For years we have heard about the decline of subscription sales and revenue across the arts. TCG’s Theatre Facts 2014, for example, showed how “both single ticket and subscription sales were at a 5-year low in 2014.” Subscriptions specifically declined by 6%. However, according to a new study commissioned by the League of American Orchestras and conducted by the Oliver Wyman consulting firm, perhaps the issue is not subscriptions themselves, but the manner in which we have traditionally packaged and sold them.
Tell us how you really feel - AMT Lab 2015 Reader Poll
Hello AMT Lab Readers!
With another year of research, reviews, interviews, and more almost completed, we wanted to take a moment to ask about your needs and about what content you'd like to see more of in the future. Please consider taking a moment to complete our 2015 Reader Poll, either below or on the home page so we can better serve your needs.
Tweet Seat Roundup
Love them or hate them, more and more arts organizations are experimenting with tweet seats. For the uninitiated, tweet seats are a designated section of the audience where traditional etiquette rules are bent. Use of devices in this special section is not only allowed, it is encouraged. This roundup features several AMT Lab articles on tweet seats, exploring how organization have managed both their challenges and opportunities.
News Summary 01.2015
What's on Your Phone, AMT Lab Contributors?
As we bid many of our contributors farewell and welcome a new group of writers with the beginning of the semester, we decided to ask our writers, What's on Your Phone?
Read the full article here.
AMT Lab on Hiatus
We’ve had a fantastic semester of contributor research on diverse topics ranging from Google for Nonprofits, to Museums’ efforts and challenges exhibiting New Media art. AMT Lab will be on hiatus until January 5th to celebrate the holiday season, but we have a lot of exciting plans for the new year that we wanted to quickly share with you:
Welcome to AMT Lab!
Hello readers!
As the new Chief Editor of AMT Lab, I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself. I’ve long inhabited the role so familiar to readers of our blog – that of the “accidental techie.” Whether in my personal or professional life, my enthusiasm for all things tech has given me ample experience solving both hardware and software issues, as well as a healthy appetite for tech news. Last year, AMT Lab allowed me to feed my dual passions of art and technology, and I’m honored and excited to be taking over as Chief Editor from the incredible Katherine Schouten.
Based on the results of our 2014 reader poll, I have worked with the staff to create our research areas for the year. From these frameworks and our current contributor’s areas of interest, we’ve settled on a diverse set of material to serve your needs. Over the next few months, contributors will research their specific area of interest and share their insights as they progress.
Present vs. Future Return on CRM Selection: Lessons from the Pallas Theatre Collective
When adopting a CRM system, especially as a young organization, it is often better to enter the process with a view that focuses less on the expectation of immediate business returns and more on making an investment in the future. Indeed, even the implementation of a user-friendly system like Artful.ly or PatronManager will likely involve significant staff-hours to clean data, transfer files, and train users. During a recent series of interviews conducted with nano-nonprofit administrators either on the verge or in the midst of CRM implementation, ensuring that this huge productivity drain is a one-time occurrence and not a recurring nightmare emerged as a common concern.
Artful.ly Unchained: Have Nano-Nonprofits Found the CRM of Their Dreams?
On October 21st, 2013, Fractured Atlas officially ended the beta phase of their cloud-based CRM solution, Arful.ly. Over 1,400 organizations participated in this five-year process, characterized by what the Fractured Atlas team called “community-driven design.” Harnessing the collective wisdom of organizations and arts professionals, they took suggestions both online and through a number of sessions, soliciting ideas for features to include in the finished version.
Research Update: Security and the Cloud
When it comes to the cloud, security is a widespread concern across sectors. According to a recent survey, conducted by Lockheed Martin and the Cyber Security Alliance, security was listed as the top concern by Government IT decision makers, despite overall increasing adoption of cloud technology. Security is a multifaceted issue, ranging from the above example concerning what rights are retained when information is uploaded to the cloud, to more classical issues involving data theft. The basic fact is that when organizations take their data into the cloud they are ceding day-to-day control of that data. Though they can access it and share it at will, they typically will have no idea in which physical datacenter, or even in which country, their files are currently stored. Users must rely on the provider to not just manage their data responsibly, and to prevent loss of their data through hardware failure, but to keep their data encrypted and inaccessible to unauthorized users.
Research Update: Is IaaS Right for Everyone?
Last month I gave a general overview of the wide variety of services that fall under the umbrella of “the cloud.” Since then I’ve focused on Infrastructure as a Service, or IaaS, one of the three major cloud subcategories and a topic that can be rather intimidating, due to the plethora of technical specifications providers use to distinguish themselves from the competition. Looming larger than the question of which specific provider to use—a topic well-covered by many expert reviewers—is the question of whether undertaking a transition from a more traditional server infrastructure to an IaaS model is a good idea for arts organizations, especially when it comes to small organizations with limited resources.
Research Update: What is the Cloud and Why Should My Arts Organization Use It?
According to a recent report from the Consumer Electronics Association, a stunning 96% of U.S. adults use cloud services. However 36% of those surveyed couldn’t define the cloud, and only 19% said they “know a lot about the cloud.” Cloud computing has become quietly ubiquitous, and almost everyone has daily interaction with cloud services, even if they don’t know it, in the form of social networks, webmail, and content providers such as Netflix and iTunes.