Public Policy, creative industries
Ian Hawthorne
Frameworks for Understanding Cultural Policy: ...

This article analyzes Ireland’s emerging position as a global cultural policy case study, focusing on the Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) program and its place within the national framework Culture 2025. While Ireland’s consensus-driven political system, strong arts advocacy networks, and history of support for artist income have enabled an ambitious, research-oriented basic income pilot, the article highlights deeper tensions within cultural policymaking. Drawing on Stephen Hadley’s concept of “cultural policy realism,” it argues that Ireland’s policies—despite their novelty—remain rooted in traditional, instrumentalist views of culture as an economic engine and national branding tool. By contrasting democratization of culture with cultural democracy, the piece situates Ireland’s model between innovation and reversion, emphasizing the need for sustained experimentation, critical evaluation, and more genuinely democratic approaches to cultural support.

Frameworks for Understanding Cultural Policy: Lessons from the Irish Model
Gamification, Research, Artificial Intelligence
Staff Researcher
Part II - The Role of AI in Evolving Game ...

This study advances Part II by translating Scopely’s strategy into an execution plan across three tracks - NPC innovation, intelligent monetization, and ethical LiveOps - supported by new evidence from a 1,159-response consumer survey, nine expert interviews (developers, influencers, and experiential professionals), and secondary industry research. Part I established the market context for AI’s disruptive potential and identified three priorities: live operations evolution, commerce optimization, and advanced player analytics. The goal of this phase is to pinpoint the highest-leverage AI applications that deepen gameplay engagement, convert payment resistance through demonstrated value, and safeguard community trust. Accordingly, Part II outlines actionable playbooks (context-aware NPCs and adaptive narratives), platform tactics (purchase-aligned mobile personalization and cross-play integration), and operational models (behavior-based matchmaking and transparency protocols) designed to drive scalable, technology-led growth while preserving the integrity of shared human play.

Part II - The Role of AI in Evolving Game Ecosystems and Player Dynamics
Artificial Intelligence, entertainment, Research
Staff Researcher
Part I - Beyond the Screen: The Role of AI in ...

This study provides a comprehensive analysis for Scopely to enhance its position as a leader in interactive and mobile gaming, focusing on AI integration in live operations, in-game commerce, and player analytics. The research reveals the urgent need for gaming companies to navigate accelerated AI adoption and evolving player expectations for personalized experiences. The goal is to identify the most impactful AI applications over the next three years and strategies that maximize engagement and monetization while maintaining player trust. Significant to this goal is balancing innovation with ethical considerations, including data privacy and transparency, while recognizing AI's potential to enhance storytelling and create immersive experiences. Employing a mixed-methods approach with industry interviews, a survey of over 1,000 U.S. gamers, and secondary research, Part I establishes the foundation for understanding AI's transformative impact - setting the stage for Part II's empirical findings and strategic recommendations.

Part I - Beyond the Screen: The Role of AI in Evolving Game Ecosystems and Player Dynamics
News & Announcements, museums
Hales Wilson
Byte-Sized Culture: The Art of Stealing

A daylight robbery at the Musée du Louvre in mid-October resulted in the theft of eight priceless pieces from the French Crown Jewels housed in the Galerie d’Apollon. The incident now serves as an in-depth analysis for arts leaders globally to confront not only external threats, like highly organized professional thieves, but also the complex, internal risk of compromised staff and the urgent need to re-evaluate their security posture, technological investment, and institutional accountability.

Byte-Sized Culture: The Art of Stealing
entertainment, Extended Reality, Digital Futures
Staff Researcher
The Use of Immersive Technology in Live Music: ...

As immersive technologies redefine the live concert experience, artists and virtual idols alike are transforming how audiences engage with music. From Hatsune Miku’s “holographic” performances powered by projection and LED technologies to VR concerts by creators like BlackGryph0n and Gorillaz, extended reality (XR) is blurring the lines between physical and digital performance. This article explores the evolution of Vocaloid software, the artistry behind digital concerts, and the growing influence of augmented and virtual reality in live music. As AR and VR become more accessible, musicians and fans alike are discovering new ways to connect—reshaping what it means to perform, attend, and experience music in the digital age.

