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A radical plan for opera and the arts

A radical plan for opera and the arts

What we do is plan just one performance of any opera or play. Perhaps two, just to be safe. We would save a fortune in performance costs. We then film and record it in HD super surround sound and maybe, just maybe, in 3D!

We charge people something like a tenner per month to subscribe to a streaming service. They can watch it at home on telly, on their phone, their iPad, their Kindle. Wherever, whenever they like, just as iTunes Match says. Just think of the millions who'll take this up in order to discover opera and theatre; one minute Justin Bieber, the next, Coriolanus or Gawain. They wouldn't have to leave home. They'd love it.

Now here's where it gets really clever. We don't make these recordings in a studio but in a theatre! Then we charge people a premium - like, a really big amount of money - to be AT the recording. People will love to tell their friends that "they were there when..." The tickets would be like gold, we could charge loads for them. Imagine what people will pay to actually be there, live, when the cameras are rolling? We could consider letting them watch in a cinema, sort of "half" the theatrical experience, but with close ups, their friends and some popcorn.

We would have to be careful though. After a few years of this, there may be a growth in the number of people who want to experience the real live performance and as such there could be pressure to provide more of them. If we succumb and we have to provide extra live performances, we could see a drop in streaming revenues, and the cost of the live tickets would fall as well because the exclusivity will have evaporated. Seriously, if live opera or theatre catches on we might be in trouble.

Comments

  1. Anonymous5 November 2014 at 13:56

    Hello?? and what about the singers, instrumentalists??? do you take them from where? where do they get the experience? from what will they live? do you believe it is possible to perform for them on the high level requested without doing many performances before? just on a amateur level or will you pay them for one performance a fortune? I think your theory is very selfish and shows the point of view the managers in opera houses do have. Not caring at all about the people who is doing the work and from where they get their stunning abilities! just using them and than throwing them away......No wonder opera is in such troubles!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michael Volpe5 November 2014 at 14:04

    hmm, am I being double bluffed here?!

    ReplyDelete

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