A Profile of the Performing Arts Industry

Chapter 2

Defining the Arts and the Industry

The performing arts, like other forms of recreation, are consumed largely for noneconomic reasons. Unlike other industries, however, the supply side is largely driven by noneconomic reasons as well. Art aspires to a higher calling than everyday commerce. Industry dynamics are an interplay of artistic concerns, which exist within the context of art, and the normal economic and competitive concerns of business. This chapter examines the performing arts from an artistic perspective, to define and clarify the nature of the product itself before we focus on the business of producing and marketing it. We discuss different definitions of performing arts, including those from standard industrial classification, ...