Leading the Way with TRG Arts

In Part 1 of our Demand series, Before We Talk About Ticket Prices, Let’s Talk About Demand , we explored what creates demand in the first place. Now comes the fun part. Once demand exists, how do you actually manage it? The team begins with one metric most organizations overlook: per capita revenue. More than almost any other number, it reveals how audiences are valuing an event and whether deman...

When revenue goals aren't being met, it's natural to look at pricing.  Should tickets cost more? How high is too high? Should we discount more often? Are ticket prices driving audiences away?     But what if price isn't the place to start?  In Part 1 of this two-part conversation on demand, we step back to explore one of the most important questions facing arts organizations today: What actually d...

Most arts organizations can tell you their revenue targets. Fewer can clearly identify the relationships that will deliver them.  As financial pressure continues across the sector, many organizations focus on short-term income. But as this episode explores, revenue doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s built through strengthening audience relationships over time.  This conversation introduces TRG’s co...

Arts leaders are under increasing pressure: financial, operational, and cultural. So, what does it look like to respond differently?  In this bonus episode of Leading the Way , Jill Robinson speaks with Christina Littlejohn, CEO of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra , about choosing growth when contraction might seem like the safer option.  Facing a significant financial gap, Christina made a deliber...

Why Adaptability, Relationships, and People Will Define the Next Era of Arts Leadership   Arts leaders today are navigating constant disruption. Economic pressure, rapid technological change, and shifting audience behavior have made the environment far more complex than the one many arts organizations were originally built for. Many institutions are still operating on 20th-century funding models w...

Most arts organizations can tell you their revenue targets. Fewer can name the segments, behaviors and people that will actually deliver them. When financial pressure rises, leaders default to revenue buckets: tickets, subscriptions, donations. But as this episode makes clear, those buckets don’t buy tickets. People do. This conversation reframes budgeting through a People lens. Revenue is not a l...

Why Experience, Access, and Perception Drive Audience Behavior   When demand for performances softens or fluctuates, the pressure inside arts organizations intensifies. Leaders feel it in budgets, board conversations, staff morale, and the constant urge to “do something” to influence sales. Too often, that something is discounting, comping, or quietly pulling back on the audience experience. This...

In the arts world, success isn’t just about bringing in new people; it’s about building long-lasting relationships with the ones you already have. The key to sustainability lies not in finding more first-time visitors, but in building strategies to inspire your existing audience to return again and again (and again). This episode explores why frequency, or deepening the rate at which customers com...

Arts and cultural organizations have more data than ever before, yet many leaders still struggle to know what to measure… or how to act on it. Too often, we drown in reports, track numbers no one uses, or rely on anecdote instead of evidence. The result? Decisions shaped by habit, instinct, or overload rather than clarity.  In this episode, we explore the six must-know audience and revenue metrics...

Pricing isn’t just a box office task. It's one of the most strategic levers arts organizations have. Yet too often, pricing is treated as an emotional, reactive decision; or worse, an afterthought.  In this episode, we unpack why the sector has fallen behind inflation, why the fear of raising prices lingers, and how strategic pricing can reshape both revenue resilience and accessibility. From pand...

Right People. Right Message. Right Time. Every Time. We explore why so many arts campaigns feel fragmented, and how smarter segmentation can fix it. From overlapping messages to audience fatigue, misaligned marketing and development teams are often the root of the problem. But when arts leaders take ownership of segmentation as a strategic discipline, campaigns become clearer, more effective, and...

Three out of four first-time attendees never return . Not because the art isn’t strong, but because the follow-up isn’t built for loyalty. Most arts & cultural organizations are investing in acquisition, but losing the retention game where it matters most: right after the first visit. In this episode, we explore why timing trumps intention, where most post-show strategies fall short, and how s...

In this episode of Leading the Way, Jill S. Robinson talks with Seth Godin about strategic leadership in the arts. Together, they explore how cultural leaders can bridge immediate operational demands with long-term vision, embracing adaptability, empathy, and purpose to create meaningful, audience-centered institutions that thrive beyond today's challenges.    Drawing on insights from Seth’s lates...

In this bonus episode of "Leading the Way" with Jill S. Robinson speaks with Marna Seltzer and Dasha Koltunyuk from Princeton University Concerts. Explore how they're reshaping the classical music landscape through groundbreaking initiatives designed to connect deeply with audiences in a post-pandemic world. From the serene blend of music with meditation to the powerful Healing with Music series,...

In this bonus episode of "Leading the Way" with Jill S. Robinson, the spotlight is on Ariel Fristoe, the Artistic Director of Out of Hand Theater, an Atlanta-based theater company renowned for its innovative integration of art, social justice, and civic engagement. The conversation delves into the origins, evolution, and significant impact of Out of Hand Theater since its inception in 2001. Ariel...

Jill S. Robinson closes out season 1 of Leading the Way with a retrospective considering the patterns and through lines of her conversations this year. Innovators or disruptors all, the guests of Leading the Way point to not only the key pillars of TRG Arts, but also the direction of necessary attention for arts and cultural leaders heading into 2024 and longer, 2040 and beyond.     For additional...

In this episode, Jill talks with Alecia Lawyer (artistic director and founder of the chamber orchestra, ROCO). Alecia shares how this Houston-based orchestra disrupts and innovates the traditional presentation of classical music. With a revenue model where 95% comes from contributed revenue, ROCO designs audience-first experiences. Alecia is putting the fun, access, and creative license back into...

In this episode, Jill talks with Andrew Taylor (program director and associate professor of Arts Management at American University), a leading voice in the North American nonprofit arts sector, to discuss the prevalent issue of the “overhead myth.”  The discussion takes a deep dive into the challenges arts organizations face, the scarcity mindset, and the importance of understanding the values in...

In this episode, the Boston Children's Chorus (BCC) shares its organizational mission, spotlighting the pivotal role of its new Director of Good Trouble. Guests Andrés Holder and Akiba Abaka offer listeners a deep dive into BCC's community engagement, its programming, performance metrics, and visionary educational initiatives. Andrés and Akiba also share their views on the broader concept of "just...

Ross Binnie of The Cleveland Orchestra joins Jill to discuss the orchestra's decade-old Center for Future Audiences program. The initiative aims to attract younger audiences to classical music concerts. Binnie discusses their digital platform "Adella" and their mission to shift perceptions of classical music to make it more inclusive. Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of finding new ways...

In this two-part episode, Jill sits down with accomplished UK arts leader Tom Bird (Chief Executive at Sheffield Theatres). Drawing inspiration from Nina Simon's book, "The Art of Relevance" and their own personal leadership experiences, Jill and Tom engage in a rich dialogue about how to keep audiences at the center of every decision and what relevance means in today's arts and cultural industry....

In this two-part episode, Jill sits down with accomplished UK arts leader Tom Bird (Chief Executive at Sheffield Theatres). Drawing inspiration from Nina Simon's book, "The Art of Relevance" and their own personal leadership experiences, Jill and Tom engage in a rich dialogue about how to keep audiences at the center of every decision and what relevance means in today's arts and cultural industry....

In this episode, Jill highlights two arts leaders and their organizations that are not just surviving but thriving in contrast to overwhelmingly negative narratives surrounding American theatre. Jill Anderson (Managing Director of Syracuse Stage) and Vincent VanVleet (Executive Director of The Phoenix Theatre Company) share how they've managed to keep their theatre organizations robust in financia...