Pandemic does create opportunities if you’ve got grit on your side

Last Sunday night, when Cyril Ramaphosa announced a shift to lockdown alert level 2, SA’s arts community was abuzz because the president briefly acknowledged both the contribution of the creative sector to the national economy and the fact that the performing arts have been particularly hard hit by Covid-19.

Gratification with this recognition was neutralised, however, by expressions of frustration that it had taken so long — and anger that, as long as Nathi Mthethwa continues as minister of sports, arts & culture, the president is evidently not fully committed to the recovery of the industry.

But there was, at least, some gesture towards the broad scope of the creative economy through the listing of “artists, promoters, performers and cultural workers” as among those who “have had to find other outlets for their work and who have endured great difficulties”.

This might be the first time that those who toil in marketing, public relations and press liaison in the arts sector (“promoters”) have been given equal billing with their more prominent compadres — the artists whose output they promote. It is, all too often, a thankless task.

As an arts writer, I’m lucky to be on the databases of various communications personnel in the creative sector: people who are passionate about the industry and who would go to the wall for the artists they represent.

They, too, have suffered over the past 18 months; many have lost contracts, some have closed shop, all have had to exercise creativity in finding new ways to advertise digital arts offerings that — for all their individual inventiveness — have appeared to arts consumers as indistinguishable, or at least as variations on a virtual theme.

A presidential nod is nice, but it doesn’t pay the bills. Who would be a “promoter” when the sector you are tasked with promoting, which exists in a semipermanent state of crisis anyway, has been tipped by Covid-19 into a downward spiral?

In this context, it was a pleasant surprise to learn about the launch of Marketing Grit, a new agency owned by Noeleen Bruton and Debbie Combrink, both of whom have a wealth of experience in promoting largescale performing arts tours and events. It was even more pleasing to learn that they are relatively upbeat about the prospects of the sector bouncing back.

When I asked Bruton about this, she didn’t sugar-coat the situation. Even if we return to something like “normal” ,a threefold problem remains: the size of the market has shrunk (prospective audiences have less money to spend on entertainment); fewer venues are available; and consumer patterns have changed, possibly irrevocably (Covid-19 has been habit-forming, and people are generally inclined to stay home more and go out less).

‘PENT-UP DEMAND’

Yet Bruton predicts that this will, to some degree at least, be balanced out by “pent-up demand”; she cites the recent example of a Garth Brooks concert at a 50,000-seat outdoor venue selling out in 30 minutes. Do we have big names to act as drawcards to SA audiences that are equivalent to a country star such as Brooks’ appeal to the (half-vaccinated) population of Utah? We have more than a handful.

Nonetheless, Bruton notes, at the entry level to the industry rather than at its apex, “with few drama and theatre schools, the talent pool is relatively small ”— and “with Covid, many actors, musicians and dancers, unable to make a living, were forced to look for alternative sources of income. Only time will tell if this has any significant impact.”

What is clear is that, in the short term, arts consumers are going to have to be willing to cough up more for high-quality arts products.

“It still amazes me,” observes Bruton, “when you compare SA musical ticket prices to the West End or Broadway, you get an experience which is equal or better in quality at a fraction of the price.” Producers of these large-scale shows thus take huge risks and expect lower revenues.

Thus, Bruton adds: “Smaller events with a lower capital outlay may have a window to grab their slice of the market’s entertainment wallet while the bigger productions lag due to the logistics of sourcing and securing shows”.

Even amid calamity there is opportunity.