Editorial

Citation

Walmsley, B. and Meamber, L. (2017), "Editorial", Arts and the Market, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 2-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAM-03-2017-0002

1. A call to action: Arts and the Market

We are delighted to welcome you to the first issue of the seventh volume of Arts and the Market. For those of you that are not aware, we, Ben Walmsley and Laurie Meamber, are now co-editing the journal. Our backgrounds, like the diversity found in Arts and the Market, are pretty different, yet complementary to one another. Ben is a former theatre producer who now does research in the field of audience studies, while Laurie’s research has been primarily in the realms of marketing and consumption of arts and aesthetics.

Since 2011 Arts and the Market (former title – Arts Marketing: An International Journal) has been engaged in what the prior editorial team described as “terraforming” (i.e. creating a liveable habitat for a new and uncharted planet (research on arts marketing and the market)) and opening up “new frontiers”. Over these years Arts and the Market has been delivering a home for creative, challenging, and innovative research by academics, arts marketing practitioners, artists and policy makers. The focus of the outlet has been at the intersection of the arts, the market, and on the relationships, practices, and discourse that emerge therein. As we take over the editorship of the journal, we thought it would be appropriate to first review and reflect upon the important work appearing over the years in Arts and the Market (and Arts Marketing: An International Journal) in order to highlight the varied, interdisciplinary, and ground-breaking contributions of this publication in the realms of theory and practice to the fields and domains that traverse the arts and the market. We also introduce the contents of this issue. We next thank the editorial team that championed and led the journal over the past six years before finally turning to an update on the aims and scope of the journal.

2. Historical overview: review and reflection

The articles that have appeared in Arts and the Market reflect a broad definition of the arts as conceptualized with the launch of the journal. The creative industries and related phenomena that have been represented collectively over the past six years include: visual arts and crafts; museums; the performing arts, including music, theatre, and opera; film, television, and cinema; literature and online content; and, video – music videos, and videography. The contributions appearing in the journal from each of these spheres will be discussed below.

2.1 Visual arts and crafts

The cultural sectors of arts and crafts have been primary to the journal since its inception. Kleinschafer et al. (2011) explored how different market segments that identify with art galleries contribute financially and behaviourally to organizations. Kottász and Bennett (2013) developed and tested a relationship model of visual artists’ levels of commitment to their distributors (dealers, agents, gallery owners). Rodner and Thomson (2013) deconstructed the validation process and its components and terminology (the art machine) for contemporary arts. Valentine et al. (2013) explored the effectiveness of a research and development mentoring programme on improving craft practice. Dholakia et al. (2015) presented an examination of how arts production and marketing in an art village in China is filled with macro-level tensions and transitions, such as mass production vs high art, and indigenous vs western art motifs, in the face of rapid economic growth. Bachleda and Bennani (2016) examined the relationship between personality, such as openness and sensation seeking, and interest in the visual arts by Moroccan workers. Wilks (2016) tested and refined the signal transmission model in communication within the context of a new non-profit art foundation’s attempts to communicate its values to stakeholders.

As part of the special issue on brands in the arts and culture sector, Sjöholm and Pasquinelli (2014) analysed how contemporary artists construct and position their person brands from a spatial perspective of art studios as in-between spaces that can be important in building an artist’s brand. Preece (2014) examined power discourses of the arts market, including Western ideas, in relation to the Cynical Realist and Political Pop contemporary movements for the Chinese arts market. Rodner and Kerrigan (2014) highlighted the importance of the field of visual arts marketing for the development of branding theory and practice.

Certainly the visual arts and craft sectors are large and complex and we encourage additional work in these areas to be submitted to Arts and the Market in years to come.

2.2 Museums

Museums are likewise an important part of the non-profit and arts sector, and have been the subject of numerous studies, including those found in the special issue on brands in the arts and culture sector appearing in Arts and the Market. Rentschler et al. (2014) explored pro-activeness, innovation, and risk taking as drivers for the decision to include “blockbusters” (major exhibitions) as sub-brands in museums. Ober-Heilig et al. (2014) studied the importance of multidimensional experiential design for low-involvement museum visitors. As with the visual arts and crafts research, additional submissions in the realm of museum studies would be most welcome.

