“A YouGov survey last week produced the interesting statistic that only 6 per cent of 35-55 year olds subscribe to a music streaming service. As you’d expect, 16 per cent of 14-34 year olds have subscriptions, and only 3 per cent of those over 55 are signed up. Still, that Gen X figure sticks out a little. The reasons put forward for disliking streaming include complexity of existing services, the subscription angle, and the fact that CDs and radio are easier to use.”
Category: AUDIENCE
UK Government Report: Secondary Ticket Sellers Shouldn’t Be Banned
“Clever people will always find new ways to do things online and the live entertainment secondary ticketing market, as well as the primary market, needs to be alive to innovation and its consequences for the market.”
The Elusive Archetypal Millennial We’re All Chasing? Doesn’t Exist!
“Sure, the demographic group exists as an amorphous bloc. But you are as likely to come upon an archetypal millennial as you are to run into Joe Sixpack or be invited to a barbecue at the median American household. It’s hard to believe this even needs to be said, yet here we are: Macroscale demographic trends rarely govern most individuals’ life and work decisions.”
Are Live Streams Of The Arts Cannibalizing The Live Theatre Audience?
ETO’s 2014 research with Guildhall School of Music and Drama found that 81% of cinema opera attenders were over 60, had an age profile “slightly older” than that typically found at live opera, and reported no increased motivation to attend live opera afterwards.
The Rise Of Immersive Theatre
“Immersive entertainment is, plainly, weird. It’s far more interactive than watching a film or traditional play, and can often be unsettling. Actors can touch you, they know stuff about you, and you may find yourself exploring unknown settings on foot or alone.”
Future Of The Arts? Festivals Not Buildings
“Given the economic costs and risks, why do museums, stadiums and other “concrete culture” receive such a privileged place in urban development? After spending the past 10 years conducting research on the topic, I’ve found that this privilege should end; as an alternative, cities should champion music festivals as a cheaper, adaptable way to bolster urban communities.”
The Problem With Peak TV (For Some Of Us)
“The shift from network TV’s relatively flat, manageable terrain to our current Wild West is exciting for some viewers (fuck commercials!) and bewildering for others – wait, so I’m supposed to make my own TV-watching schedule now? … That’s what scares me the most about the state of TV – it’s no longer a useful marker of time.”
Trying To Understand The Angry Identity Politics At Oberlin (And Lots Of Other Colleges)
“A school like Oberlin, which prides itself on being the first to have regularly admitted women and black students, explicitly values diversity. But it’s also supposed to lift students out of their circumstances, diminishing difference. … They move their lives to rural Ohio and perform their identities, whatever that might mean. They bear out the school’s vision. In exchange, they’re groomed for old-school entry into the liberal upper middle class. An irony surrounds the whole endeavor, and a lot of students seemed to see it.”
Yes, Students, The English Lit Canon Is Sexist, Racist, Colonialist, Heteronormative, Etc. – You Have To Read It Anyway
“The canon is what it is, and anyone who wishes to understand how it continues to flow forward needs to learn to swim around in it. There is a clear line to Terrance Hayes (and Frank and Claire Underwood, and Lyon Dynasty) from Shakespeare. There is a direct path to Adrienne Rich (and Katniss Everdeen, and Lyra Belacqua) from Milton. (Rich basically says as much in Diving into the Wreck.) These guys are the heavies, the chord progressions upon which the rest of us continue to improvise, and we’d be somewhere else entirely without them.”
Will Virtual Reality Technology Change Our Perceptions Of What’s Real?
“Along with transforming everyday life, a VR revolution could fundamentally change how we understand and define what is real.”