At least this one isn’t just Millennials’ fault. But seriously, buffets used to dot the landscape in the United States. No longer. “Yelp and Google Reviews and TripAdvisor and all of their ilk could be partially responsible for the demise of buffets. When things go awry — be it food poisoning or oyster crackers — a record is online instantly. There are no secrets.” – Vox
Category: AUDIENCE
How Did The Moomins Get So Popular?
For years, they were a secret of Finnish literature, guarded by those who loved them fiercely. Then the author died, the books were reissued, and the absolute flood of character consumer opportunities began. (And now there’s a new “all singing, all dancing TV adaptation.”) – The Guardian (UK)
How 3D-Printed Replicas Of Objects Are Changing The Ways Museums Can Engage Their Audiences
“Being able to touch, explore the shape, feel the weight and even smell the replica of an artefact has the potential to transform cultural heritage experiences. In reality, these connections are the closest that most people could ever have with heritage objects. What is new about digitally-fabricated replicas is that they can be extremely accurate with regards to the shape of the original.” – The Conversation
For Its National Book Week, The Netherlands Makes Trains Free If You Showed A Book Instead Of A Ticket
Not just any book, mind you. “Traditionally, a well-known Dutch author writes a special novel – the book week gift or Boekenweekgeschenk – which is given out for free to people who buy books during the festivities or sign up to a library. But the special book … can also be presented instead of a rail ticket on every train in the country on the Sunday of book week.” – The Independent (UK)
‘Netflix Of E-Books’ Begins Offering Original Content
Scribd, a subscription service for e-books and audiobooks with over 1 million paying subscribers, is launching Scribd Originals, which will “focus on ‘the space between a magazine article and a book’ — namely, pieces up to 50,000 words in length that are too long to run in a magazine but aren’t long enough to be published as a standalone book.” – TechCrunch
To Increase Access, English National Opera To Reduce Lowest Ticket Prices And Introduce Early Start Times And Relaxed Performances
The London company has held its highest ticket price at £125 and cut its lowest to £10 and is expanding its free-balcony-seats-for-under-18s from Saturdays to Fridays and opening nights. In addition, the company will offer its first-ever relaxed performance (with accommodation for learning-disabled and autistic attendees), and at least one performance in each run of an opera will end by 10 pm. – The Stage
Recorded Music Revenues Up For Fourth Year In A Row, Soar To Global Record
Streaming revenue grew by 34.0% and accounted for almost half (47%) of global revenue, powered by a 32.9% increase in paid subscription streaming, according to the report. There were 255 million users of paid streaming services at the end of 2018, with paid streaming accounting for 37% of total recorded music revenue. Growth in streaming more than offset a 10.1% decline in physical revenue and a 21.2% decline in download revenue. – Variety
New Design Thinking: Accessibility Is A Design Issue
Traditionally, what people get through mass production is something designed for an abstraction of an ideal male body. Customarily, those whose bodies did not fit the standard, who were not spry or male, had to make do. Designers didn’t account for variations of the human body. – Aeon
The Difference Between Audience Engagement And Community Engagement
“The term [‘community engagement’], and more importantly the idea, is something that funders and other decision makers are looking for — and we know it. … With the increased use of this term, there has been some confusion as to what community engagement actually is. One of the most common points of confusion has come around differentiating the terms ‘community engagement’ and ‘audience engagement.’ Let’s start by defining what each of these terms is individually.” – Americans for the Arts
English National Opera Sees Some Box Office Success, With One Show Last Year Its Best Seller Ever
“[The company’s] figures showed it had brought thousands of new people to the art form during recent months. It has achieved 75 per cent capacity in its 2000-plus seater Coliseum with 47 per cent of its bookers by first-timers. The 2018 production of Porgy and Bess was its highest grossing show ever.” – The Times (UK)