2.3 The performing arts

Several research papers appearing in the journal over the years have addressed issues related to the performing arts and performing arts organizations more generally. Kirchner et al. (2012) explored disruptive marketing in the non-profit and arts sector. Conway and Leighton (2012) investigated experiential marketing as a potential strategy for cultural attractions. Rowlands (2012), an arts marketing professional, wrote about the challenges facing arts marketing in the coming years and suggested that organizations utilize long-term strategic planning, including audience development and education. Tyrie and Ferguson (2013) examined experiences, expectations, motivations, and perceptions as components of value derivation to broaden social exchange theory in the content of arts sponsorships in New Zealand. As part of the special issue on brands in the arts and culture sector, Halliday and Astafyeva (2014) used brand community theory to study millennial cultural consumers and how to reach, attract, and retain them in arts organizations. In a later issue, Johnson et al. (2016) analyzed the online presence and strategic approach utilized by arts organizations in response to critique. Ryan and Blois (2016) utilized Fiske’s rational models theory to address risks and opportunities in corporate arts sponsorship arrangements in achieving balance between artistic excellence and financial stability, and keeping work accessible and satisfying a range of stakeholders. Hegner et al. (2016) examined the impact of four marketing tactics on important dimensions of customer relationships in the context of a performing arts venue in a Dutch city. Dallenbach et al. (2016); used a sensemaking perspective to study arts sponsorship decisions. Kolhede and Gomez-Arias (2016) segmented infrequent performing arts consumers in the San Francisco Bay Area to inform organizations’ audience development and relationship marketing perspectives.

While this body of research has been large and important, there are many opportunities for future studies on the performing arts, and performing arts organizations in general terms, as well as in subgenres of the performing arts such as those listed below to be included in Arts and the Market.

2.3.1 Music

Music has been an important arena for research in Arts and the Market and under its previous title, and we wish this to continue. One of the first articles appearing in the journal was by Kerrigan and Dennis (2011) and explored issues of inclusion and exclusion, in terms of consumption of jazz music and the use of film to introduce jazz to a larger audience, from Bourdieu’s cultural and social capital perspective. In the second volume, Duffett (2012) examined why concert promoters advertise sold-out live music shows utilizing Durkheim’s theory of religion – the “jolt of effervescence” between artists and fans. In the third volume, Pitts and Burland (2013) illustrated how listening to live jazz has a social element, and Oakes et al. (2013) studied department store music and how it elicits emotional and behavioural responses. Henderson (2013) utilized a social marketing approach as the basis of presenting a developmental model of sustainable live music touring. Cluley (2013) argued that consumption served as a discursive resource to allow cultural producers of music to make sense of their production activities. Hodgkins (2013) discussed, from a practitioner perspective, an account of the changing (declining) attendance of young adults as jazz events. Music also continued to be studied in later volumes and address subjects such as emotions, behaviour, and technology. Wood and Moss (2015) examined the techniques found in subjective well-being and happiness studies and their applicability for understanding and evaluating emotional responses experienced in live music events that impact future behaviour. Gosling et al. (2016) presented the findings of a longitudinal collaborative research project on the London Symphony Orchestra’s branded smartphone app that was designed to engage and inform a student audience and sell discounted tickets.

Notably, the first special issue of the journal took as its topic the business of live music. Articles in this issue include a number of different topics related to live musical promotion. Homan (2011) examined the effects of government cultural policies on Australian live music venues. Waksman (2011) presented a historical perspective on Jenny Lind’s first concerts in America in 1850 and reflected on issues that have contemporary resonance in the promotion of large scale musical performance, such as balancing of class interests, pursuit of profit, and crowd control. Long (2011) explored student unions as venues for live music in post-war Britain, including their role and character in the music economy. Kronenburg (2011) presented a study on the design and categorization of popular music performance space, in response to changing artist, promoter, and audience demands. Anderton (2011) used cultural heritage and Bakhtin’s “carnivalesque” as a lens to examine outdoor rock and pop music festivals since the mid-1960s in relation to corporate sponsorship in the contemporary music festival sector. Wilson (2011) considered the aesthetic and commercial success of “historically informed performance” movement in the 1970s and 1980s in the UK, including the mediating role the discourse of authenticity in bridging the art-commerce divide.

