www.broadwaynews.com: When you water it all down, there are really only two sides to any business equation: money in, money out.
In passion- and purpose-filled arts and entertainment industries like Broadway, it’s sometimes hard to make space and confront the financial realities that the money-in-money-out forces bring.
8 comments:
As the author mentions, I believe the more interesting aspect (and also requiring more creative solutions) of the theater industry is the ‘money out’ component, especially considering how the creative work directly affects the technical and logistical details. Particularly, at present moment I think the variability of design across shows makes it difficult to predict or create a system of stock goods or methods that will reliably reduce costs in an industry that is also constantly trying to innovate in design. As it relates to labor, regardless of solution, it is essential that those who create the shows are supported to a significant degree such that they are also motivated to innovate and collaborate in order to efficiently and effectively create technical effects for the stage. Lastly, I think a major revenue stream to consider is looking more into capturing of performances (similar to the filming of Hamilton) to expand audiences and create more draw for theater. What is exciting is the live performance, and if we cannot use media and video to demonstrate this excitement, the live component of theater becomes harder to sell, especially for newcomers to theater. This may be one creative solution to expanding the ‘money in’ component of our business.
The conversation to grow revenue to find a way to earn more money to continue to pay the people who want to create and tell these beautiful stories in front of a live audience. How do we solve this problem? Raising ticket prices shrinks the audience that can afford to come and view and in turn diminishes the art that is produced. I also think that the lack of use of the theaters and how often they sit empty eating money not providing work to the actors and technicians is where we can increase revenue. How can theaters utilize the long list of employees and their diverse skill set to provide new experiences, to community outreach projects, partnering with a company to assist in the launch of a new product. We as an industry need to be willing to sift away from our only source of income coming from the shows we produce and donations. How can we utilize the Costume department to offer more sellable goods? How can we utilize the scenic art department to do murals around the city? How could we utilize the carpentry department to assist in providing an offsite experience related to the show? So can we start to offer tours and open seating for a load in call for our audience to see the magic in the theater happen in real time. I think there is an opportunity for theatres to expand away from increased ticket prices to increase incoming revenue. What can we offer to sell to increase revenue?
The situation described in this article feels very realistic. Even beyond Broadway, I see similar challenges in the School of Drama, where students involved in productions frequently face budget constraints. The financial pressures in the broader arts and entertainment industry, especially on Broadway, are even more severe. While theater is an emotionally driven art form, it also requires rational and efficient management to ensure its sustainability. I understand the need for balanced, sustainable solutions that address both sides of the financial equation. Simply raising ticket prices would alienate audiences, particularly those from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Equally pressing is the issue of labor. If we want to foster a diverse and vibrant industry, we cannot ignore the critical issue of creative professionals earning wages below livable levels. The proposed solutions, such as reusing existing infrastructure, finding new revenue streams during off-hours, and expanding into digital experiences, represent innovative ways to rethink traditional business models. Bold, creative solutions are essential to addressing both the financial and human aspects of the theater industry.
I understand that to do big expensive theatre and to KEEP doing big expensive theatre you need to bring in money. However if you keep making tickets and the experience more expensive you alienate a growing population that will never be able to afford them. That becomes then a downturn in younger people able to work in the industry, if they aren't exposed to it why would they dedicate their life to it? I think the authors "money in" ideas are great in theory and could allow for ticket prices to not keep skyrocketing, but I'm curious if this person also understands how much that could cost the show. If you have an experience relevant to the production happening on dark days or hours you're also probably asking crew on that show to be there either paying them overtime or needing to staff people just for those hours. I'm more hesitant with moving toward monetizing the show via digital platforms even more as that could even further push people from being able to consume the media and making and elitist experience.
The pressure to try to be financially solvent is a strong pull. As a business and as a person, the want to not only achieve but exceed your base needs of existing pushes us all to reach that target. Working for a struggling business is hard for the employees because they need to maintain their way of life but if there are stagnating wages, the best workers will make their way to other businesses that will pay them more, leaving a struggling business worse off than before. I think the best course of action to increase the money in for the business. Without raising the ticket prices, to allow more people to see the shows, the companies can explore expanding their audience through virtual performances. An additional stream of income could be tours of the space in various states of shows as their being loaded in and out to not overburden their already busy performing spaces.
This article was such an interesting insight, and also a wake up call, into the finances of Broadway and what must be done to ensure its survival. For so long, I’ve heard people complaining that ticket prices on Broadway are far too high and simultaneously that wages for artists on Broadway are far too low. While both, in my opinion, are very true, this presents a challenge of what to do now. Yes, we’ve acknowledged that there is a major problem with the current Broadway model and in order to survive it has to be addressed but now we’re at the point where steps actually need to be taken. The suggestions that Bazadona has in this article are certainly outside the box, but maybe that’s exactly what Broadway needs if it wants to survive. In a time when the industry and the world is changing so rapidly, maybe Broadway needs to change with it.
At CMU, we have been immediately told by our instructors that we will never have enough money to do what we want to do and will always go over budget, whether it is a few thousand or many millions. It’s interesting that even on Broadway, they seem to never have enough money. This also makes me wonder whether I will be compensated if I work in theater. I am currently the most interested in touring and concerts, but it would also be incredible to be a Broadway designer, but landing such a job seems like luck and being in the right place at the right time. I guess we will have to see! The article talks about new ideas for revenue streams, such as having something in the theaters during the morning and midday or on nights when no shows are running. I wish they could just build bigger theaters, but it not’s exactly like there’s many open plots of land hanging around in Manhattan. Typical Broadway theaters only hold around 500 people which is absurdly tiny. And they have an average of 2 million empty seats per year with about 85% to 90% capacity every show. Maybe they could offer a few people the chance to buy an extra ticket for 75% or half off just to fill in those last few seats.
For an industry that relies on its people, it sure treats its people horribly. Everything that was said in this article made me think about my future in this industry when it hasn’t even begun. As an industry, we are incredibly resourceful and it kills me to think that we could be doing better or collaborating more between theatres to lesson costs but that we’re not because of stubbornness or other trivial reasons. I think it is long past time to start thinking about ways to bring theatre, especially Broadway, into a new era where things can actually be sustainable in both workers, wages, and supplies. I wonder how often theatres collaborate with one another because the article made it seem like they didn’t and I wonder how much costs could go down if they did start collaborating and sharing data. The author is right in saying that what goes around comes around and eventually, if things don’t change soon, our industry will not be able to ignore the problem of money any longer and by then things will be too late.
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