Can Digital Engagement Transform the Performing Arts?

Abstract

From changing consumer relationships to demands for new experiences, performing arts institutions are under increasing pressure to embrace digital transformation. Technology is altering how audiences engage with the arts. Strategies to sustain existing formats, customers, and revenue models are unlikely to succeed. Cultural institutions in general and performing arts such as orchestras, ballets, and operas are rapidly adopting technology – with millions of social media followers, streaming, and online ticketing. Yet, these initiatives are fragmented, hard to assess. This research asks: What are the mechanisms driving digital innovation in performing arts institutions? The research approach includes field interviews with fifty performing arts organizations. The results show that engagement is an important construct for digital transformation. The components, development, instantiation, and impact of digital engagement are elaborated in a set of propositions that summarize the role of digital transformation in the performing arts.