{"id":1744,"date":"2014-12-11T06:29:37","date_gmt":"2014-12-11T14:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=1744"},"modified":"2014-12-11T06:29:37","modified_gmt":"2014-12-11T14:29:37","slug":"pay-what-you-will-performances-a-caveat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/12\/pay-what-you-will-performances-a-caveat\/","title":{"rendered":"Pay-what-you-will performances – a caveat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"time<\/a>The Guardian<\/em> reports on various theatres in England experimenting with pay-what-you-decide pricing<\/a> – essentially passing the hat at the end of the show – as a means of attracting new audiences and ‘breaking down barriers.’<\/p>\n

… the initiative is less about simply removing the financial barrier than removing the financial risk, which are two quite different things. After all, if people know that they want to see something, they will often find the money. It\u2019s when they are uncertain about a show that they are less willing to take a risk …<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maybe. But here is the worry I have about such practices. The major cost of attending a show, with the exception of high-priced big-city shows, is the time involved. Even with a ticket price as high as $25, the time-cost of getting to the show, watching it, and getting home, will be more than the ticket price even for people who value their time at the minimum wage. And that time-cost is not pay-what-you-decide – when you make the effort to go to the show the time-cost is spent and sunk. As people often remark after seeing a disappointing performance, ‘there<\/em> are three hours of my life I will never get back.’<\/p>\n

So, how do you get new audiences out to see a performance? I think the last thing you want to suggest is (and I am exaggerating here, I know), ‘Come to our show, we know you might find it’s not your thing, but you are not obligated to pay money, so why not give it a try?’. For people to commit their time to attend a performance, they want to expect it to be worth it, something engaging and entertaining and thought-provoking. The presenter wants to show confidence in the show, telling people ‘truly, this is worth it. You have lots of ways to spend your time, but you really won’t want to miss this.’<\/p>\n

Audiences need a signal that the presenter has confidence in the quality and appeal of the performance. And pricing is an important signal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Guardian reports on various theatres in England experimenting with pay-what-you-decide pricing – essentially passing the hat at the end of the show – as a means of attracting new audiences and ‘breaking down barriers.’ … the initiative is less about simply removing the financial barrier than removing the financial risk, which are two quite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1744","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-issues","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/The_Persistence_of_Memory.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-s8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1812,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2015\/02\/pay-what-you-decide-at-the-theatre\/","url_meta":{"origin":1744,"position":0},"title":"Pay-what-you-decide at the theatre","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"February 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Stage News reports on a trial run of pay-what-you-decide pricing at the regional theatre in Stockton, UK: The Pay What You Decide system is now in effect for all theatre productions at the arts centre for six months, following a trial on a one-man show at the venue. Too\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"time","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/The_Persistence_of_Memory-300x220.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1704,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/11\/gender-and-price-discrimination\/","url_meta":{"origin":1744,"position":1},"title":"Gender and price discrimination","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"November 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Women pay more than men for some products. Why is this, and is this a situation where there oughtta be a law? Last week, Time reported that women consumers' advocates in France were pressing for a law that would prohibit price discrimination where men and women use virtually the same\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"it's going to cost you big time","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/venus.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":755,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/05\/why-a-lottery\/","url_meta":{"origin":1744,"position":2},"title":"Why a lottery?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"May 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Daily Telegraph reports on a new offer by the English National Opera: Fans buying tickets to see the ENOs most popular performances will be given the chance to win the best seats in the house under the new \u201csecret seats\u201d scheme. The gamble could also see them end up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"everybody must get stoned","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Lottery-4-300x214.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2876,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2023\/05\/indirect-price-discrimination-in-theatre-seats-books-and-mummies\/","url_meta":{"origin":1744,"position":3},"title":"Indirect price discrimination in theatre seats, books, and mummies","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"May 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When arts presenters set prices, they know that there are some customers willing to pay top dollar for the highest quality offerings - the best seats in the house - while there are other potential customers who might have an interest in attending the show, but only at a lower\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1080,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/03\/what-is-a-movie-star-worth\/","url_meta":{"origin":1744,"position":4},"title":"What is a movie star worth?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Is there pay discrimination against female movie stars? Helaine Olen at Reuters thinks so. She writes: Why should we begrudge [Robert] Downey a $50 million payday for\u00a0The Avengers? The film brought in $1.5 billion globally. Downey\u2019s take was a mere 3 percent of the haul. However ... Hunger Games\u00a0producers first\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"don't forget to negotiate a share of foreign box office","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/katniss-and-gale-katniss-everdeen-32304856-900-600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/katniss-and-gale-katniss-everdeen-32304856-900-600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/katniss-and-gale-katniss-everdeen-32304856-900-600.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/katniss-and-gale-katniss-everdeen-32304856-900-600.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2191,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2017\/04\/on-charging-admission-at-the-met\/","url_meta":{"origin":1744,"position":5},"title":"On charging admission at the Met","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"April 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The New York Times reported that the Metropolitan Museum of Art is looking at options to make its \"suggested\" entry fee into something a little stronger than a hint, at least for people who live outside the city or state. A few years ago Derek Thompson reported that about six\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"i should pay","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/met.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/met.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/met.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1744"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1747,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744\/revisions\/1747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}