The arts industry should embrace digital as a new format, and stop giving away online shows for free
Nearly 12 weeks ago, theatres and concert halls around the world closed because of COVID-19. Very quickly, many performing arts organisations started sharing films or recordings of past performances. Some of this archival footage has been glorious. Almost all of it has been free.
I immediately felt that giving away everything for free was a mistake. I also recognised that, creatively, there was much more to digital performance than archival footage.
I wrote about these things here as I was repositioning (‘pivoting’) my startup business, Greengage, to take an alternative direction in digital theatre and music performance.
Greengage has three aims:
- Make creatively interesting, new artistic projects that push digital performances to the next level
- Find a revenue model (don’t give it all away for free) and pay artists
- Bring together audiences and artists from around the world
Then I contacted a load of artists and artistic organisations, and convinced them to experiment with the internet as a new artistic medium.
Greengage has now hosted 3 online performances that all span theatre and music. These performances were all meant to be experienced online: they’re not just online because we can’t go to concert halls and traditional theatre venues right now.
They’ve been a success.
Critics described Greengage’s first online show as “giving the performing arts its voice back”(4* review, A Younger Theatre). The most recent event, held last week, received a 4* review in The Telegraph and the critic wrote: “The worldwide web has been swarming with filmed online concerts since lockdown began, but none that I’ve seen so far has tried to use the video medium in a creative way — until the preview of The Goldberg Variations: Meditations on Solitude”.
Over 700 ticket-buying audience members have attended Greengage performances, all of the artists were paid and we have built an engaged online community of over 1,000 people. By donating 20% of ticket sales to charity, Greengage has raised over £1,600 (and counting) for Campaign To End Loneliness and the Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain.
I’m not claiming that Greengage has all the answers. But we have learnt a lot and I want to share some of it here.
As government guidance about partial or full reopening of venues continues to evolve, Greengage will be sharing its expertise to help artists and artistic organisations navigate these challenges and create new revenue streams to support them through this difficult time.
What have we learnt?
People want quality. At the start of lockdown, many companies (including Greengage) got away with putting out online performances that were a bit rough around the edges. This isn’t good enough anymore, and people look for the same level of thought and polish that they get in a physical venue.
Digital is its own format. It’s not television or film or audio but there’s plenty to learn from all three. It helps to start from what you want the audience to experience. It’s difficult to translate an in-person experience into a new medium. Digital is a new format, so artistic directors and performers need to adapt their style and story-telling techniques. Often, performers have to work harder to achieve the same intensity than they would in person.
Communal and interactive features in online performances are difficult to get right, and they’re not for everyone. Know. Your. Audience. Through a lot of trial and error, we’ve seen success in a few different ways. You can see some examples in the highlights video from Two Metres Apart below. Even with a younger and more informal crowd, 30–40% of people don’t want to take part. Your audience needs to be able to choose.
Is it live, or pre-recorded or both? Depending on the performance, it may be worth using a mix. Don’t be afraid it’s too complicated: it’s not, and can make a huge difference to the audience experience. There are plenty of tools (some free, some expensive) to make the transitions look slick.
Think carefully about pricing. “Free” is not the only option. “Free” is probably not even a good option. For both live events and on-demand performances, we’ve had success with “pay what you like” with carefully-defined price tiers. 80–90% of people pay something and the art is still accessible to all, regardless of their financial situation. Of course, this may not be right for every event.
Communicate clearly and a lot. Do not expect your audience to read everything. Make a very simple set of instructions on how to prepare and experience (or watch) the online performance. Send multiple reminders. Build in extra time on the day to help people who need it.
Think carefully about the start time and duration of an online performance. Don’t just put your online show out there and hope for the best. Hold a virtual premiere that feels like an event. If it’s a live performance, choose your start and end times carefully. Consider the mood of your event and how it could fit into somebody’s day or week. Choose a primary timezone but don’t forget your audience (or performers) on different timezones as well.
People who register for access are very engaged, regardless of what they pay (or if they pay nothing). People who have made a decision to register for something are just that much more invested. Take it from someone who worked in digital news at the height of the video boom: do not chase 3-second views on social media. They are meaningless. Seek engagement. Depending on the performance, Greengage’s audience stays for an average of 60 minutes.
People register really last minute. Don’t panic! Greengage gets 30–50% of ticket registrations in the last 24 hours. Just make sure your processes are automated so you don’t have a mountain of admin right before the show.
What’s next for Greengage?
Greengage is working on more digital theatre and music projects with artistic collaborators, and plans to release more performances.
We continue to release a (free) weekly newsletter which contains a curated list of the best online arts and culture events from around the world.
As government guidance about partial or full reopening of venues continues to evolve, Greengage will be sharing its expertise to help organisations navigate these challenges and create new revenue streams to support them through this difficult time.
If you or your organisation would like to talk or collaborate with Greengage, drop me a line at emily@greengageventures.com.
To find out more about Greengage, our performances or to sign up to the newsletter, visit the website: www.greengageventures.com
