The power of blogging
Sun, Jan 1, 2004
by Drew McManus
One of my adult piano students tipped me off to a recent episode of Meet the Press, where one of the discussion topics was the effectiveness of blogs in politics. Although I missed the episode, I did visit the Meet the Press web site and dug up some of their articles about blogging. In particular,
A new audience in Toronto and Nashville
Fri, Jan 1, 2004
by Drew McManus
I recently found two orchestras that are actively implementing an idea that I’ve been advocating here for awhile: marketing to the under 30 demographic. Conventional wisdom in this industry states that it isn’t worthwhile to market toward a demographic that is expensive to attract and notoriously fickle in their tastes. But I don’t always buy
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Thu, Jan 1, 2004
by Drew McManus
I received an email the other day from a friend of mine that plays in solid, Midwest orchestra. She was complaining that they recently had an orchestra wide meeting with management where the Marketing Director was promoting a new audience development initiative to the musicians. Essentially, the initiative called for each player to be responsible
More on Orchestra Radio
Wed, Jan 1, 2004
by Drew McManus
It’s truly a small business. Just last week I wrote a blog about orchestras owning radio stations, in turn a reader pointed me in the direction of KING-fm classical radio in Seattle . After getting in touch with the radio station for information, I was contacted by Bob Goldfarb the KING-fm program director, and another
Considering an Arts Administration degree?
Wed, Jan 1, 2004
by Drew McManus
Then you should go out of your way to obtain a copy of: Joe Maddy of Interlochen, by Norma Lee Browning. Published in 1963 by Henry Regnery Company, Chicago, IL. Even if you’re not considering an arts degree, you should read this book to learn about how an arts organization can start from nothing,
Reader Response: A Student’s view on ticket price
Tue, Jan 1, 2004
by Drew McManus
It’s funny how quickly we forget what our lives were like in our younger years. Recently I’ve been criticizing the industry for high ticket prices that exclude many young patrons. Several orchestra administrators have written in to remind me that their orchestras (as do most) offer student rush tickets for around the cost of a
Making better musicians for today and tomorrow
Mon, Jan 1, 2004
by Drew McManus
Historically, most orchestra musicians take a very passive role in how their orchestra functions; artistically, and administratively. They play the music and administrators make the decisions, end of story. But one orchestra has taken a large step toward moving musicians from passive to active participants. The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra recently underwent a massive transformation
I’m not the only one complaining about prices
Sat, Jan 1, 2004
by Drew McManus
I just ran across this article in the NY Times by John Rockwell entitled Turn-Ons: Classical Concerts. Turnoffs: Sticker-Shock Tickets. We seem to have similar opinions about the inflated cost of orchestra tickets. Here’s a teaser: “Museums attract the young because people know they are a good deal: low prices for everyone, and once
Reader Response: Talk is cheap, tickets aren’t
Sat, Jan 1, 2004
by Drew McManus
I received quite a few responses from orchestra managers challenging my point of view regarding the recent article about orchestra ticket prices . One of which came from Curt Long, the Executive Director for the Dayton Philharmonic…
Talk is cheap, tickets aren’t
Thu, Jan 1, 2004
by Drew McManus
Audience development is a big issue in this industry. Attendance is down, younger patrons are harder to attract, and subscription series are getting increasingly difficult to sell. In addition to all of the cultural, social, and marketing issues involved with this problem, I think a widely overlooked area is the cost of single tickets… Kennedy Center
