Terry Teachout had a piece in the Wall Street Journal this week about Goldstar Events, a ticket discounting service which is apparently helping to fill lots of empty theatre seats with a young, diverse crowd.

The downside for those who might be slavering for anything to get butts in the old seats is that Goldstar only serves a handful of major metro areas. However, convention and visitor bureaus in cooperation with chambers of commerce in midsize and smaller cities might have the resources to replicate the service. (Those in the aforementioned larger cities who use the service, let me know what you think about it!)

As a marketing tool, Goldstar looks to be doing all the right things in terms of timing of information distribution, ease of purchase and follow up surveys that are used to improve the service.

I am a little dubious about the long term value for performing arts organizations. Teachout notes that the people who use the service “Feel little or no ‘sense of obligation to support important arts and cultural institutions with ticket dollars.'” This makes me suspect that the decision to attend is price sensitive and may be absent any aversion about trying something new at the regular price. If the Goldstar members view it as a bargain night out rather than an introductory price that reduces risk, there may never be a conversion of these people to regular ticket buyers.

Certainly, 200 seats sold at $10 is more sustainable over the long term than 200 empty seats. Over time it is still going to mean a greater dependence on fundraising if $10 becomes the new norm.

I use $10 because Goldstar advertises tickets at the price of a movie. In a study Next Generation Consulting conducted for the Arts Council of Indianapolis, they found that people in the under-40 group is willing to pay an average of $22.19. (which may be different in your locality based on cost of living differences). There is certainly an opportunity to charge more than $10. But if people are getting emails listing movies and live performances for $10 side by side with yours listed at $22, you may feel some pressure to reduce your pricing.

Ultimately, I think it is a mistake to get into a pricing war with competitors because I have never seen any evidence that loyalty was connected with price. You can’t build a relationship with pricing.

If you are considering getting involved with a service like Goldstar but aren’t willing to invest the time in creating an atmosphere that builds a relationship with the people showing up at your door, you might as well not even get started with the service. These folks have different expectations than do your long time supporters. If anything is going to change the absence of feeling obligated to support an arts organization, it is going to be the development of a relationship.

In an earlier entry I cited some findings from Next Generation Consulting that provide a good place to start when trying to figure out how to effect these changes.

Thanks to Theatreforte for featuring the link. I knew Terry was writing the piece, but didn’t know it was available online.