Expanding the audience for the performing arts

Abstract

This paper is directed at performing arts managers interested in developing marketing techniques in order to expand the audiences for their performances. The paper outlines a model of the by which an individual progresses from lack of interest in the performing arts to active participation and interest. The model that describes this adoption process involves a transition across six stages: (1) Disinterest; (2) Interest; (3) Trial; (4) Positive Evaluation; (5) Adoption; and (6) Confirmation. In order to test the model and explore its implications, data from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) were used. A sample of 2,607 responding persons surveyed in 1982 was employed. The sample was distributed across the six stages of the Performing Arts Adoption Model, and the data were analyzed for the characteristics of the respondents at these different stages. The characteristics analyzed included childhood socialization, adult socialization, life style, work and television viewing, age and the family life cycle, socioeconomic and background characteristics, barriers, and arts attended and arts sought. Table 4 reports on the extent to which stages in the performing arts addition are associated with a college education or with taking classes in the arts. From the analysis, it was found that respondents in Stage I, those disinterested and not attending the arts, were dramatically different from those in the other five stages. It was concluded that the research offered strong support for the model both as a way of describing the of becoming involved in arts patronage and as a source of insights into the factors that encourage or inhibit movement through the process. The paper concludes with four recommendations for performing arts managers, and lists empirical insights and research recommendations. (DB) ****************************c************************************ Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************

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