Arts in the digital mainstream

Digital access to the arts and culture is extending, rather than replacing, the live experience of the arts, and the Internet is now playing a much broader role in arts engagement than simply acting as a marketing channel. A significant minority use it not only to consume and share artistic content, but also to create it; and over half use social networking sites regularly. These latest findings from a major survey of 2,000 adult Internet users appear to “confirm that engaging with the arts through digital media is now a mainstream activity”.

The research reveals that Internet users with an interest in the arts and cultural sector use it primarily to improve their access to information and tickets: in the past year, a third used it to find out about a performer or live event, and one in five to buy tickets. The Internet is also used to experience cultural product, and although only eight per cent had watched or listened to a full arts performance, twice as many had done this for clips, mainly in order to decide what live events to see. Perhaps unsurprisingly, music is the artform with the highest online following: over 80% of respondents who had viewed an online clip had done so for a music event – less than a third had done so for dance, theatre or the visual arts. Although most people expected this type of material to be free, some would consider paying for unique content offering a high quality experience.
There appears to be more scope for online activity that helps Internet users gain a fuller appreciation of the wider context in which the arts are created and presented. 44% of dance fans said they would like to take a virtual tour backstage, and over half of museum fans would like to take a virtual tour of the institutions they visit online. The strength of a cultural brand is important to Internet users too – particularly older users who are more concerned about online security. Trusted brands, including those of the leading cultural institutions, are valued, but so are those of ‘aggregator sites’ that present information on a range of artistic experiences – such as The Guardian and Time Out, with over half the sample preferring to use sites that draw together information from a range of sources about many different organisations.
This research, conducted by digital strategy consultancy MTM London, was commissioned by Arts Council England in partnership with Arts & Business and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). The report includes a range of recommendations for arts organisations, but ends with a warning that the Internet is unlikely to generate significant income generation opportunities: “Although exciting, the Internet can represent additional cost without any guarantee of additional revenue: arts organisations will need to strike a balance between ambition and pragmatism when deciding where to invest their money in digital media.” It concludes that investment in the Internet for marketing and audience development is the most likely area to generate financial returns in the arts and cultural sector.