Research

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on young people and learning.

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on what makes a good venue.

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on what makes a good venue.

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on marketing to young people.

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on how to make Facebook work for you.

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on how to keep new audiences.

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on how young people engage with music.

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on how audiences engage with the arts across genres and art forms.

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on how to engage with your loyal fans.

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on how to turn a concert into a social experience.

This document contains the presentation slides from a talk by arts consultant Heather Maitland on how to gain a bigger audience by mixing art forms.

Arts consultant Heather Maitland outlines 10 trends that are currently transforming the world.

In this article arts consultant Heather Maitland briefly describes how audiences prefer venues where they feel they belong. Research shows, that we all actively seek a third space, besides from home and work, where we spend most of our time, in which we can meet our social needs through creative interaction with others. Heather argues that art spaces and concert venues have the ability to be that kind of third space, if they strike a balance between informality and formality. Where that balance lies, however, depends on the type of music and individual preferences.

In this article arts consultant Heather Maitland describes how social context can be seen as key in potential audiences' approach to new music. She argues that we all juggle a series of identities evolving over time and depending on the situation. We make these identities believable to ourselves and other people through consumption – including the music we listen to. Social groups and relations are often formed around musical tastes. Going to a concert together adds value to the relationships between members of the group. The article sums up the factors involved in a group's decisions about what concerts to attend, how they influence each other, and how we can help them persuade friends and family through our descriptions of the concerts.

In this article arts consultant Heather Maitland investigates how people listen to music as a way of marking their social identity and for achieving an emotional boost. She explores what this tells us about how to address a new audience most successfully. Heather divides listeners in two different groups: Analytical and emotional listeners. She points out, that reaching the inexperienced, emotional listeners requires publicity material with vivid verbal imagery to evoke emotional response.

In this article arts consultant Heather Maitland explores our musical preferences, addressing the challenge of attracting new audiences. Personality and demographic profile affect musical preferences, but not in a simple split between high culture against popular culture. Information with emotional and social relevance has more impact on potential audiences' interest in entering new musical territory than fact based musical knowledge. In conclusion Heather points out, that we should focus less on labelling musical genres and more on creating an image of the experience.

New World Symphony in the US wanted to develop new concert formats that attracted new, younger and less-experienced concert-goers. They developed four formats. To give them all a chance of success, all four were programmed each season for three years and carefully evaluated. The tested formats varied from 30-minutes mini-concerts to club night concerts ending with a full-on party. The general conclusion was that alternative concert formats do attract new audiences. This document sums up the results of the research.