The Use of Immersive Technology in Live Music: Vocaloid, Digital Concerts and XR Implementation

How Can Google Analytics Help Your Arts Organization Increase Your Audience?

How Can Google Analytics Help Your Arts Organization Increase Your Audience?

Many arts organizations are constantly struggling to both bring in new patrons as well as maintain engagement among their existing base. Unfortunately, research shows that this hurdle is not going to disappear anytime soon due to a number of factors, as arts attendance has been on a steady decline in recent decades. Fortunately, Google Analytics gives arts managers the power to answer questions about their current audience demographics based on website traffic in order to both understand demographic trends and how best to target new audiences.

Are Subscriptions Dead?

Are Subscriptions Dead?

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.

Utilizing Data Through Search Engine Optimization

Utilizing Data Through Search Engine Optimization

Is your arts organization maximizing it’s potential for earned income?  You may be missing out on a huge opportunity for revenue generated by your website and social media  if you are not closely monitoring your position in online search results.  For arts organizations in the 21st century, maximizing the return on investment of digital campaigns is not a matter of creating the best website, but in mastering the art of search engine optimization (SEO).

News Roundup: How Digital Distribution is Changing Forms

News Roundup: How Digital Distribution is Changing Forms

Every week, AMT-Lab contributors share articles on interesting news at the intersection of technology and arts management. Recently, this practice has generated lots of articles dealing with the distribution of art online. Using the Internet as the platform, museums and artists are spreading their work worldwide.

An Introduction to RFID Technology

An Introduction to RFID Technology

Radio Frequency identification technology (RFID) is nothing new, and many museums are already using it for inventory and security of their pieces. If organizations already have the technology, there are boundless opportunities as to how they can use it to increase efficiency and enhance the visitor’s experience. But how does this new technology work?

Big Data, Big Jobs

Big Data, Big Jobs

Data workers are the new must-have for a company. McKinsey Global Institute predicts that in the next three years, there will be a need for 1.5 million data analysts and managers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists these careers as one of the fastest growing occupations in all sectors. So from a data analyst to a business analyst to an application analyst to a data scientist, who is who? And with overlapping skills, how can a nonprofit arts organization figure out the difference? 

21st Century Lessons from Capacity Interactive's Digital Marketing Bootcamp

21st Century Lessons from Capacity Interactive's Digital Marketing Bootcamp

Guest Correspondent Randolph Jones of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival attended Capacity Interactive's 2015 Digital Marketing and left elated and hopeful. The conference focused on the intersection of technology, marketing, and the arts and featured presenters from across the sector. To learn more about what these presenters had to say, and to see what insight Jones draws himself, read the full article here.

Why Your Arts Organization Should Use Google Analytics

Why Your Arts Organization Should Use Google Analytics

Arts organizations today face a host of challenges, ranging from traditional issues like budgetary constraints and limited staff to more recent concerns, such as shifting patron demographics and increased market disruption caused by the social media frenzy. How can Google Analytics solve these problems, and more? Read Kathleen Grennan's guide here.

What Motivates YOUR Audience?

What Motivates YOUR Audience?

Earlier this year the NEA expanded its analysis of the 2012 Survey of Public Participation in the field to better understand the drivers behind various types of participation, from attendance to art-making. This study, entitled "When the Going Gets Tough," not only provides insight into what barriers affect different types of audiences, but also reveals that there is a significant core group of "interested non-attendees."  

Operatic Analytics

Operatic Analytics

It is easy to see the ways that the production and consumption of opera have changed to match the needs of the 21st century consumer.  However, it is difficult to identify similar changes reflected in the way that opera is managed. Opera companies have altered the product they are offering, but have they come up with new metrics to measure and manage their success? 

