The Business of High Culture: Marketing the Performing Arts in Canada

Despite government funding and increasing support from corporations and private individuals, audiences for ‘high culture’ in Canada show signs of declining. Arts marketers are using increasingly sophisticated computer technology and expensive advertising channels to attract customers but are unable to stop the overall decline in either subscriber or single ticket sales. An analysis of the evolution of the Toronto arts market suggests that, contrary to the belief of most arts managers, competition between arts companies is intensifying and arts marketing must now move beyond advertising strategies suitable for a growth market and adopt competitive strategies designed to build market share at the expense of competitors.