Is Innovation A Scientific Or Artistic Endeavor? by Joe Patti

Really interesting research piece on Plos One asking if the arts are the “secret sauce” that helps drive innovation or if it is the nice to have “cherry on top.” They…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:00pm on March 20, 2018☆⚑

Not Just For The Kids by Joe Patti

Though it was only a week ago, I can’t quite recall where I came across a link to Ozan Varol’s post, “Stop asking children these seven questions (and ask these instead)R…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 10:15pm on March 19, 2018☆⚑

Being On The Right Side of Copyrights by Joe Patti

I recently had a piece on ArtsHacker addressing questions about copyright which I see as a complement to an earlier piece I wrote for ArtsHacker that directed readers to tools that can help …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:32pm on March 14, 2018☆⚑

Oh The Places You'll See When You Can Ride The Rail For Free by Joe Patti

Last week CityLab wrote about the European Union’s plan to offer 18 year old residents a free 30 day Interrail pass this summer.  What this means is that potentially 20,000-30,000 t…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:31pm on March 13, 2018☆⚑

Where To Perform Based On Where They Have Performed by Joe Patti

One of the toughest tasks when it comes to programming for a performing arts venue is trying to bring new experiences to the community that audiences will attend in large enough numbers to m…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:30pm on March 12, 2018☆⚑

Often We Pay More For The Illusion Of Control by Joe Patti

If you want a lesson in the power of custom and pricing psychology winning over objectively better options, check out this New Yorker piece on failed attempts by restaurants to eliminate tip…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:29pm on March 7, 2018☆⚑

Move Over Laughter, Singing May Be The Best Medicine by Joe Patti

When Daniel Pink tweets that choral singing might be the new exercise, you know I have to investigate even if it is just clickbait. There seems to be some scientific basis to the claim, howe…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:41pm on March 6, 2018☆⚑

Could It Be That Pretty Much Anything Is More Engaging Than Test Focused Learning? by Joe Patti

Via Artsjournal.com is a piece from the Brookings Institution titled, “An unexpectedly positive result from arts-focused field trips.” After crunching some numbers as part of res…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:23am on March 6, 2018☆⚑

Even More Useful Info On Copyright And Intellectual Property by Joe Patti

Recently the Harvard Law School’s Technology and Intellectual Property Legal Clinic recently published a really helpful guide to copyright, trademark and intellectual property rights. …

SOURCE: artshacker.com at 3:00am on March 6, 2018☆⚑

Fundraising Is Now Everyone's Job Too by Joe Patti

Yesterday I noted that I was interested to learn that $5 million in revenue was something of a dividing line between theaters which supported themselves primarily by ticket revenue (above $5…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:23am on March 1, 2018☆⚑

The Broadway Box Used To Be Such A Nice Neighborhood Til Those Non-Profits Moved In by Joe Patti

Rob Meiksins had a piece on Non-Profit Quarterly that discussed what the non-profit Second Stage Theater’s recent ownership of the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway might portend in term…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 11:22pm on February 27, 2018☆⚑

Love/Hate Relationship With Focus Groups by Joe Patti

The Guardian had a long read piece on focus groups earlier this month. As I was reading, about how the companies commissioning the focus groups had difficulty accepting the results, I was st…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 7:52am on February 27, 2018☆⚑

Can Your Organization Afford Empathy? by Joe Patti

For about a month now I have been pondering a post Seth Godin made about the limits of empathy and how it might apply to customer relations in an performing arts setting. In the context of a…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:19pm on February 21, 2018☆⚑

Knight Fdn Looks To Fund Technology Connecting People With Art by Joe Patti

A heads up to people who have, (or know people with), innovative ideas using technology to connect people with arts and culture, the Knight Foundation is looking for project ideas via the Kn…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 6:35pm on February 20, 2018☆⚑

Taking Arts & Culture's Measure by Joe Patti

I have been cautioning the non-profit arts community about citing the economic value of the arts for over a decade now. The first time was in 2007. I wrote about it a few times in the interi…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 10:16pm on February 19, 2018☆⚑

You Can Have All The Charity Golf Tournaments You Want When You Own The Courses by Joe Patti

Generous donations to a non-profit can often become more of a burden than a blessing which is why it is important to have a good donation policy and properly evaluate the impact of the donat…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:28pm on February 14, 2018☆⚑

Uncaging The Ticket Office Staff by Joe Patti

Ken Davenport made a post last month about the way the New York City subway system is shifting their practice. Since more subway riders are able to pay for rides with their credit cards and …

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:11pm on February 13, 2018☆⚑

Constructive, Considerate Executive Transitions " An Example by Joe Patti

The importance of transition planning is a common topic of discussion for non-profits given current and anticipated retirements. A few years ago we offered a set of guidelines for planning t…

SOURCE: artshacker.com at 4:21pm on February 13, 2018☆⚑

Money May Make The World Go Round, But Education Drives Participation by Joe Patti

In a recent “Taking Note”, National Endowment for the Arts’  Director of Research & Analysis,  Sunil Iyengar mentioned that in the coming year the NEA will commis…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:26pm on February 12, 2018☆⚑

Creativity From The Land Of Ice and Snow by Joe Patti

Via Marginal Revolution comes a study about the high levels of creativity in Iceland  where: ….1 in 10 adults in the country have published a book, why playing in a band is consider…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:09pm on February 7, 2018☆⚑

But Will A Framed Canvas Fit Through The Book Return Slot? by Joe Patti

Thanks to a partnership between the Akron Art Museum and the Akron-Summit County Public Library, not only can you get a book to place on the nightstand beside your bed, you can also get a pa…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:25pm on February 6, 2018☆⚑

Artists Are The Only Asset Found In Every Community by Joe Patti

The video of ArtPlace America’s CEO Jamie Bennett’s keynote at an Invest Health convening came across my feed recently.  What I found valuable in his speech was that he laid o…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:12pm on February 5, 2018☆⚑

Nothing Ambiguous In This Job Description by Joe Patti

A job listing for a Program Manager at the Armed Services Arts Partnership came across my social media feed today. I might not have followed the link except that I was curious what type of w…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:02pm on January 31, 2018☆⚑

Sending Love To Those Calling Attention To Important Theater Issues by Joe Patti

Gotta give a shout out to Non-Profit Quarterly for putting up two theatre related articles yesterday. I wanted to call attention to it to show appreciation for to them for covering arts conc…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 9:35pm on January 30, 2018☆⚑

Broadway Wrote Their National Anthem And Didn't Tell Them by Joe Patti

It probably isn’t news to anyone these days that popular culture can influence what people perceive to be factual information.  While there is a lot of controversy over the intentio…

SOURCE: Butts In The Seats at 8:37pm on January 29, 2018☆⚑