“TRG Arts … has recently released ‘Arts and Culture Comeback Planning: January 2021,’ the latest in its series of studies related to the coronavirus pandemic’s impact, focused in this instance on plans to return to live performance by Canadian and U.S. presenters,” writes Taylor Grant in Thursday’s (2/4) Musical America (subscription required). “The primary takeaway from January’s report is that only 42% of U.S. organizations and 55% of Canadian organizations anticipate performing in primary venues before July 2021. These estimates reflect additional delays when compared to this past September’s projections…. U.S. organizations in the Southeast, Southwest, and South are the most optimistic, with a majority planning a return prior to July. Additional findings from the survey of 91 U.S. and 13 Canadian organizations include: 47% plan to offer paid performances in outdoor and alternative venues other than their primary performance space in 2021; … 78% of organizations had introduced or planned to introduce paid digital programming, starting as early as April 2020; 86% of organizations began offering paid digital content in 2020…. The role of digital content has generally been to maintain contact with subscribers and other supporters rather than generate revenue.”
The League of American Orchestras recently announced two data partnerships studying how orchestras are dealing with the impact of COVID-19 on revenue as well as audience preferences and readiness to return once performances resume. Learn more and sign up to participate in the League’s new COVID-19 data partnerships here.
