Aubrey Bergauer — Running Your Arts Organization Like a Business
About episode 10:
Her bestselling book, Run It Like a Business, packs all these insights into one powerful guide!
Aubrey’s journey into arts administration began at the age of 16 when she realized there were careers beyond performance in the orchestra world. Twenty years later, she’s revolutionizing how arts organizations approach audience development through data-driven strategies that yield remarkable results.
The conversation illuminates why classical music organizations must pivot toward audience-centric approaches. With declining arts education creating knowledge gaps, Aubrey explains that we can no longer assume audiences understand programming terminology or composer backgrounds. Rather than expecting potential attendees to educate themselves, successful organizations proactively provide context and entry points.
Perhaps most revealing is Aubrey’s insight that arts organizations don’t have a new audience problem — they have a retention problem. When up to 90% of first-time attendees never return, the focus must shift to creating meaningful experiences that convert first-timers into regulars. Equally important is giving special attention to first-year subscribers, whose renewal rates typically lag significantly behind long-term subscribers.
Vertical integration emerges as another powerful strategy, with adult education representing a particularly promising opportunity. By offering education programs, organizations can generate new revenue while simultaneously deepening audience engagement and creating more invested patrons who are likely to become donors.
For digital content, Aubrey recommends against seeing streaming as a substitute for live performance. Instead, she advocates using digital “appetizers” that stimulate interest and drive in-person attendance – what she calls “digital content driving analog purchases.”
Whether you’re a marketer, fundraiser, or arts leader, Aubrey’s practical strategies offer a roadmap for sustainability and growth in today’s challenging landscape. Her message is clear: combine artistic excellence with sound business practices, and arts organizations can not only survive but thrive.
Get Aubrey Bergauer’s Book 👇
Who is Aubrey Bergauer?
Aubrey Bergauer is a visionary leader known for revolutionizing the classical music landscape through innovative, results-driven strategies. Her tenure as chief executive of the California Symphony was marked by a doubling of audience size and a near quadrupling of the donor base, showcasing her exceptional ability to drive financial success, organizational growth, and galvanize stakeholders around a vision.
Her leadership experience spans esteemed institutions such as the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, the nation’s largest urban arts festival. Described as “the Steve Jobs of classical music” by the Observer and “the Sheryl Sandberg of the symphony” by the LA Review of Books, Bergauer has championed a customer-centric, data-informed approach that delivers transformative results for performing arts organizations.
Through her programs offered under the “Changing the Narrative” initiative, Bergauer has worked with and served hundreds of arts organizations with budgets ranging from startups to $300 million, helping them build audiences, increase revenue, and elevate their impact.
Her groundbreaking work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Inc, Thrive Global, and Southwest Airlines, International Arts Manager, and Symphony magazines.
Her debut book, Run It Like a Business, published in 2024, delivers actionable strategies for arts leaders looking to grow their audiences, remain relevant, and improve financial outcomes without compromising artistic excellence. With an unwavering commitment to innovation and results, Bergauer empowers organizations of all sizes to achieve transformative success—ensuring the performing arts thrive in a modern world.
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