Performing Diva! The Willingness-to-Pay and the Willingness-to-Donate for USA opera houses and symphony orchestras

Engaging diversified audiences is a strenuous effort of USA opera houses and symphony orchestras, when the financial crisis and the competition with substitute entertainments on the demand side affect the survival of creative businesses. It implies the segmentation of stakeholders: from clients to donors, from citizens to communities, from trustees to investors. The ―willingness to pay‖ is exploited next to the ―willingness to donate‖. This research investigayes the revenue diversification of USA opera houses and symphony orchestras, emerging three main Profiles: the Fundraiser Profile who is relying on prevailing contributions, the willingness-to-donate the Price-Maker One who is relying on program service revenues, the willingness-to-pay and the Hybrid One, mixing both the previous ones, financial gains and ―other revenues‖ too. This research shows that donors and audiences remain the main target of fundraisers and marketing experts of the USA classical music. Other rent-holders can be a focus too.