2.3.2 Theatre

There have been several studies related to theatre over the years, and we hope to see future research in this area. Guercini and Ranfagni (2012) analyzed the emergent role of the market in Italian theatre. Walmsley (2013) explored the impact of theatre on audiences from their perspective, both immediately and over time. Included in the special issue of brands in the arts and culture sector, Baumgarth (2014) investigated brand attitude and brand attachment on theatre audience behaviour, including volunteering. Caldwell and Nicholson (2014) investigated the casting of celebrities in London’s West End theatres on audience behaviour. Hausmann and Poellmann (2016) examined the role of e-word of mouth in the marketing of theatres in Germany. Warne and Drake-Brooks (2016) focussed on comparing persuasiveness and professionalism of various sources of information (newspaper, blog, social media) in consumers’ willingness to purchase a ticket to a theatrical production.

2.3.3 Opera

Hall et al. (2016) examined bundling consumer benefits, such as backstage meetings with the cast, introductions to operas and facilitated parking options, as a means of adding value and satisfaction to enhance consumer loyalty in the context of opera. In introducing the current issue we will discuss another paper on opera and we encourage additional work in this domain.

2.3.4 Film, television, and cinema

While there has yet to be content in Arts and the Market in the arenas of film and cinema, there has been a special issue published on the culture and design of titles, teasers, and trailers as related to television and other media content. We hope that scholars will continue to explore these mediums and also provide contributions on film and cinema. Vollans (2015) presented a methodology for exploring promotional trailers in the public domain as an experiential promotion. Grainge and Johnson (2015) examined the professional and creative culture of UK television marketing. Macdonald (2015) illustrated how television graphic designers attempt to engage audiences through technology and through the art form of TV idents. Brownie (2015) proposed that transforming letterforms impact the relationship between broadcasting identity and television brands. Wroot (2015) examined text and layout of websites in the context of UK DVD distributors and promotion of Asian media. Janes (2015) investigated the ways in which players and producers of promotional alternate reality games negotiate commercial status as marketing materials. We have confidence that film and cinema scholars as well as those who study television-related issues and content will consider Arts and the Market a home for this research.

2.3.5 Literature and online content

Two papers focus specifically on the relationship between arts and the market in the context of literature and books. Brown (2011) illustrated the power of storytelling and the long-standing marketing practices embedded in the book industry. In a later paper, Brown (2015) showed that modernism’s literary masterworks and the divide between elite and popular culture was bridged by marketing.

A special issue focussed on cultural consumers and copyright, spanning the gap between text and images in the traditional and online space. Andersson (2012) examined the civic (consumer, amateur or fan) world view of cultural consumers in Sweden who download and share content for free. Ren and Montgomery (2012) considered consumer-driven innovation in online literature production in China that occurs when there is a lack of copyright protection. Lee (2012) explored “mange scanlators” who translate Japanese comics into English and share them with others around the world as a new form of cultural intermediaries that create their own markets. Brennan and Savage (2012) presented a framework for ethical commerce between indigenous communities and businesses/consumers. Tillery (2012) provided a professional’s perspective on the publishing industry’s response to the rise of participatory consumption and social networking in the book publishing industry.

Additional research in the traditional and online publishing domains is welcome at Arts and the Market.

2.3.6 Video – music videos and videography

Arts and the Market also embraces and encourages research in the visual domains of video, including music and dance videos, video gaming, and videography. The first steps in these directions are found in more recently published articles. Hong and Kim (2016) unpacked Asian-born celebrity culture and celbrification process using Psy’s Gangnam Style, in the context of contributing to global consumers’ identity struggles, prototypes for global branding strategy, media industry content, and sociocultural transformation. Petr et al. (2015) presented a comprehensive review of the videography research methodology.

