In a recent article which appeared in The Baltimore Sun, arts journalist Mary Carole McCauley examined the trying times that the Baltimore Symphony is currently facing, and what three other US orchestras have done to wrangle themselves out of similar circumstances. Please see the original article here.
This article provides some great insights, and below I have summarised the key points from the original with a discussion at the end which highlights the major themes that helped in the turnaround of these orchestras.
Challenges
- Annual deficit of $1.5 million
- No money to pay musicians a 19% “snap-back” which was promised in 2011 to restore salary cuts imposed 2 years earlier
Solutions
- Musicians agreed to freeze wages for an additional year to give CEO time to maneuver
- Season cut from 40 weeks to 38
- Involvement of musicians across all levels of organisation in order to help educate the CEO on how to run the orchestra
- Re-focused mission from prestige to local regionality and the issues in Phoenix, positioning the symphony as an important part of Arizona revitalisation
- Turned their school’s programs into marketable products nationwide
- Turned attention to projects that helped the orchestra gain credibility in the local community – reframed music as a social good and musicians as social workers affecting the community in very positive ways. This helped attract support from Foundations and Health partners
Results
- Eliminated 3 million in debt in less than two years
- Revenue increase of 71%
- Concert attendance increase of 27%
- Symphony Hall now on average 84% full during performances
Challenges
- Ran up a $3.8 million deficit in the 2008-09 fiscal year and faced a $6.5 million deficit the following year
- The bankruptcy of the city left no room for support from the local city government
- Contract negotiations with musicians wanted to introduce a 30% pay cut, which resulted in a 6-month strike
Solutions
- Phillip Wm. Fisher became chair of the board and shifted a focus onto the culture of the organisation and how people treated each other
- Board members became active in going backstage to engage with musicians and thank them after performances
- Consultation with the players increased and the number of players on committees was doubled
- The organisation’s mission was fine-tuned to be “the most accessible orchestra on the planet” and developed programs to that end
- The orchestra began going to its audiences, rather than expecting them to come into the city where they noted a number of their patrons no longer felt safe
- Developed the Neighbourhood Series of concerts to reach across geographic and income boundaries. These concerts are affordable and can be subscribed to.
Results
- Currently had six consecutive years of balanced books
- The number of ticket buyers has increased by 66% since 2012
- The DSO has raised nearly $100 million through oneDSO campaign
- Orchestra has been able to tour again, including through the US and a three-week tour of Japan
Challenges
- Board announced a $2.9 million deficit in 2011 and a $6 million deficit the following year
- Contracts rejected from musicians which proposed a near 30% pay cut
- Players were locked out of Orchestra Hall for 16 months
- A year’s worth of concerts was cancelled
Solutions
- Musicians were given a more prominent role in governing the organisation and making artistic decisions
- Musicians donated $250,000 which remained from a fund set up for them during the lockout back to the orchestra
- Made world headlines when Minnesota Orchestra became first to tour Cuba after normalisation of relations between the two nations
Results
- For the fourth consecutive year, the orchestra has a balanced budget
- Total capacity for concerts reached 91% in 2018
- Increased attendance over this same four year period by 12%
- Increased earned revenue by 25% (according to the orchestra’s website)
What can we learn from these three cases?
From the above data, three main themes emerged.
Theme 1: Organisational culture
The main challenge for all of these orchestras was founded in monetary issues. What I find incredible about these three turnarounds is not only how successful they were, but how the common thread across all three was a shift in internal culture. I think it is fair to say that the structure of orchestras has largely existed in two separate spheres – the artists and the administration. If we take lead from these cases, there is a strong backing for the importance of stronger co-habitation.
Theme 2: Entrepreneurial (customer-centred) thinking
Another notable (pun intended) theme is entrepreneurial thinking. Both the Phoenix Symphony and Detroit Symphony Orchestras found ways of capitalising on their activity. The Phoenix Symphony packaged their learning programs in a way that allowed them to market and sell them on to other orchestras. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra listened to their audiences need for access outside the city centre and Orchestra Hall. By actioning this feedback, it also signalled to their audiences that they care about them. I personally believe that adopting an entrepreneurial and community-centred mindset is going to play an important role in the future health of our orchestras.
Theme 3: Organisational alignment
Prevalent across all three cases is an increase in the involvement of musicians in the decision making and governing processes of their organisations. This speaks to a shift in internal culture and the breakdown of traditional silos (artists, board, executive, management etc.). If it were visually represented, the transition might look like this where the five lines (the stave) represent management, and the notes represent musicians:
There’s no silver bullet, and it is noted that in all three examples that these turnarounds emerged from a state of crisis. Maybe that’s what it took to rally everyone to the cause? At what cost did this come for those involved and could this have all been avoided through clearer forward-thinking and proactive strategy?
At times it’s like the industry is mired in itself. Stuck in the same old patterns and bemoaning the same existential crises year on year. To those orchestras out there exploring what the future looks like, we applaud you for sharing with us your failures and your successes. There’s so much to be learned. To those orchestras who are not seeing the signs, what cost are you, your families and your community willing to pay? How can we prevent weeks (months or years, as we have seen in the examples provided) of disruption to our art, income and community by being proactive and applying learnings from cases such as these?
I ask – is it a crisis that is going to kick things into action, and until then, will it continue to be business as usual until it isn’t, anymore? And, what will be the cost of that crisis to your organisation and its assets, its people? Beyond that, what will be the cost on its community? How can we offset ending up in these compromising scenarios by moving toward a more sustainable future?
What are your thoughts?
Kane Moroney 