[Dixielandjazz] The "Business" of Music

[Steve barbone]

Not OKOM, but indicative of the "business risks" across the genres. Below is
an "excerpt" from a very long article. Note too that both orchestras in
question are slowly losing audience, just like OKOM bands and events.

My bet would be that the below approach is an irresponsible waste of time
and money. Better to re-invent the musical approach. Better to expand the
audience through appealing to new segments and young people, than to try and
carve out market share gains from an already shrinking market segment.

Just goes to show that Baltimore still gets TOO MUCH MONEY VIA CONTRIBUTIONS
if they are willing to gamble $3 million on a venue near the Kennedy Center.
Better they should be forced to EARN their money the old fashioned way,
before they spend it so wantonly.

IMO, as one who still believes music is a business. Not something to be
blindly subsidized because it is "art".

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

February 7, 2005 NY Times - By DANIEL J. WAKIN

The Baltimore Symphony Expands Its Territory

NORTH BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 6 - Imagine the Philadelphia Orchestra setting up
shop in Montclair, N.J., a quick commuter ride from the New York
Philharmonic.

That is pretty much what the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has done here,
near Washington. The symphony has taken up a prominent residency in
Montgomery County, a Maryland suburb of the capital. It will be playing at
the new Music Center at Strathmore, which celebrated its gala opening on
Saturday night, and lies 19 miles from the Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts, home of the National Symphony Orchestra.

The Baltimore orchestra is scheduled to play about 25 concerts a year at the
center, which will present a wide range of other concerts, dance
performances, pop shows and educational offerings. It is a rare case of a
major American orchestra having homes in two metropolitan areas.

For the Baltimore Symphony, suffering from deficits and poor ticket sales,
it is an attempt to find new audiences, plow new fund-raising territory and
gain a lure - the nation's capital - to dangle before famous soloists and
guest conductors. It could also be a risky move financially and
artistically.

As for any competition between orchestras, officials of the Baltimore
Symphony and the National Symphony swore up and down last week that they
were not rivals, and that Strathmore would only increase sales for both
organizations. But it is hard to square those protestations with the fact
that as with most major American orchestras, attendance is suffering at
both. The National Symphony says its attendance is about 80 percent this
year. Baltimore has an abysmal rate, in the low 60 percent range, said
Michael L. Mael, a vice president of the orchestra.

Rita Shapiro, the National Symphony's executive director, said she had no
worries about audience theft, even though a third of the National's 16,500
subscribers come from the Maryland suburbs. "This is an enormous
metropolitan area with an extremely sophisticated and cultivated audience,"
she said. "I think there's ample room for both wonderful orchestras to
continue to thrive."

Baltimore Symphony officials, whose city is a tough fund-raising market for
the arts, acknowledge the risk of the venture: they will have to spend money
to raise money, sell tickets, rent the Strathmore hall and transport the
orchestra. Washington is a more expensive advertising market than Baltimore.
Philip English, the symphony's chairman, said it would be spending about $3
million during the next two years to play in Strathmore. But they said they
were confident of success.