The concept of Audience Development vs. Arts Marketing: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

This essay compares the concept of Audience Development (AD) to arts marketing in order to tease out both similarities and differences. The author argues that it is not necessary to define arts marketing and Audience Development as having different aims and pursuits. The critical analysis relies primarily on literature review and subsequently explores the common understanding of Audience Development as well as assesses the degree of its originality with regard to existing theories and practices in the domain of arts marketing. To that end, the author introduces the concept of Audience Development and situates it within a theoretical framework. Importantly, the paper also examines the modes and means employed by cultural managers to adapt to the market-related challenges facing the cultural sector in Europe since the 1980s. The key outcome of the study is an outline of (and insight into) the cross-national beliefs in relation to the relevance of different areas of AD practices in the European context. The essay concludes by restating the central aim, that Audience Development and arts marketing have a great deal in common.