Artists who are still emerging in their field have some huge advantages over larger, or more established organizations.
For example, you probably don't have to deal with the "subscriber problem" because you don't have any and don't plan on getting any.
And you don't have to figure out how to "diversify" your organization because diversity is probably already baked into your work.
Those are huge advantages.
Really.
Because for those mid-sized to large institutions they have a huge challenge to deal with:
The pain threshold.
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Most arts organizations were not built for this world.
A world with endless entertainment options.
A world where the audience has been fairly static and unchanging.
A world where the wealth that was previously funneled to them is going to other places.
To adapt to this world is going to require a tremendous amount of pain.
The pain of not knowing exactly what to do next.
The pain of trying and failing.
So the only question left for those organizations is this:
How much pain can you handle?
That's why it's vital that these organizations have leaders, not managers.
Managers were great for the 70's, 80's and 90's.
Managers were good at keeping the ship moving and the lights on.
But they are pretty useless now.
You're not going to manage your way to the Promised Land.
Now you have to lead, as difficult as that can be sometimes.
And you have to prepare your organization for the pain.
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