Chicago Symphony raises $20m without even trying
NewsMuti’s orchestra has published its annual report:
In total 194 CSOA-presented, paid, ticketed events were canceled leading to unprecedented circumstances and a total operating revenue of under $1 million.
Despite these conditions, contributed revenue from loyal supporters remained strong. At the close of the 2020-21 Season, the CSOA had engaged with 9,719 donors, including 2,240 donors who contributed to the CSOA for the first time, and had generated $19.8 million in direct operational support from donations and philanthropic support from foundations, government agencies and corporate partners.
… The CSOA’s total revenues from earned revenue, operations and contributions were $40.1 million, and total operating expenses were
$38.5 million, resulting in operating income of $1.6 million.
That feeling when your audience is dying but also leaving you money.
good one
I’ve been hearing how the audience for classical music is dying for well over half a century. Yet somehow it never dies.
have you seen the ticket sales for this weekend? 40 percent full, maybe.
I would estimate the crowd size yesterday at about 70%. That would be far above average for the Chicago White Sox
Denialism: In the psychology of human behavior, denialism is a person’s choice to deny reality as a way to avoid a psychologically uncomfortable truth.
Don’t hold your breath.
At what salary did the CSO continue to pay its musicians during this time?
It was always murky to me, when the other orchestras announced cuts to 25% of base (NY Phil), or to absolute zero (the Met), the CSO kept quite mum about it.
I assume they must have been generously paid since the musicians produced a (most excellent) chamber music series (now available for free on the CSO website) during all that time.
If the CSO paid the musicians 100% of base while still ending in the black with $1.6M with no live audience, their model should be studied at business schools!
After a decade of Muti-driven deficits, the CSO turns an operating income the year the Bill Clinton of classical music is far and away and his entertainment circus shut down.
Ms. Gorno has just been handed over the operational blueprint of the future.
Pretty impressive in an era of orchestras downsizing, reducing concert offerings, and dealing with a massive drop in earned income due to social distancing issues. Congrats to Mr Alexander.
While I imagine these fundraising numbers are as good, if not better than some of its peers, fewer than 10,000 donors for an organization that consistently has a an $80 million operating budget seems really low.
Let’s be fair now, that $20 million did not come without trying.
The musicians are the ONLY reason why there exists an orchestra, any orchestra. That said, the institution of the Chicago Symphony is sustained by the hard work of a talented group of administrators, including a professional development department, not to mention a board and donors. This was never more true than during the non-performing period of the pandemic.
It’s a group effort that should not be minimized with a flippant “without even trying”. A view from abroad, I think.
Absolutely. I am certain there was a LOT of work (“Trying”) involved. A good job, well done.
I would say so. A lot of us in the orchestra took part in various outreach projects to reach our donors. For example, I had a Zoom conversation about Beethoven with the irreplaceable Terri Hemert, a prominent radio personality in Chicago, long the drive-time host of the city’s most popular rock station and a tireless supporter of the CSO. I believe that more than 100 donors watched it live, and many others while it was available for streaming.
And, of course, the “CSO Sessions” videos reached a very large audience.
One of the silver linings of the pandemic was how all constituents of the orchestra, which had been torn apart just the previous year by a long strike, came together, each doing all we could to save the institution we love.
I walked that picket line with you, but no way will I participate in this ridiculous theatre of the mask and papers. See you if you go back to 2019, until then I will miss the CSO…very much.
“Without even trying” is not a correct statement. The CSOA have a full-time staff dedicated to soliciting individual and institutional donors. They “try”, work hard, and succeed.
It would be interesting to know how many people donated the refunds due them for already-paid for tickets. In my case I let them refund me half, and applied the rest to a credit that can be used this year or next for tickets.
If as-yet unapplied credits count as income, there is some dodgy book-keeping going on.
And I know that such funds are used, along with subscription revenue, to fund as-yet un-delivered services (performances or outreach) — it is a flimsy basis upon which to manage resources. It can work, as anyone who has normally paid off a credit card but has to face doing it in installments after a huge outlay knows, but as a way to run a business, it is very risky.
Thanks for your support! Your generosity is much appreciated.
At the CSO, there is a very worldly and relaxed attitude towards operating profits. They are a necessarily flexible notion, and if bringing Muti back in action sinks them nobody is going to make a fuss of it. The donors, despised by Muti, will come to the rescue.
Consider this: over the remaining two years of his contract, Muti’s cumulative compensation is going to be approximately $5M (slightly rounded down). Over two years, his Music Director compensation will amount to approximately $1.85-1.9M. The remaining $3M represent concert fees, as high as $48-50K for international concerts, on a per concert basis, over two years.
Being Muti, the Culture-as-a-Mission evangelist, is not a bad gig if one can count on both the unwavering support of “ignorant rich Americans” and the very special benefits that have been arranged to make his life in Chicago as pleasant as it can possibly be. Operating revenue is just collateral damage.
Oh yes, Alexander has made room on the pandemic-stricken balance sheet for Muti’s cloying solace!
He could’ve hired more staff for donor solicitations. But no, he knows what’s needed to keep the Muti’s engine running!
Musicians’ salary was reduced to 60%, is now at 85%, and will return to 100% next April.
Good work CSOA! Can’t wait to get back to Symphony Center!
“Muti’s orchestra….” starts badly and tapers off.
Good for them and glad they’re appreciated as they remain the finest symphony orchestra in the U.S.
“The best way to get what you want in life is to deserve what you want. How could it be otherwise? It’s not crazy enough that the world is looking for a lot of undeserving people to reward.” (Charlie Munger)
The orchestra rocks, yes it does — whether in Ferrari mode, Rolls-Royce mode, or anything in between — by design from the get go by founder and first Music Director Theodore Thomas 130 years ago, and still — and at 1:30 pm Central Daylight time today, playing a program of Mozart, Mendelssohn and Bruch. (comment by a 34-year and counting happy CSO subscriber, who sits way up in the Gallery and is always thrilled to be there — like about 7 hours from now).