{"id":2287,"date":"2018-01-09T08:07:13","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T16:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=2287"},"modified":"2018-01-09T08:07:13","modified_gmt":"2018-01-09T16:07:13","slug":"should-museums-have-free-admission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2018\/01\/should-museums-have-free-admission\/","title":{"rendered":"Should museums have free admission?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"I<\/a>I won’t link to all the stories on the Metropolitan Museum’s new policy of charging out-of-state residents $25 for daily admission – if you’re reading this you’ve seen them already. Here are few additional considerations:<\/p>\n

A common refrain is that the museum can “afford” to have free admission for all, either through better management of costs, or through increased donations from the very rich. I don’t doubt this. But is it a good idea? When a museum chooses free admission it is making a choice<\/em> on how to use its limited resources. It is sacrificing revenue – and in this case we are talking about $millions per year – it would otherwise have, and which could have been used for another purpose, whether in research, restoration, targeted free admission for specific groups, or in such mundane things as office and cleaning staff. It might<\/em> be a good choice for some museums, but it is a choice. If Joe and Jane from Rhode Island would have been willing to pay $25 each to visit the museum, and they are let in for free, that’s $50 less for other things. This is true regardless<\/em> of how wealthy your donors are, or how much more one thinks they could give. “If only very wealthy donors gave more we could have free admission and not cut other things” is true, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that would be the best<\/em> use of those additional donated funds. If someone wants to argue for free admission, they need to make the case that it would be the best use of new money to let Joe and Jane in for free than to use the funds for other purposes.<\/p>\n

Second: when Joe and Jane visit the museum, they are imposing costs: it’s a crowded place (at least in my experience), and additional visitors increase the crowding, and lessen the enjoyment for other visitors. A study<\/a> by Maddison and Foster of the British Museum found the “congestion costs” imposed by an additional visitor to be non-trivial. For many visitors, increasing the admission charge can actually leave them better off. Not all museums are crowded, and so this doesn’t apply everywhere. But it certainly does<\/em> apply to large, metropolitan “superstar” museums, and ought to be an additional consideration. There’s a reason no one is calling for free nonprofit theatre or orchestra tickets – space is limited.<\/p>\n

Here’s an older post of mine<\/a> on the subject (spoiler – I keep saying the same thing).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I won’t link to all the stories on the Metropolitan Museum’s new policy of charging out-of-state residents $25 for daily admission – if you’re reading this you’ve seen them already. Here are few additional considerations: A common refrain is that the museum can “afford” to have free admission for all, either through better management of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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-2287","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\/2018\/01\/crowded-museum.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-AT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":424,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/03\/why-does-the-indianapolis-museum-of-art-have-free-admission\/","url_meta":{"origin":2287,"position":0},"title":"Why does the Indianapolis Museum of Art have Free Admission?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"free love","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/ima-300x168.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2191,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2017\/04\/on-charging-admission-at-the-met\/","url_meta":{"origin":2287,"position":1},"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":[]},{"id":1756,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/12\/should-nonprofit-museums-have-free-admission-because-they-are-tax-exempt\/","url_meta":{"origin":2287,"position":2},"title":"Should nonprofit museums have free admission because they are tax exempt?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"December 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"No. But Christopher Knight\u00a0at the LA Times thinks they should: Yes, every art museum needs multiple sources of revenue. It does cost money to run the place. However, because they are tax exempt, art museums already count the public as a major, indirect source of revenue. Required admission fees add\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"And everybody should have one","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2926,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2023\/08\/museums-are-not-expensive-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":2287,"position":3},"title":"Museums are not expensive","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"August 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"New Yorkers who are interested in seeing the film Barbie at the local multiplex will pay $25.49 per ticket. If, on the same weekend, they wish to also see Oppenheimer, as I read, in about one hundred and forty-seven news reports, people were doing, then we are up to $51.\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\/08\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":363,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/02\/museums-amusement-parks-and-cable-tv\/","url_meta":{"origin":2287,"position":4},"title":"Museums, Amusement Parks and Cable TV","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"February 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Should museums charge visitors according to the length of their visit? \u00a0In a recent paper Bruno Frey and Lasse Steiner argue they should. We pay per hour when we park our cars, so why not when we go to view art? 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Anderson\u2019s idea\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\/2014\/09\/mavericks.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/mavericks.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/mavericks.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287","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=2287"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2292,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287\/revisions\/2292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}