Digitalization Around the World

The Covid19 crisis is a rare event with great social and economic consequences that will most likely exceed what optimists expect, but it will not be  as dramatic as  pessimists predict. Human history is an incessant sequence of crises that shape the evolution of societies, but whose effect is never detached from the past. Societies, cultures or economies change in an evolutionary process that accelerates major upheavals, presenting new challenges and opportunities. The crisis will have short and long-term consequences on a number of social areas and economic sectors, which will profoundly affect the prospects of sectors dependent on physical presence, such as tourism, culture or education. For many organizations, especially smaller ones, the aftermath of the crisis will pose difficult questions of survival and the need to reduce budget shortfalls. Governments will have an active role to play at this stage, although this role will naturally be limited by lower income taxes. in the long term, given the inflationary pressures it generates and the high debt ratios. these conflicting imperatives are the new normal for governments. Elected on the promise of sustained growth and falling unemployment, they  now face the need to manage the opposite scenario: rising unemployment, a slowing economy and a pervasive expectation that things will get worse. before improving.

These are the deep and penetrating crises that change beliefs, overturn perspectives and reinforce contradictions that until now seemed manageable. The cultural sector is a good illustration of this development. The crisis is resurrecting concerns about the role of technology, the physical experience of culture, and the feasibility of funding models. By forcing to adapt to the needs of social distancing, the crisis will accelerate the digitization of the cultural sector, review funding models, reduce  dependence on physical presence and create  momentum for growth. Accustomed to solving operational bottlenecks, business administrators will have to imagine new ways to hedge risk and  reduce  uncertainty related to health threats.

Our collective experiences during the crisis have confirmed that culture is indispensable in difficult times, but that it is more fragile than we think. It is a reminder of how cultural life helped societies cope during  World War II and rebuild afterwards. However, the post-war years also highlighted the inadequacy of the economic and social fabric that supported culture. The declining personal fortunes of aristocratic patrons and the rapidly rising cost of labor triggered a search for a new balance: as European societies began to heavily subsidize their cultural economy, the United States changed the search for responsibility  private and non-private. profit sectors. There are indications that the current crisis could contribute to reducing the continental divide, as the nature of the challenges is common.

Organizations around the world face the same challenges to stay afloat as they implement health regulations, reorganize the performance space and close financial gaps. These problems call for ingenuity, because the old solutions no longer apply. Consider how high demand in recent years has allowed museums to raise ticket prices without the inconvenience which now seems like a distant memory. In the new reality, there will be fewer visitors, strict restrictions on numbers, and public apprehension about the safety or necessity of museum visits. This will force museums to reorganize and downsize their staff, adapt their operating models to reduce demand, and seek other sources of funding. Smaller organizations can be expected  to go bankrupt or seek partnerships  to survive.

The crisis has changed the perspective on technology as cultural organizations realized that they are vulnerable to unseen and unpredictable disruptions to their “physical” model. This will encourage investment in technology and hedging of operational risk by building  digital capacity. Many museums had already planned to do this, but the crisis will increase their interest in creating a digital audience. Museums tend to worry about diluting the experience of physical presence when offering digital services, but the crisis will help overcome their reluctance. Questioning the relationship between material and immaterial, digital and physical. They are opposite categories, but not incompatible. Direct contact with a work of art is important and everywhere artists and musicians feel the loss of proximity with the public. But what the past two months have shown is that performances in one particular time and space can be emotionally felt by audiences in another time zone or another geographic space. By confining us to our apartments and preventing social interaction, the crisis has also helped create a global community of cultural consumers who have witnessed the same performance online and experienced similar emotions across different time zones.

This is probably one of the most distinctive features of the crisis: it shrunk the world to fit our computer screens and made local events resonate globally. It made the digital or the intangible tangible, replacing what we once loved as physical and neighboring. Patterns of cultural consumption and production are changing. As technology advances, it is inevitable that digital platforms will become more prominent in the consumption of all cultural forms. The art market is leading the way, as we are seeing a number of new digital initiatives and platforms that seek to overturn physical restrictions on participation in galleries and auction spaces. It is hard to imagine that these investments will be reduced as restrictions are relaxed.

The acceleration of the digitization of culture will have profound consequences, affecting the organization of work, social inequalities and consumer choices. theatre or opera  can provide. The crisis has greatly expanded digital audiences, many who have seen a ballet or  opera online for the first time might be tempted to do so  more regularly. There has never been so much cultural content available for free as there is today. There are free film festivals, online concerts of all kinds, and amateur musicians streaming all over the world. The disadvantaged sections of the population, it is interesting to speculate on the effects of the crisis on cultural consumption. The shape of its distribution is unlikely to change much, but the average values ​​may increase. If the cake gets bigger, the smaller slices will always be bigger than they were in the past.

The expanding digital offering will increase product quality as companies compete to attract subscribers and create platform partnerships. This means that the highest quality productions will become increasingly affordable and accessible. Digitization facilitates eclecticism and wider choice. a ballet enthusiast can hardly see more than 1520 shows to their liking per year, but when you have access to shows in Russia or the UK, the choice becomes much wider. Thanks to digital, it is now easier than never to be exposed to shows of different genres.

Another advantage of digital is that a performance can be contextualized, creating a unique experience around it by adding relevant materials. The customer has more power over the digital content and the conditions of its consumption. At the same time, digitization will reinforce social inequalities in the cultural sector: artists may be forced to change professions, small independent organizations will cease or transform their activities, as well as some of the largest companies. a reality  an organization faces when nearly 80% of its revenue comes from tickets.

Business models will have to adapt, new forms of sponsorship will emerge, with the crisis pushing companies to innovate in risk coverage. The cultural sector is accustomed to meeting challenges of all kinds and is more adaptable than other sectors. The Globe Theatres remembers that Shakespeare lived in an overcrowded, rat-infested London and was exposed to some of the nastiest diseases known to mankind. And it was precisely then that he created the masterpieces we love today. One can only wonder what our imprint will be the anxious and pandemic times will eventually leave in the history of culture.