In the first session of GLP’s 2022 Live Music Industry SubStream, facilitator Aliena Haig from Deutsche Grammophon joined The Royal Concertgebouw’s Marian van der Meer in a 60-minute investigation into the role and responsibilities of a performance space.
“A venue offers a home to a multitude of events, audiences, performances, and styles. It is not one static four walled estate. It is a living, breathing, always changing and above all welcoming organism for people, and for music. Its strength lies in its ability to weather any storm.”
Aliena Haig
Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw is an iconic venue with social engagement built into its foundations. Created by the citizens of Amsterdam in 1881, the hall was envisioned to serve as a cultural center for its community — a role that still informs its operation.
“We started as an initiative of the citizens of Amsterdam. This feature has always been a part of our profile. It is essential for us to make sure that we offer a varied program that is interesting enough so that people will buy tickets.”
Marian van der Meer
To ensure the sustainability of this goal, Concertgebouw is built upon a highly developed operational and financial model. With ticket sales representing the institution’s biggest revenue stream — just under a third of its annual income — there is a direct relationship between the cost of putting on different profiles of concerts, and their associated ticket prices.
“Production costs must be in-line with the expected ticketing costs. Expensive orchestras equal expensive ticket prices.”
Marian van der Meer
This equilibrium between inputs and outputs has been central to the Concertgebouw’s long-term viability. Even the venue’s top priced events regularly sell out — putting the organization in an enviable position financially. However, this success has come with the added challenge of staying true to the founding principle of serving the community at-large.
“One of the challenges with the fact that tickets so often sell out is ensuring ways to make Concertgebouw accessible to wider groups of people, including at widely affordable prices.”
Marian van der Meer
The recent development of the Mahler Festival pavilion was one response to this goal of maintaining wide accessibility. The pavilion was built primarily to present low-cost, high-quality streaming experiences to live audiences in the tent from events taking place in the main hall. In addition, the pavilion also offers in-person concerts, lectures, and theater performances at a fraction of the ticket price associated with the main hall. This new feature is helping Concertgebouw stay true to its founding social principles, and is one of the many ways the Royal Concertgebouw is expertly managing its financial growth and success, without losing sight of the core social ideals for the people of Amsterdam at the heart of its founding nearly a century and a half ago.
