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Universilv Micrdnlms International 300 N. Z eeb Road Ann Arbor. Ml 48106 1320658 SHERMAN, VICKI ANN AN ANALYSIS OF REDUCED PRICE TICKET CENTERS THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY M.A. 1983 University Microfilms InternStionel 30 0 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Copyright i9S3 by SHERMAN, VICKI ANN All Rights Reserved AN ANALYSIS OF REDUCED PRICE TICKET CENTERS by Vicki A. Sherman submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Performing Arts Signatures of Committee Chairman I AÂÀjJk^ Dean of the College J ■ /j , / ? > Datp)atp 7 1983 The American University Washington, D.C. 20016 iolls?7> AN ANALYSIS OF REDUCED PRICE TICKET CENTERS BY Vicki A. Sherman ABSTRACT As performing arts organizations are finding economic survival increasingly difficult, the implementation of creative marketing techniques, such as discount ticketing, has become necessary. "An Analysis of Reduced Price Ticket Centers" examines the evolution, success, and adaptation of the Times Square Theatre Center (TKTS), the first discount ticket booth. Operation of discount booths in several United States cities and in London, England has significantly increased net revenues to participating organizations. Many factors must be considered in adapting the TKTS model because the level and type of arts activity vary in every city. By analyzing TKTS and adaptations, the author has concluded that the marketing strategy of discount ticketing is a viable technique, helping performing arts organizations lessen the gap between revenues and expenditures. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The assistance and guidance of many people was necessary to research and write this thesis. The author gratefully acknowledges their efforts. Special thanks to her thesis advisors, Valerie Morris, Charles Crowder and Kenneth Baker for their wise suggestions and for the countless hours they spent working with the author. To the staff of many organizations who provided valuable research materials, a special thank you to Peter Jablow and the staff of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington and to the staff of the Theatre Development Fund and to Andrea Rounds for her patience in conveying the elements of style to the author. And last, a sincere thanks to the author's family for their constant support. Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .............................................. Ü ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................... i ü INTRODUCTION .......................................... 1 The Economie Situation ............................ 6 Chapter I. THE TIMES SQUARE THEATRE CENTER ................ 7 Planning ..................................... 7 The Theatre Development Fund ............... 8 Description ................... 12 Impact on Performing Arts Organizations . 13 Problems and Modifications ................. 16 II. B O S T I X .......................................... 19 Arts Boston ................................... 19 Planning ...................... 21 Description . 24 Impact on Cultural Organizations ........... 26 Problems and Modifications ................. 27 III. TICKETPLACE...................................... 28 Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington . 28 P l a n n i n g ..................................... 30 Description ................................... 36 Impact on Performing Arts Organizations . 37 Problems and Modifications ................. 39 IV. PLANS FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO TICKET BOX O F F I C E ..................................... 42 V. PLANS TO ADAPT THE TIMES SQUARE THEATRE C ENTER ................................ 45 P i t t s b u r g h .............................. 45 Philadelphia ................................. 47 iv Chapter D e n v e r ....................................... 49 Chicago and L o n d o n ........................... 50 VI. CONCLUSION ...................................... 53 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................... 57 V INTRODUCTION Facing severe funding shortages in an unstable economy, performing arts organizations are finding economic survival increasingly difficult. Within the last twenty years, performing arts organizations have created and adapted a variety of marketing techniques to counter this economic trend. Marketing techniques have enlarged audiences by generating larger ticket sales, increasing an organization's visibility to a wider public. One innovative marketing technique was the sale of half-price tickets to theatrical performances on the day of the show. The first half-price ticket booth, the Times Square Theatre Center (TKTS), was instituted by the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) in 1973. TKTS proved so successful that it soon became a model for the establishment of half-price ticket booths in several major U.S. cities, including Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., as well as London, England. In each case, the ticket booth has significantly increased attendance and net revenues for performing arts organizations, helped to attract new and more diverse patrons, and increased the frequency of attendance of former patrons.^ This thesis will examine the evolution and success of this half-price marketing strategy, its impact on the financial stability of performing arts organizations in communities where it operates, and innova­ tive adaptations to the marketing strategy. This thesis will also examine the underlying factors making this marketing technique so vital to the sustenance of performing arts organizations and the industry as a whole. Discussion will briefly focus on the economic structure of presenting live performances; its relationship to the adaptation and refine­ ment of half-price ticket booths; and the marketing strategies of the umbrella organizations which have sponsored and developed these projects. The ticket booths in New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. will be analyzed in light of their application to the audience development potential of other metropolitan cultural communities. The Economic Situation Despite a surge of interest and enthusiasm in the performing arts over the last twenty years, performing arts institutions must still struggle to remain financially solvent. The economic structure of presenting live ^Theatre Development, "A Strategic Plan for a Central Ticket Marketing Outlet for the Performing Arts in Washing­ ton, D.C." (New York: Theatre Development Fund, 1980). performances has never been conducive to making a profit. Costs rise more rapidly than revenues, leaving a performing arts organization with an earnings gap. fThe gap is nearly forty percent for most nonprofit groups. Broadway theatres and other profit-making entities find it equally hard to break even. Unlike nonprofit organizations, the dilemma of commercial companies is exacerbated by their inability to solicit tax-deductible contributions.) The earnings gap is the main financial problem beset­ ting performing arts organizations. William Baumol and William Bowen compiled the initial research explaining this phenomenon. Although the findings of their research, presented in Performing Arts; The Economic Dilemma, are based on studies conducted prior to 1966, they remain 2 applicable to the performing arts industry today. Three options employed to help mitigate the financial difficulties facing performing arts groups are raising ticket prices, soliciting funds from outside sources, and reducing the number of unsold seats. There are limitations to the benefits of employing these options, which performing arts organizations must consider. The first option, raising ticket

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