With little success in larger-scale government oversight so far, it begs the question: how is the marketplace for DAFs changing and innovating in the response to these singularizing criticisms? Is the market listening and self-correcting as a way to preempt such legislation? Given the broad variety of DAF sponsor organizations, it is evident that the field, while large, is not a monolith and deserves to be measured at its innovative margins. Newer sponsors have revealed themselves to be particularly aware of the controversies yet remain focused on the opportunities these accounts provide and are demonstrating new approaches to DAF sponsorship aimed at greater payout rates and democratization of their platforms.
While institutional philanthropy is in a boom-time, foundations have not monopolized such growth. The renewed interest in donor advised funds (DAF) since the pandemic has triggered meteoric growth in the amount of assets stored in DAFs, with recent figures showing over $229 billion stored across 2 million DAF accounts, receiving roughly $86 billion in annual contributions, and granting nearly $52 billion in 2022.
The use of generative AI (GenAI) tools is becoming increasingly prevalent in marketing, particularly for smaller organizations or nonprofits seeking innovative ways to engage audiences and improve workflow efficiency. This article dives into data collected through a survey that was sent out to museum professionals in Pittsburgh and Cleveland to better understand how and if they are utilizing generative AI tools in their marketing strategies.
This month, music and film are at the forefront as each battles with the future uses for burgeoning tech. While AI-generated film visuals seem to be coming up short, progress toward realistic AI-generated music is starting to send shockwaves. On the consumer side, music streaming tools are being released to allow more listening experience customization. Across the industry, artists are celebrating ways that some these new tools can enhance their work, while speaking out against potential impacts on jobs, compensation, and creative freedom.
Generative AI (GenAI) has become increasingly integrated into marketing and communication careers, and even our daily lives, with the rise of various text-to-image, text-to-video, & text-to-text tools. As digital marketers find new and innovative ways to keep up with the trends, and specifically GenZ in a quick-changing popular culture scene, how are they reacting to the rise of GenAI?
On January 26, 2014, Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music offered a little something extra to its audience both in Pittsburgh and afar: tweet seats. Last summer I wrote an article about tweet seats that provides an overview of decisions that need to be made before implementing this heavily debated audience engagement technique. With this advice in mind, the School of Music set out to define how and why tweet seats might be a good idea for live concerts.
In my last research update, I illustrated some of the most important opportunities and benefits associated with the creation of online audiences. But as arts managers consider how to create these online audiences, they should also be aware of a variety of challenges and potential risks associated with doing so. Here are a few:
An ongoing concern of performing arts managers is the impact of arts participation and engagement programs on creating new audiences. Specifically, arts organizations are concerned as to whether or not their efforts elicit new patrons to attend performances regularly. Concerns exist in particular about the overall impact of engagement programs like simulcasts, wondering if a new audience members are attending these events at all, or if the events are drawing the same group of people that come to staged performances. Furthermore, a growing discomfort exists that opera simulcasts might actually be “cannibalizing sales,” or in other words, reducing ticket sales at live opera performances.
The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) has teamed up with Sydney digital media company Mod Productions to produce a new interactive “virtual orchestra” that is breaking down audience barriers in the music world. The resulting audio-visual installation, “ACO Virtual,” has created the means to bring the Orchestra outside the concert hall and into spaces where the ACO may not perform.
Last month, I introduced the Berlin Philharmonics’ Digital Concert Hall as a best-practice example of creating online audiences by a symphony orchestra. Indeed, we can find orchestras worldwide reaching out for audiences beyond the walls of a traditional concert hall. So let us inspect three of these orchestras—the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and the Philharmonia Orchestra (UK)—and have a closer look at some of the tools they use, how these tools are being implemented, and the resulting opportunities they create.
San Francisco Opera's (SFO) general director David Gockley came to the company in 2006, bringing with him the legacy of free "plazacasts" that he had done at the Houston Grand Opera, his former home. During his first year at the San Francisco Opera, 8,000 people turned up at Civic Center Plaza near the Opera’s home at War Memorial Opera House to watch a simulcast of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. However, Gockley was concerned that there was no method of tracking the conversion of simulcast attendees to ticket buyers, so at the suggestion of a staff member, the simulcasts were moved to the AT&T ballpark.
As a frequent concertgoer and prospective arts manager, I am intrigued by the question of how to create online audiences for symphony orchestras. What does it mean to create such an audience? And moreover, how does an online audience for an orchestra differ from the audience that comes to the concert hall? Or does it?
To tweet seat or not to tweet seat; that’s the question on everyone’s mind. After a rather engaging conversation at the Theatre Communications Group Annual conference in Dallas, I went home thinking about the pros and cons of new technology and how it can be used to engage today’s audience. If our audiences are evolving, why are we still connecting with them in the same manner as the previous generation of administrators?
Last week's Theatre Communications Group conference presented a changing perspective on audience engagement that uses technology. Tweet Seats are definitely on the outs. This 2 post series, however, focuses on the more immersive experience with two organization's successfully engaging their audiences. Their audiences must engage in some if not multiple forms of technology to partake in the theatrical story itself. The two organizations are Dog and Pony DC based in Washington DC and Rude Mechanicals based in Austin. Both use technology before, during and after the show. Dog and Pony DC's company member, Colin K. Bills, presented as part of a panel led by David J. Loehr of twitter handle @2amt (and 2amtheatre.com).
According to Google executives, Google Glass, a new type of high tech glasses, will be released to the public at the end of this year. By bringing heads up display-style views into our daily life, Google’s Glass project will enable users to interact simultaneously with their surroundings and the internet in a dynamic and instant way. An engineer who had the opportunity to try out the Google Glass released a video showcasing how she will use Google Glass in the future:
[embed width="560" height="315"]http://youtu.be/9c6W4CCU9M4[/embed]
The tech giant has set up a competition on Twitter and Google+ to explore potential ways to use the new product and give some lucky winners the shot at owning a pair of Google's glasses. "We're looking for bold, creative individuals who want to join us and be a part of shaping the future of Glass" writes Google. If you don’t think Google Glass will impact Arts Management, you sure might after reading the following 10 interesting ideas posted @Twitter #ifihadglass :
One of the most amazing impacts of Google Glass would be that Google Glass has the ability to offer a new perspective for audiences to appreciate art—from an artist’s perspective. Google Glass enables an artist to record and show the whole process of making an artwork, offering opportunities for audiences to watch every minute change the artist makes in the work. Imagine if Van Gogh had recorded his process from start to finish when he was painting "Sunflower," how amazing it would be if his audience saw how he mixed colors, sketched on canvas, drew lines, or grabbed a painting brush. Everyone is likely to think as an artist if he/she could watch the birth of an artwork from an artist’s eye. I believe that by appreciating artworks from an artist’s perspective, audiences will be moved and surprised by details that cannot be seen from the final artwork, or noticed from curators’ words, since the power of art lies in the creation process more than the final “product”.
