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Post by PineappleForYou on Sept 6, 2024 22:16:01 GMT
Why did Broadway start publishing their figures in the first place? Do they have to do it by law or did the producers mutually agree to do it one day? Genuinely curious.
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Post by blamerobots on Sept 6, 2024 22:19:07 GMT
Looking at seat plans on booking websites are only good for a general guess.
The fact it's an account reporting statistics can make the percentages appear like the actual values rather than guesses (whether it's true or not doesn't matter if it's shouted loud enough)
Either way I think when you've been to shows so much and start to clock things that happen, you get a sense of how a show is doing anyways. Producers here want to keep how their shows are selling as much of a secret as possible to avoid any bad word-of-mouth or press, and pass it off as best as they can. While communities like this may speculate, they don't want the average person to know. Good luck getting them to release any kind of figures.
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Post by blamerobots on Sept 6, 2024 22:20:52 GMT
Why did Broadway start publishing their figures in the first place? Do they have to do it by law or did the producers mutually agree to do it one day? Genuinely curious. Broadway League did so for the sake of transparency I believe? Would love to know more from those more educated about it. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Sept 6, 2024 23:18:18 GMT
I know that a cease and desist was talked about this week. It does open a conversation about whether audience data should be made more openly available, which I'm not sure about. Other commercial businesses don't have to divulge that level of information - no one has a right to know how many tins of soup Sainsburys sell each day, for example. We all know that anyway, but when this does come up the conversation always seems to get closed down, by that reply. The theatre grosses would have no value to anyone but people working in the industry or theatre nerds anyway. So if Broadway can publish their grosses, why can’t we? if you want to work out how much a show grosses Operation Mincemeat is a good example, as every show is a sell out and their business model makes their grosses easy to calculate, it is embarrassing how low it is. |
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Post by sph on Sept 7, 2024 0:38:20 GMT
I suppose money made is different to seats filled though, isn't it? One show might make more money at 60% capacity than another would at 100%.
Percentage of seats filled exposes a show's popularity with audiences, which can put some in an embarrassing position.
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Post by Rory on Sept 7, 2024 5:43:56 GMT
I don't particularly want to see the figures. Mainly because I don't want to see the West End becoming as cut-throat as Broadway.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Sept 7, 2024 6:12:33 GMT
I don't particularly want to see the figures. Mainly because I don't want to see the West End becoming as cut-throat as Broadway. Exactly. We all got into theatre because of our love of performance and creativity. |
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Post by Jon on Sept 7, 2024 10:51:59 GMT
I don't think having an interest in the business side of theatre is a bad thing and it is a business just like anything else.
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Post by asfound on Sept 7, 2024 11:11:56 GMT
I don't particularly want to see the figures. Mainly because I don't want to see the West End becoming as cut-throat as Broadway. It's really striking to me how much it differs since I moved to New York for work. Tickets starting at $150+, lotteries that you can enter across the whole run and never win - the prize the "privilege" of purchasing awful $60 seats, stunt casting, bland productions clearly targeting the wealthy 60+ demographic, a serious lack of creativity and risk, hardly any exciting new plays. If we're talking off Broadway, since the West End was never my preference anyway, nothing that really comes close to the Royal Court or Donmar or Almeida or Barbican. St Anne's/The Shed are ok I guess, but mostly seems to be transfers (again, very risk averse). I miss theatre in London a lot, and I agree it should definitely not be trying to ape New York, where the needle is firmly stuck in the business side of the spectrum. |
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Post by properjob on Sept 8, 2024 6:40:19 GMT
I know that a cease and desist was talked about this week. It does open a conversation about whether audience data should be made more openly available, which I'm not sure about. Other commercial businesses don't have to divulge that level of information - no one has a right to know how many tins of soup Sainsburys sell each day, for example. We all know that anyway, but when this does come up the conversation always seems to get closed down, by that reply. The theatre grosses would have no value to anyone but people working in the industry or theatre nerds anyway. So if Broadway can publish their grosses, why can’t we? if you want to work out how much a show grosses Operation Mincemeat is a good example, as every show is a sell out and their business model makes their grosses easy to calculate, it is embarrassing how low it is. What do you mean by "it is embarrassing how low it is."? |
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