind Auditions

Fri, Sep 9, 2020
The 9/10/2020 edition of New York Times published a follow-up article to the opinion piece written by Anthony Tommasini in paper’s 7/16/2020 publication. The follow-up is intriguing in that if contains several noteworthy perspectives. The best rejoinders came from groups of respondents. The first, Weston Sprott (recent Shop Talk guest), Alex Laing, Joy Payton-Stevens, and

Indianapolis Symphony Reaches Short Term Deal

Thu, Sep 9, 2020
When we last examined the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) back in July 2020, things were looking grim; the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was expiring in a few months and there was a protracted dispute over back pay and health care benefits. Since then, the organization announced cancelling the entire 20/21 season and fast forward

Woo-Hoo Early Studies Support Digital Content Value

Wed, Sep 9, 2020
Now that groups have been experimenting with the world of digital content delivery, we’re starting to see initial studies emerge measuring effectiveness. Ceci Dadisman published an article at ArtsHacker that examines one such study from a special edition of Culture Track that demonstrates patrons find digital content to be valuable. She also examines some specific

After Five Months, Orchestra Stakeholders Have Seen Big Changes In Employment Status

Tue, Sep 9, 2020
Since the onset of coronavirus related shutdowns, orchestras have been laying off and reducing hours for administrators and musicians alike. We started measuring that impact in April 2020 using a weekly poll and after five months, the field has experienced various degrees of retraction. Stakeholder Groups Administrators. This group includes all staffers and managers as well

Happy Labor Day! If There Was Ever A Time To Get Your Binge On…

Mon, Sep 9, 2020
Take a moment to treat yourself today and get to learn about ins and outs of orchestra management from a humorous perspective by binge-reading all 157 episodes of  Who’s Minding The Score?, a satirical cartoon that provides a behind the scenes look orchestra life. It’s the ideal way to spend some of your Labor Day, really, just take

Shop Talk Last Call: Board Diversity

Fri, Sep 9, 2020
Grab a cocktail and strap in, we’re going to talk about board diversity with S01E02 guests Weston Sprott and Jason Haaheim. This segment produced a number of memorable quotes: “Power sharing, that’s really what this conversation is all about.” “It’s the modern equivalent of Papal Indulgences.” “Normal led to this, I’m not sure we want
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