3. Summing up the overview

Each of the papers published in Arts and the Market and Arts Marketing: An International Journal makes an important contribution to our understanding of a multitude of topics and issues, including: the tension between arts and commerce; arts marketing issues – value, benefits, segmentation, audience development, promotion, and marketing communications – advertising, e-word of mouth and social media, experiential marketing, atmospherics, design, and architecture; strategic planning; consumer-driven innovation; globalization, ethical commerce, and sustainability issues in the arts; cultural production and distribution processes – including the role of celebrities, and intermediaries; and, technology and its use and impact upon the arts. In addition, special issues have focussed on topics related broadly to arts and the market and include: the business of live music; cultural consumers and copyright; and brands in the arts and cultural sector. The diversity of the contributions found above is also reflected in the methodologies employed to study the multiplicity of topics. Methods and analyses used in the research have included quantitative, qualitative, and multimethod research approaches. Single and multiple case analyses, depth interviews, surveys, diaries, focus groups, introspection, lab experiments, and observations have all been employed, as well as historical analyses, bibliographic analysis, videography, critical discourse analysis, content analysis, thematic analysis, experience sampling and day reconstruction, among others. In addition to research studies, content has included creative insights by arts marketing professionals, book reviews, and comprehensive reviews and visual maps of the domains of arts marketing/management research.

In particular, the following review articles have helped to define the state of the research and to identify opportunities for research going forward, and we hope that more of these types of articles continue to be submitted to Arts and the Market.

Fillis (2011) traces the beginning and evolution of arts marketing research from the not-for-profit sector and from an application of marketing into a discipline where creative and critical approaches generate significant insights. O’Reilly (2011) provides a visual map of the arts marketing literature and the potential for broadening the art-marketing research domain and engaging disciplines beyond marketing. Rentschler and Kirchner (2012) presented a bibliometric analysis of the content of leading management and marketing journals over a span of 22 years. Findings indicated that relatively few citations in top journals include arts management/marketing journals. Collectively, these articles demonstrate the importance of the work in the journal and the significance of Arts and the Market as a dedicated outlet for such work.

4. Volume 7, Issue 1

Turning now to the content in this latest issue of Arts and the Market, the articles continue to reflect the breath of content found in earlier issues. Fitting into the category of research on the Performing Arts, Berit Sandberg’s piece titled “Functions of intermediaries in arts-based cooperations” examines a newer form of interaction between business and art, an art-based cooperation that involves artists working with and within companies, often to find solutions to business problems. Case studies and interviews are analyzed utilizing transaction cost theory and information economics to illuminate an intermediation theory of these cooperative structures. This work provides important insights into the critical role that intermediaries play in bringing parties together and bridging the cultural and business divides as these types of collaborative forms continue in the future.

Also under the umbrella of the performing arts, Nicola Williams-Burnett and Heather Skinners’ article titled “Critical reflections on performing arts impact evaluations” offers insights on various approaches to the evaluation of impact of arts or cultural products, including a drawing methodology that can be utilized with children, and reflects upon the role of academic researchers in performing impact evaluations. Designed especially for use by smaller non-profit arts organizations, this paper is concerned with evaluating the impact of the performing arts, and with the act itself of performing such evaluations. As arts organizations continue to justify the impact of their offerings, this work provides much needed insights into the process and reflects the journal’s developing focus on connections between methods, management, and policy.

Opera studies sometimes struggle to find a scholarly home in academic journals, so it is a positive sign to see an article in this issue that explores the challenges and benefits of developing an archival website dedicated to the promotion of the art form. Peter James Fraser, Iain Simon Fraser, and Alexander Stephen Fraser’s “Impact and OperaScotland, the listings and archive website” provides an original and reflective case study on the process and outcomes of establishing a new artistic enterprise. The study concludes that the development of a specialist or niche hobby website is a slow process requiring significant personal effort and resources. This is largely because, in addition to the extensive research required to populate an archival web platform, its subsequent promotion requires a diverse range of labour-intensive activities, including networking, face-to-face selling, word of mouth, and social media marketing. These findings are significant for the many millions of fans, buffs and hobbyists who are taking an increasingly active and co-creative role in the arts, leisure and entertainment sectors.

