Two stories in the news reinforce the growing power of earned income, as all other forms of income for arts and culture take a dive. On one hand, Philanthropy News covers this Wall Street Journal story about cutbacks and strategies of arts groups in the face of a down economy — ranging from reduced programming to staff cutbacks to lower ticket prices (although the logic of the last one escapes me).
On the other hand, the NY Times tells about Ticketmaster’s plans to offer ticket auctioning services on top of traditional ticket pricing. A few choice quotes from the article:
With no official price ceiling on such tickets, Ticketmaster will be able to compete with brokers and scalpers for the highest price a market will bear.
“The tickets are worth what they’re worth,” said John Pleasants, Ticketmaster’s president and chief executive. “If somebody wants to charge $50 for a ticket, but it’s actually worth $1,000 on eBay, the ticket’s worth $1,000. I think more and more, our clients�the promoters, the clients in the buildings and the bands themselves�are saying to themselves, `Maybe that money should be coming to me instead of Bob the Broker.’ “
So, while some arts groups are in freefall, other venues are riding the free market. It’s going to be an interesting year to say the least.
