Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Media-dependent entertainment
- Part III Live entertainment
- 11 Gaming and wagering
- 12 Sports
- 13 Performing arts and culture
- 14 Amusement/theme parks
- Part IV Roundup
- Appendix A Sources of information
- Appendix B Major games of chance
- Appendix C Supplementary data
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- References
13 - Performing arts and culture
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2015
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Media-dependent entertainment
- Part III Live entertainment
- 11 Gaming and wagering
- 12 Sports
- 13 Performing arts and culture
- 14 Amusement/theme parks
- Part IV Roundup
- Appendix A Sources of information
- Appendix B Major games of chance
- Appendix C Supplementary data
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- References
Summary
Break a leg!
It has been said of all the arts generally that they are a product of disciplined virtuosity in which you are the resource that perceives the value. As such, then, the performing arts in particular generate income that is more psychic than pecuniary and they operate under somewhat different economic assumptions than the other entertainment industries thus far discussed. In fact, many organizations in this segment are nonprofit, requiring for their very existence substantial subsidy from government and private-foundation grants and from contributions by individuals.
Although the fundamental creative processes in the performing arts have remained essentially unchanged for centuries, technological developments have been important in mitigating the pernicious effects of inexorably rising costs. Fortunately, it still doesn’t cost anything to wish performers well by telling them to “break a leg.”
Audiences and offerings
The potential widespread appeal of live performances notwithstanding, there are severe time and financial constraints that limit audience size and scope. This was already apparent even as far back as the eighteenth century, when a theater ticket cost more than a full day’s wages. As Baumol and Bowen (1968) indicated in their seminal study, the audience for high culture is dominated by highly educated individuals in high income brackets, an observation supported by the more recent data presented in Figure 13.1.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Entertainment Industry EconomicsA Guide for Financial Analysis, pp. 514 - 547Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014
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