Author: Baumol, William J. and Bowen, William G.

Publication Year: 1967

Media Type: Book

Summary:

The authors succeed admirably in puncturing the current mythology of the performing arts which has tended to obscure the underlying realities. Perhaps American idealism has inflated the non-profit arena of the performing arts with an ethical overlay- in contrast to the Puritan motivation of profit-making of the commercial sector, this idealism entertains notions of selfless non-profit activity. The authors set this perspective of wishfulness straight against the sobering reflection of the economics of reality.

Abstract:

The authors succeed admirably in puncturing the current mythology of the performing arts which has tended to obscure the underlying realities. Perhaps American idealism has inflated the non-profit arena of the performing arts with an ethical overlay- in contrast to the Puritan motivation of profit-making of the commercial sector, this idealism entertains notions of selfless non-profit activity. The authors set this perspective of wishfulness straight against the sobering reflection of the economics of reality.

However, a deficiency in their diagnosis in Part i serves as a limiting factor with respect to the entire work. Practically little or no attention is given to the legal framework within which the economic problems of the theatre, opera, music, and dance arise. Little or nothing is said, for example, about the legal aspects of financing theatrical productions. There is no discussion of the nature and source of rights which gives rise in the arts to economic possibilities., e.g., the nature of creativity as protected and rewarded by copyright.

It is submitted that, for better or worse, the economy of the performing arts consists of a mesh of legal and business factors whether the venture or enteprise is profit or non-profit. Moreover, the interplay of artistic media is so compelling that perhaps the performing arts should be given a much broader scope. In short, the economics of the performing arts in this expanded sense is also a study of market mechanisms - how things are, what they are, and how they come to be that way. But the idealism of the new artistic frontier of America, both performing and visual, should not be dissipated by the strictures of existing legal concepts intended for an earlier period when the arts were peripheral. An analysis of the place of cultural organization in American law will reveal that the economic dilemma of the performing arts is closely related to the legal dilemma inherent in our profit-nonprofit dichotomy. Review by Joseph Taubman of the book Performing Arts: The Economic Dilemma; a Study of Problems Common to Theater, Opera, Music and Dance [New York, NY : Twentieth Century Fund, 1966. 582 p.].

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Creative Economies