We are delighted to see that Arts and the Market is already attracting submissions in the field of audience research. “Audience exchange: cultivating peer-to-peer dialogue at unfamiliar arts events” by Stephanie Pitts and Jonathan Gross explores how post-event interaction between audience members can shed fresh light on the audience development conundrum of how new audiences experience unfamiliar artistic events. Based on a case study with contemporary arts audiences, this rich qualitative paper illustrates and critically analyses the “audience exchange” method, whereby facilitated conversations after performances enable and empower newcomers to reflect upon and deepen their first-time encounters with live arts. Providing significant new insights into Lynne Conner’s (2013) thesis that post-show conversations can significantly enrich the audience experience, Pitts and Gross’s study reveals how participants use exploratory and emotional language to articulate their understanding of artistic events. This could assist audience development activity in audience recruitment and retention.

“An evaluation of performance arts in generating business value” by Tracy Harwood and Sophy Smith explores how aspects of the performance process can support business activity. Based once again on the findings of a qualitative case study, the authors highlight the importance of the audience as participants in creative dialogue and conclude that the reflexive nature of devised performance can prove highly beneficial to complex psychological management processes such as managing change. This confirms previous findings from scholars such as Chris Bilton, Martin Beirne, and Stephanie Knight, alongside the many others cited in the paper, which also highlight how artistic practices such as rehearsal and improvisation can have a positive business impact by encouraging more creative approaches to strategic management. At a time when the arts are coming under intense financial scrutiny and when public funding seems to be gradually ebbing away, the commercial transferability of established artistic practices is perhaps a more important consideration than ever before. As editors, we are therefore encouraged to see broader managerial and policy-focussed questions receiving scholarly scrutiny in Arts and the Market. This bodes very well for ongoing attempts to broaden the focus and readership of the journal.

Finally, the issue concludes with “What’s in a thang? Dancing to brand image with Miley Cyrus’s multimodal dance spectacle” by George Rossolatos. Presenting an interpretative, multimodal (semiotic) analysis of a performance captured live in front of an audience, the paper provides contributions to research practice in terms of approach to analysis and to discussions of the artists as brand. Emphasizing the dance mode (kinesic and haptic) in addition to the verbal and sonic found in the song, and the interactions between modes, the work presents a hermeneutic reading of the performer’s manifest discourse and latent brand image and values. The introduction of the multimodal reading grid offers a tool for researchers to conduct analyses of performances and can also serve as a brand planning tool for performers. This paper contributes to and illustrates the interdisciplinary potential of Arts and the Market, connecting content areas of the performing arts (original music and dance performance), video, and branding research.

5. Thanks

Before turning to the aims and scope of Arts and the Market going forward, we would like to take the opportunity to recognize and to thank Gretchen Larsen and Noel Dennis on behalf of all of the authors, editorial advisory board and reviewers, and readers of Arts and the Market (formerly Arts Marketing: An International Journal) for establishing this locale for all of us to read and publish cutting-edge research that reveals the tensions, relationships, and practices at the nexus of arts and the market. Gretchen and the editorial team’s re-launching of the journal under its new name in 2013 underscored and encouraged even greater diversity of topics and perspectives as outlined above. Arts and the Market is now indexed in Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). This new index, in the Web of Science™ Core Collection “expands the citation universe and reflects the growing global body of science and scholarly activity. ESCI complements the highly selective indexes by providing earlier visibility for sources under evaluation as part of SCIE, SSCI, and AHCI’s rigorous journal selection process. Inclusion in ESCI provides greater discoverability which leads to measurable citations and more transparency in the selection process”. We cannot express our gratitude strongly enough to both Gretchen and Noel for founding the journal, and to Gretchen and editorial team for their ongoing leadership throughout these past six years.

We hope to build upon the success of Arts and the Market and its inclusive aims as we now become the co-editors. Our renewed vision and priorities for Arts and the Market are reflected in the discussion of our revised aims and scope for the journal below. We hope that Arts and the Market will continue to be a preferred outlet for leading research from around the world in the multi-disciplinary and international fields that address issues related to the arts (in the broadest sense), and the market, including audience policy and research.

6. Our new aims and scope

The first thing we did when we took over the editorship of the journal was to reflect on its existing aims and scope. The values and ambitions that excited both of us were the following: the focus on creativity in the development of theory and practice; the ambition to challenge and build upon current orthodoxy in the field; and the determination to showcase cutting-edge research that will impact both on the academy and on professional practice. We hope you agree that these values lie at the heart of Arts and the Market and that they therefore provide a coherent vision that should continue to guide our editorial decision making.

