$11 tix at Opera Philadelphia: Revolutionary or risky?

Opera Philadelphia’s decision to introduce a pay-what-you-can model, with tickets starting at $11, has generated considerable buzz.

Spearheaded by visionary countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, their new General Director and President, this new initiative has been praised for its potential to attract new audiences by making opera more accessible.

Within 48 hours, Opera Philadelphia sold nearly 6,000 tickets—4,539 of them at the $11 level, and two-thirds of them new-to-file ticket buyers. Plus, 440 patrons added a voluntary donation to their purchase.

This bold move sparked a wave of questions among arts leaders:

• Is this momentum sustainable?

• Is it a short-lived response to the novelty of the movie-ticket level price?

• Can they actually bridge the gap in earned revenue through contributed revenue for the foreseeable future?

• Will they encounter pressure to align programming with funders’ priorities?

The answers to these questions remain to be seen. But one thing is certain: Sustainable success will depend on Opera Philadelphia's ability to create and communicate relevance, ensuring their offerings resonate deeply with both new and existing patrons.

Ticket cost isn’t a barrier for everyone

It's true: some audiences genuinely can’t afford high ticket prices. Providing accessible tickets for economically disadvantaged consumers is an essential part of any arts organization’s mission.

But, when evaluating the viability of a broad-based strategy, it is crucial to address the root cause of a problem.

Contrary to popular belief, not all consumers are sitting at home watching Netflix. People are getting out of the house, and they are spending money:

Four years after the pandemic, demand for pop concerts and sporting events has surged back. Sales for the biggest pop concerts are up 65% from 2019. All four major sports leagues had bigger attendance in their most recent season than they did in 2019. Even U.S. movie revenue has increased 300% since the height of the pandemic.

Consumers are spending an average of $131 on touring concert tickets, an average of $158 on professional sporting event tickets, and upwards of $40 for a movie date (plus popcorn and Junior Mints.)

In contrast, many arts organizations are still facing significant challenges regaining their pre-pandemic audience base. According to IMPACTS Experience, performing arts organizations were projected to reach just 85.6% of their 2019 attendance last year.

It’s evident that Americans (at least the ones with purchasing power) are seeing less and less relevance in arts and culture offerings.

Tackling the root cause of audience decline

Lower prices alone won’t bridge the gap if potential audiences can’t see how opera relates to their lives. As customer centricity expert Jay Baer says, “Relevancy creates time; relevancy creates attention.”

And let’s be clear: Relevance is not about price. It’s about perceived value.

Specifically, it’s about value from the customer’s point of view—not the organization’s.

As Clayton Christensen stressed in Competing Against Luck: People don’t buy products; people buy outcomes. What's relevant for the consumer are the products (and the marketing) that promise an outcome the consumer is seeking.

In fact, when a customer finds a product that effectively helps them solve a struggle, meet a need, or reach an aspiration, wrote Christensen, “They don’t resent the price—they’re grateful for the solution.”

What does this mean for the arts sector?

If a concert isn’t seen as relevant, even free tickets may not be enough to compel attendance. However, when an offering effectively meets a real-life need, consumers may actually be willing to pay premium prices.

In short: Perceived lack of relevance is the root cause of audience decline. The solution? Find out what outcomes your target audiences are seeking, and reframe your marketing to show how your offerings can provide those outcomes.

Real accessibility starts with relevance

The real challenge is whether potential audiences can see themselves in the experience at all. That's the first barrier to accessibility.

To feel welcome, outsiders first need to see a relevant doorway—a clear signal that this experience is for them. Marketing must show how the offering aligns with their needs, interests, or aspirations before they can even begin to imagine themselves attending.

If they don't feel welcome, if they don't see a clear connection between their lives and the experience, they simply won't attend.

When we create those relevant doorways by tying our offerings to customer needs, we have a much better shot.

Long-term, sustained audience growth requires a deep understanding of what your audience values and consistent efforts to align your offerings with those values.

It’s an iterative process, a constant aligning of offerings and marketing with what audiences truly value: outcomes that improve their lives.

Conclusion

Opera Philadelphia’s $11 ticket model is a bold experiment in making opera more accessible. But the long-term success of any innovation depends on more than just affordability.

Ultimately, the goal isn’t just to fill seats—it’s to create a lasting, engaged audience.

By embracing a radically customer-first model, we can ensure that we’re not just lowering financial barriers—but also creating experiences and marketing that attract and retain a diverse audience by being deeply relevant to their lives.

Remember this: Framing arts and culture offerings from the customer’s perspective of value does not diminish the intrinsic value of the art form itself.

Rather, it’s a strategy to ensure that—in today’s noisy, demanding, and stressful world—more people can benefit from its transformative power.