Lluis Bonet interview
Lluis Bonet is one of Spain’s most important economists. He is a lecturer at the University of Barcelona and has been a pioneer in several of the most prominent initiatives regarding both research and training in the field of culture policies and management. He is the director of the Postgraduate Course on Cultural Management at the University of Barcelona. He has developed several studies on the cultural sector and has written various books and articles on this topic. This interview took place on the occasion of the presentation of his last study, commissioned by the Spanish Network of Theatres, Auditoriums and Public Title Circuits: “The market of Performing Arts in Spain”, presented in Scenium 2008 last February at the Congress Centre of Bilbao
Which were the initial objectives of the study?
To understand and explain the way performing arts production and exhibition work in Spain by identifying the existing business models and the economic logics of the sector.
Which methodology did you decide to use?
As researchers of this field we all know that one of its main problems is the structural lack of data. The only data source for all of Spain is the SGAE (Spanish Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers) and its information does not exactly respond to the logic of research. Therefore, our approach was to make a sample fieldwork using three surveys: the first one was conducted to the production units, the second one to the performing arts venues and the third one to festivals. In each case we defined clear criteria; although these categories may initially seem very evident, each of them can have completely different realities. These criteria established a minimum grade of activity and professionalism.
It is normally difficult to value professionalism in a sector of this kind…
Yes, it is indeed. It is a recurrent topic in the studies and statistics of performing arts. There is the risk of mixing professionalism with quality which is very delicate since it implies entering into subjective considerations which we have to absolutely avoid in a study of kind. However, in this sector the categories of a structured sector with constant production can not be applied. That is why we established a convention that would bring together the complexity of the sector and the need for objectivity: with the aim to include the possible largest range, according to the Red, we considered that the minimum treshold of a professional production structure consisted of having an annual budget of 25000€ and having produced a show in the last three years. This convention may well be debatable, just as many others are.
Did you establish the same type of criteria for festivals and performing arts venues?
Yes, we did. In the case of performing arts venues, a minimum of eight professional performances distributed throughout the year was established; and in the case of festivals, the criteria established professionalism for those festivals which last more than two days, which do not coincide with local celebrations and where a minimum of eight professional shows are presented.
How does this study contribute to the knowledge of the sector?
Before highlighting explanatory elements about the characteristics of the sector, I would like to underline two aspects. Firstly, the development of this study has a value in itself; this value will gain sense as we repeat it on a more or less regular basis since this will allow us to analyse current tendencies. Secondly, typologies have been established from data and we are modestly very proud of this contribution. As economists we like model-building and in the most consistent way possible, of course. Modelling within the cultural sector is very often generated from ex-ante intuitions rather than from exploitation and analysis of objective data.
Which variables have determined this modelling?
In the case of venues the variables have been ownership, number of inhabitants, the budget and the amount of the ticket office income over the total income. The combination of these variables gives five typologies on which we have based the different analysis (economic analysis, activity analysis, personal analysis, etc.). In the case of production units, we have established six business models according to ownership and to volume of budget.
Regarding the contents, which elements would you like to highlight?
In the first place, I would like to mention the growth of the sector. This transformation has been due, to a great extent, to the increasing budgets of the public administration within the field of the performing arts. However it has a disadvantage because it makes the sector highly, even excessively, dependent on the public administrations. And far from what you would expect, is not the weight of grants which produce this dependency: it is mainly because of the hiring; the set of public theaters and festivals are the main client of most of producers. In this sense, we have to pay attention to how the current economic context will be affected, with less tax incomes it is foreseen that public budgets will consequently be reduced.
Would you like to mention any other aspect?
I would like to mention two aspects very briefly: the first one is the different behaviour of the sector in Barcelona and Madrid compared to the rest of Spain, and the importance of the small production companies. I do not intend to underestimate the unquestionable prominent role of the big production units. However, considering the interest of the Red in analysing the whole of the units we can state that atomization is important and that, although they are small units, the sum of all of them generates an important business and employment volume. However the importance of maintaining a diverse and plural cultural offer is still to be dealt with.
Could we have data or approximations to the situation of the Performing Arts in the Basque Country from the data you have obtained?
The study was based on a sample. This sample was significant for the Spanish State but not for each of the Autonomous Communities. Therefore, it can only be useful as an element of reference, it can not be applied to analyse your situation.
As you will know, the Basque Observatory for Culture has initiated its own statistical and research studies. Could you give us an advice based on your experience of this and many other studies?
Giving advice is always complicated. I will give you a very simple one and also a proposal for a study. The advice is the following one: before developing new statistics always take into account the external experiences. Criteria, methodologies, type of information, etc., that is, all the information that will allow you to compare to other territorial situations. Secondly, and regarding Performing Arts, I think that it is necessary to study the situation of labour in greater depth. This is the aspect that needs most improvement in our study. It is a complex element which needs complex, multiple and specific approaches.
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