Pricing the performing arts

Pricing the performing arts is challenging due to the complexity of audience valuation of arts experiences, the inability of audience members to evaluate an arts experience before it is consumed, the inflexibility of production costs, and the variance in both ability and willingness to pay across audience members. This chapter examines current research surrounding strategies for pricing the performing arts, including price discrimination; dynamic pricing methods such as peak-load pricing and yield management or revenue management efforts; participative pricing mechanisms such as pay-what-you-want pricing; and the impact of these strategies on attendance, ticket sales, and revenue for the arts organization. Collectively, these strategies represent the performing arts industry’s ongoing efforts to reach audience members with limited ability to pay, encourage audience members with greater price sensitivity to attend, and match ticket prices to shifting demand and changes in audience members’ willingness to pay.