The Offstage Mic

Season two is here! You all were so fantastic during the pilot season, so now we’re back for season two — this time with a team of awesome women audio engineers and musicians working behind the scenes to make this come together for you. And that’s extra fitting because this whole season is about how the narrative is changing in the arts.

We are at an inflection point for arts organizations: audiences are down from pre-pandemic levels, subscriptions on the decline, still confronting systemic discrimination and working to diversify, trying to attract and retain talent, and ultimately reclaim relevance in a complex world. The good news is all of these topics are advancing, even if slowly.

Season two includes 11 new episodes, released every other week, as we bring you interviews from some of my favorite experts on these subjects and others to help us build the vibrant future we know is possible.

The arts can be a tough business, but the narrative is changing, and I’m so glad you’re here to be a part of it.

The job of the board at a non-profit organization is to govern, and governing an institution of which you’re an employee can be a conflict of interest. Instead, when thinking if a musician should be on the board, ask what the goals are we’re trying to achieve. Engagement? Information sharing? Both those things can and should happen without a board seat — and both those things should not be relegated to only one or two musicians.

Pro tips on how to address employee turnover, toxic workplace culture, and microagressions like when a man interrupts you while speaking. This episode looks at how to show up as your authentic self back in the office when there is such a narrow view of what “professionalism” looks like.

These questions are all addressed in this final episode of season one. It’s raw, it’s vulnerable, and all of that feels like a good note to close out this pilot project season.

Thanks to everyone who's listened. We’d love to hear from you if you enjoyed it or learned something. And wishing you all the best of luck as you prep for your own seasons starting this fall, from wherever you’re listening.

Resources mentioned:

• Adam Grant’s Four Deadly Sins of Toxic Culture
• Harvard Professor Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk on Power Poses

Sponsors who made this possible:

• Descript
• Lume Cube

How arts organizations can use data and analytics to build audiences and enhance artistic decision-making. Plus how a small arts organization can use data, not just the big institutions.

This episode covers questions that were asked in a recent interview with San Francisco Classical Voice all about how arts organizations could use data and analytics like Billy Bean and the Oakland A’s did in Moneyball.

Special thanks to San Francisco Classical Voice for covering this topic and for graciously allowing this conversation to be shared with you here.

Read the SFCV article: https://www.sfcv.org/articles/feature/how-performing-arts-world-uses-cyber-analytics-build-audiences

How to balance risk taking with sustainability at an arts organization. And how you can make sure a new idea is not really that risky after all.

Then, Aubrey covers how to find common ground in negotiations, sharing lessons we can learn from big organizations like the Met Opera, smaller organizations like the California Symphony, and a Harvard Business School professor.

How to build an arts organization culture that embraces continual improvement, design thinking, iteration, and innovation—especially when we feel so much pressure to make everything we do an overnight success with no room for failure.

Then, Aubrey addresses a job seeker’s question about what to do when there’s something about their work history they don’t want to come up in an interview.

Symphonies, operas, ballet companies, theaters, museums, and more all want to know how to get their audiences back. For any person or organization wanting a roadmap, Aubrey outlines a five-part business plan to spin up a flywheel of revenue and relevance to get your patrons to come back and stay.

Resources mentioned:

• What it would look like if attendance trends pre-pandemic were accelerated 10 years
• Post-Pandemic Business Plan
• Long Haul Model for Patron Retention
• Orchestra X User Experience Research

Talent development in the arts is critical for productivity, efficiency, and growing high performing teams that deliver results. People want autonomy, but that also must come with accountability, and this episode puts research behind how to do that.

Aubrey also answers a question on the balance between digital engagement and in person offerings. When streaming is often prohibitively expensive, what’s the right digital strategy forward instead?

Resources mentioned:

• Talent Development: Why Most Organizations Don't Invest Much in It, And How the Investment Pays Off
• Learn more about Aubrey’s Summer Uplevel course and coaching

Create new and alternate revenue streams by monetizing the education department at your cultural organization. Not just for community engagement, Aubrey shares three ways the education team could be a source of alternate revenue, as well as examples of artists and organizations already employing this strategy.

Articles mentioned

• Designing a Modern Org Structure

Musicians Monetizing Education

• Nathan Cole (LA Philharmonic)
• Elizabeth Rowe (Boston Symphony)
• Christopher Still (LA Philharmonic)
• Rob Knopper (Metropolitan Opera)

Organizations Monetizing Education

• Richmond Symphony School of Music
• Beth Morrison Projects Producer Academy
• California Symphony Fresh Look

Business Coach on Monetizing Online Education

• Jennifer Rosenfeld

Ways to improve company culture, and how to fire a board member who isn’t performing or contributing in the way your arts organization or nonprofit needs. Welcome to the debut episode where Aubrey answers audience questions.

For more content on the business of arts and culture, follow Aubrey on LinkedIn, Instagram, or the community newsletter.