Dallas-based theatergoers can enjoy a pay-what-you-want performance of Death of a Salesman at the Dallas Theater Center tomorrow. Tickets will be available at the theater starting at 10 AM the day of the performance. Who’ll glean a higher share of the list price: Arthur Miller or Radiohead? (HT: Larry Johnson)[%comments]
Pay-What-You-Wish Goes to the Theater
TAGS: pay as you wish
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A few theaters in Chicago are trying this, or a variation. It’s still too early to know how successful of a model it is, and how many theaters could implement it simultaneously and sustainably.
The high-quality Rep Stage in Columbia, Maryland, does this too, for selected performances of every play in its season.
Lots of theatres have implemented it simultaneously and sustainably. And they’ve been doing it for a long time. In Portland, Oregon, Thursday is the standard pay-what-you-will night for many theatre companies. There are several companies that also offer previews and open dress rehearsals with this payment system. As a working actor I can tell you that these audiences are some of the most responsive, giving, and grateful to be in attendance, which makes the performances at pay-what-you-will shows all the more enjoyable for actors and audiences.
for large venues and very popular acts or shows, why wouldn’t they go to an auction model for all seats?
If U2 plays in Dallas, why not auction seats section by section. Wouldn’t this get more $$ for the venue and artists and minimize the scalping market?
Here’s a pay-what-you-please widget for musicians, in beta test release. It’s essentially the Radiohead model, but much more user-friendly. After about a year of testing, most artists report that they receive a little more than when they used to charge .99/song. Much more of the revenue comes in the form of “tips,” though, suggesting that what fans really like to pay for is a sense of connection with the artist. quidplayer.com
The question you ask has an obvious answer. The strategy pay-what-you-wish doesn’t work when you sell online or when there is not a personal contact with a seller, and it works when you sell personally to the consumer.
(“tickets will be available in person at the Wyly Theatre Box Office at 10a.m. on the day of the performance”).
the problem with pay what you wish at a theatre is when the theatre gets sold out. It works well if the theatre doesn’t sell out, in fact it creates a form of price discrimination that probably increases producer and consumer surplus. but once it sells out there are those who value tickets higher who have missed out.
the perfect system would be a tender/silent auction where you find out just before the movie if your pay what you wish price scored you a ticket.
I’d have thought the more appropriate comparison should be with museums.
Does this sort of initiative drive a positive feedback? More bums on seats, who then generate future theatre goers (or exhibition attendees)? Does this then generate positive audience numbers helping attract higher-profile (and more profitable) productions/exhibitions?
Everyone looks at the immeditae impact (did a performance make money) but what about these hidden effects.
And thence, do larger audiences then spur greater creative effort, leading to more material for the audiences to consume (and so on)?