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For What It's Worth

Michael Rushton on pricing the arts

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Tips, Charities and Businesses

March 6, 2013 by Michael Rushton 1 Comment

please give

This blog holds that arts managers can learn interesting things about pricing from non-arts businesses, and today I want to look at pricing of internet content. Preparation and presentation of content is not costless, and has to be financed somehow. It might be financed by the content provider herself, happy to do the work of writing a blog with no expectation of financial reward for the activity. Or it might be financed through bringing viewers to advertisers, or through a "tip jar", or through charging for full access to content, with only … [Read more...]

Why does the Indianapolis Museum of Art have Free Admission?

March 4, 2013 by Michael Rushton 3 Comments

free love

Preamble: I know what I don't know. Specifically, when looking at any arts organization and its menu of prices, I do not have insider knowledge of its current or potential audience, its donors, or its costs. So when I comment on the price structure of any specific museum or other arts firm, I do so only by asking questions, not by advising what it should or should not change. And with that cleared up ... Why does the Indianapolis Museum of Art have free admission? In her neighboring blog, Judith Dobrzynski describes the fiscal troubles at … [Read more...]

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Michael Rushton

Michael Rushton taught in the Arts Administration programs at Indiana University, and lives in Bloomington. An economist by training, he has published widely on such topics as public funding of the … MORE

About For What It’s Worth

What’s the price? Everything has one; admission, subscriptions, memberships, special exhibitions, box seats, refreshments, souvenirs, and on and on – a full menu. What the price is matters. Generally, nonprofit arts organizations in the US receive about half of their revenue as “earned income,” and … [Read More...]

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