What Leaders Should be Measuring: Six New Metrics from TRG Arts

What Leaders Should be Measuring: Six New Metrics from TRG Arts

Between CRM systems, social media management, and Google Analytics, arts organizations today have access to more data than ever before. Indeed, this unprecedented access has allowed for arts leaders to measure their performance more accurately and holistically than in the past. But in this ever expanding sea of data, how does an arts leader decide what information is the most important to focus on extrapolating trends on?

Intro to Beacons for Arts Managers

Intro to Beacons for Arts Managers

Connecting the real and digital worlds, beacons will prove to be excellent pieces not only for marketing and general propaganda about your specific location, but as informational tools in your local museum or performing arts company. Beacons focus on the consumer, the integral part to any organization regardless of industry. So far, beacons are most common in the retail world, but they can easily be transferable into other industries, like the arts. That’s why you’re here today. Beacons could transform your organization, and I’m here to navigate you through this process in an understandable way.

Multi-Touch Technology and the Museum: An Introduction

Multi-Touch Technology and the Museum: An Introduction

Touchscreens have altered the way we interact with our world. From scrolling through our Facebook newsfeed, to picking up tickets at the airport kiosk, we use this technology on a daily basis. Today museums around the world are embracing this tool as a way to promote interactive learning. Multi-touch technology, in particular, can create an interactive and collaborative learning environment. But what exactly is multi-touch technology?  

New Publication: Silicon Valley Struggle

New Publication: Silicon Valley Struggle

In the 21st century, wealth is beginning to concentrate in new fields like technology as opposed to traditional industries. With this in mind, how can arts organizations go about soliciting financial support from this new class of wealthy-elite? This white paper by Jennifer Moreci answers this question by looking at current patterns in philanthropy and specific strategies for engaging donors in Silicon Valley. Read the full report here.

SecondSundaySurvey: Trends in Digital Video Consumption

SecondSundaySurvey: Trends in Digital Video Consumption

More and more arts organizations are investing in digital video production as a means of engaging audiences who want to know more about arts programming.  These audiences connect across a spectrum of devices, so knowing how audiences consume video will help organizations create the best format for engagement. A new survey conducted by Ooyala illuminates these patterns and provides vital insight to the conversation surrounding video distribution.

How Technology Can Support Artistic Collaborations

How Technology Can Support Artistic Collaborations

As technology continues to shrink the world we live in by bridging communities across the globe, collaborations between artists separated by space are becoming more common. In this white paper, AMT Lab contributor Nora Fleury looks at the ways new technologies are influencing this increased collaboration. With a specific focus on team communication applications and cloud-based document sharing systems, this is a useful resource for managers struggling to foster communication between artists separated by geography. Click here for the full report. 

#TBT Back to School Edition: Arts, Technology and Education

#TBT Back to School Edition: Arts, Technology and Education

Now that summer is officially over and autumn is upon us, AMT Lab is taking a look forward to this exciting school year, and taking a look back at all of our content centered around the intersection of arts, technology, and education. From MOOC’s, to mobile technologies in schools, we've always been interested in the way technology allows educators and students to connect.

#SundaySurvey Mobile Tech and the Changing Workforce

#SundaySurvey Mobile Tech and the Changing Workforce

Arts organizations spend a considerable amount of time discussing how to attract the millennial audience. Equally significant is how to attract the millennial employee.  Attracting digital natives to any aspect of your organization requires understanding their assumptions for connectivity.  A recent survey sponsored by DOMO and CEO.com proves what one might guess from observation – digital natives expect “a mobile-first workplace”

Data, Distribution, and Emerging Forms: A New Year at AMT-Lab

Data, Distribution, and Emerging Forms: A New Year at AMT-Lab

AMT-Lab is back from our much needed vacation! I hope that you have all had a great summer. As the incoming Chief Editor of AMT-Lab, I am looking forward to a year of sharing content that explores new tools, emerging trends, and organizational case studies at the intersection of arts and technology.