One thing that intrigued us was the fascinating question of which issues actually lie at the intersection of arts and the market. There is something almost oxymoronic about the journal title: while “arts” might conjure up noble notions of high culture, aesthetic excellence, lofty garrets and intrinsic value, “the market” speaks to the more instrumental side of creative endeavour, to cultural enterprise, strategic management and, dare we say, to profit. So there is, perhaps, a healthy tension at the core of this inherently interdisciplinary journal: a tension that admittedly sometimes divides, but hopefully more often than not unites, scholars and practitioners working in fields as diverse as arts marketing, cultural policy, leisure studies, performance studies, museology, musicology, media studies, psychology, sociology, and management. The journal certainly brings together scholars from multifarious disciplines straddling business and management, creative arts and design, and the humanities and social sciences. It hopefully speaks to and gives a voice to artists and practitioners working in the visual arts, museums, heritage, literature, theatre, opera, dance, music, crafts, fashion, gaming, film and video, to name but a few. This rich interdisciplinarity must continue to be its strength.

The most important people lying at the intersection of arts and the market are of course audiences and consumers. As highlighted earlier in the article summaries in the editorial, this journal has always provided a natural scholarly home for consumer behaviour research. We are keen at this stage in the journal’s lifecycle to develop this area of focus: to support and encourage contributions that investigate the arts and its related markets from the audience perspective. Audiences are the life blood of a sustainable arts and cultural sector. Yet, despite the vital role that audiences play across the globe in supporting and giving meaning to the arts, we know that audience research remains sporadic and that it is often compromised by methodological insecurity and claims of positive bias (Johanson and Glow, 2015). Because of this, audiences’ issues and voices are often marginalized or even discredited through sometimes valid concerns about advocacy or illegitimacy. However, there is now a critical mass of academics (Ben included) working in the field of audience studies; but we continue to lack a scholarly home and often encounter geographical, disciplinary, and methodological barriers which prevent us from forming a coherent scholarly community. We hope therefore that this journal will quickly start to provide an international platform to showcase emerging audience research and address some seemingly entrenched methodological barriers and concerns.

So whilst we remain committed to the inclusive aims of research into the arts and their related markets, we are keen to respond to the growing global interest in audience policy and research, most notably around aspects of audience development, engagement and enrichment, including emerging theories and practices of participation, active spectatorship, co-production, and co-creation. We are also eager for the journal to respond to current initiatives such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Cultural Value project in the UK by proactively soliciting submissions that critically interrogate the impact of the arts and culture on the demand side of the market.

As stated above, this journal is dedicated to challenging current orthodoxy in the field and showcasing cutting-edge research. In the cultural and creative industries, consumers’ behaviour and expectations are visibly changing as the current generation of “prosumers” matures and as drivers such as big data, co-creation, participation, and digital dissemination and engagement continue to impact on practice. Going forward, we will need to find increasingly innovative methods to capture the impact of these phenomena on consumer experience in creative but rigorous ways; we will need to develop new approaches that minimise positive bias and shed fresh light on timely questions of cultural and creative value.

At the same time, there is a pressing need for research in the arts and cultural industries to adopt an international approach because the relationship between cultural production and consumption is itself increasingly international. This globalization manifests, for example, in the rise in international live streaming, in the growing socio-economic importance of cultural tourism, and in increasingly global arts touring and festivals circuits. As globalization comes under ever closer political scrutiny, perhaps now is the time for the journal to properly interrogate the challenges and benefits of cross- and inter-cultural marketing. But the journal cannot be truly international without a more balanced global readership and without attracting high quality submissions from all over the world. So, one of our most urgent priorities will be to increase submissions from currently under-represented regions. We will work closely with the editorial advisory board on this to ensure that key regions are as fairly represented as possible.

This, then, is a call to action: a call for researchers and practitioners to probe the apparent tensions between the arts and their related markets; to collaborate across established art forms and disciplines to develop innovative ways of understanding and articulating audiences’ and consumers’ experiences; and, perhaps above all, to critically explore the role and purpose of marketing the arts and the arts market in a fractured global world.