The Subscription Model Is Not Dead: 3 Ways to Grow Subscriptions at Your Arts Organization

The Offstage Mic

Mar 5 2024 • 30 mins

The subscription model is thriving everywhere else besides the arts—to the tune of 20% of all consumer credit card transactions now go to subscriptions and memberships. So why then, are subscriptions and donations on the decline in the arts?

It turns out, there are three big things these successful brands are doing differently than arts organizations. This episode breaks it down, as well as offers ways to implement these ideas.

Get your free resource for this episode: 3 Reasons Your Subscriptions are Declining & 11 Ways to Combat It.


00:00 Introduction to Season Three of The Offstage Mike

00:34 The Theme of Season Three: Running it Like a Business

01:43 The Importance of Subscriptions in the Cultural Sector

02:03 The Current State of the Subscription Economy

02:58 The Decline of Subscriptions in the Arts

03:05 The Discrepancy Between the Arts and Other Industries

06:58 The Three Big Differences in Subscription Models

07:50 The Importance of First Year Subscription Renewals

14:00 The Impact of Price Increases on Subscription Renewals

20:26 The Three Steps to Combat the First Year Cliff

29:13 Conclusion and Final Thoughts