Data sharing practices to be customer-driven

Arts Council England (ACE) is giving National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) until the end of March next year to “enter into mutually agreed data sharing agreements with other relevant Arts Council funded organisations, following best practice principles on data sharing”. NPO venues that collect ticketing data but currently deny touring companies access to the contact details of their audiences will have to “introduce a specific ‘opt in’ option” at the point of a customer transaction, to ask audiences whether they will agree to their details being used by other involved parties for marketing purposes. ACE is telling NPOs: “You may need to review and modify your organisation’s approach to checking customer preferences around data sharing, in order to meet the requirements.” Organisations that hold customer data must then pass these details across “by a mutually agreed time and in a mutually agreed format”.

ACE had intended to require its NPO venues to pursue an ‘opt out’ approach, which would have meant they were required to share data with visiting companies unless customers requested otherwise. This was in line with industry guidance approved by the Information Commissioner in previous years. But following feedback from some NPOs, ACE referred the matter back to the Information Commissioner, who confirmed that best practice would be to follow an ‘opt in’ approach at transaction stage. ACE modified the wording of its funding agreements to reflect this.

Data sharing is among the most divisive issues in the arts sector and has long been a bone of contention between venues keen to protect their audience catchment areas and touring companies wanting to build direct relationships with those who attend their shows. The move by ACE to force NPOs to share their data was first announced at an Arts Marketing Association digital conference in 2013, when Chair Sir Peter Bazalgette spoke of the importance of greater collaboration on this, especially with touring organisations. ACE’s April 2015 briefing to NPOs makes it clear that no NPO will be exempt from sharing the data they capture, and only if a customer “has stated that they do not wish their details to be shared with the promoter, venue, space or company” will the requirement for presenting venues to pass on customer contact details to NPO touring companies be waived. According to ACE, this has been introduced: “To increase partnership between organisations and to give more power to customers…We believe that customers should be given the opportunity to say who should have access to their contact details.”