Setting the Tempo: ASO’s Membership Program Sees Success

Anabelle Lam, center, with the Arkansas Symphony Academy Youth Orchestra, rehearses for an upcoming Christmas performance. (Karen E. Segrave)

As symphony orchestras across the country face attendance and financial struggles, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has emerged as a model of success thanks to an innovative membership program, community engagement and strategic marketing.

Compiling data from orchestras across the country, the League of American Orchestras reported an 11% drop in revenue from individual giving between 2019 and 2024, as well as a 2% decline in ticket sales between 2019 and 2023. And though ticket and subscription revenue is up, that is mostly due to rising costs and existing customers spending more, not an increase in numbers.

But the ASO is defying those trends through a combination of several strategic decisions, CEO Christina Littlejohn said, asserting that the ASO is a “safe space” to try new things.

“We’re willing to do things differently,” Littlejohn said during an interview with Arkansas Business at the ASO’s new music center in Little Rock’s East Village. “We’re willing to be innovative artistically, programmatically and with our price points. We’re willing to be leaders, not followers. And that’s scary sometimes.”

Perhaps the biggest success for the ASO is its membership program, which began in 2017, but didn’t take off until 2023. Only three major orchestras in the country use a membership model, mostly due to a conception that it would “cannibalize” the longstanding, and more expensive, subscription model.

But that’s not the experience the ASO has had. The orchestra has seen a rise in both subscribers and members, and the membership has brought in new, younger and more diverse audiences. “It doesn’t cannibalize anything,” Littlejohn said.

At the beginning of December, the ASO had 1,660 traditional subscribers and 1,142 members. Prior to 2023, the membership number was around 400. And the program has a retention rate of 96%, compared with a 75% rate for subscriptions.

ASO’s membership program starts at $9 monthly for one free ticket to every ASO regular season concert. A tiered structure includes options for two free tickets at $18 a month and a “Concert Membership Plus” option that allows access to premium seating and more concerts for $18 or $36 a month.

Traditional subscribers receive 30% off ticket prices, guaranteed seats, free ticket exchanges and opportunities to meet conductors and guest artists. They also get first-choice seating before tickets go on sale to the public, so many reserve the same seats for every concert.

Subscription costs vary by section, with orchestra aisle and front grand tier seats coming in at $504 for the six-concert Masterworks Series and $336 for the four-concert Pops Series. Requesting less premium seats like the center and rear reduces the cost. 

While members don’t get the same perks as subscribers, Littlejohn said the flexibility and lack of barriers have appealed to a wide audience. And the impact is visible at concerts; at a recent performance, she noticed one member had arrived by skateboard.

“We’ve got to be the only orchestra in the country where we have people riding their skateboards,” Littlejohn said. “When you go to our concerts now, it’s just a different look to the audience.”

The membership program’s success reflects industry trends. League data shows millennial ticket buyers increased from 9% to 25% of purchases between 2019 and 2023, while Gen X buyers rose from 20% to 31%.

“If more orchestras can do something similar to our membership program, I think they can see some change,” Elisha Johnson, the orchestra’s associate director of audience engagement, said. “A lot of symphonies are still very stuck on subscription. We still have subscribers; we get a lot of money from subscriptions. But it’s not accessible to everyone. If more orchestras have a membership option, I think they’ll start seeing some growth in that.”

The donor base is also becoming younger. From 2019 to 2023, the percentage of gifts from Gen X patrons grew from 21% to 25%, and those made by millennials grew from 9% to 14%. But the League said that “while this trend is encouraging, it needs to accelerate” to compensate for the decline in larger gifts made by donors aged 79 and above.

“Seeing the younger audiences means that more people in the community, not just one small group, are coming to our concerts, fulfilling our nonprofit mission,” Littlejohn said. “Then obviously, for the longevity of the organization, we want to be here for generations. And so it’s extremely important to see younger people there so that we know that we have a future.”

The ASO is working to stay on top of the changing industry through strategic and digital marketing, according to Johnson.

ASO’s current marketing strategy combines traditional outreach with digital campaigns. Johnson said the ASO has been using digital marketing for three years, but that “it really kicked off” in 2023.

Johnson uses social media to attract new audiences, tying the concerts into pop culture and trying to create an online community to “break down barriers” for attending the symphony. She said the ASO also uses social media advertising to target highly specific audiences for certain concerts.

Johnson hopes to do more with social media in the future, potentially highlighting the ASO’s musicians and new building.

New Facility

The September opening of the $11.75 million Stella Boyle Smith Music Center marks another milestone for the ASO. As the first community music center owned by a professional orchestra in the country, the facility provides spaces for education and performance.

Designed by WER Architects of Little Rock, every detail in the center is thought out. For acoustic reasons, almost none of the walls in the building are perfectly straight. Special floors can hold a cello pin without the need for a block, and there’s a climate-controlled room for storing expensive instruments.

The lobby even has a special ceiling that reduces noise.

Balancing giving for the annual fund and the new building was a challenge, but one Littlejohn feels the ASO handled well.

The ASO took a “do no harm” approach to donations for the center. More than 200 donors contributed to the project without reducing annual fund support.

“We couldn’t jeopardize the organization’s financial foundation for this music center,” Littlejohn said. The ASO asked for donations from those donating $1,000 or more annually, because most who donate less than that would not be able to give to both the center and the fund.

The orchestra will still perform its concerts at the Robinson Center in Little Rock, but everything else will be hosted at the music center. The building has a music library, rehearsal and concert hall, administrative offices, multiple classrooms and instrument and other storage space. It also features a broadcast recording studio and green room.

“The opportunities in this facility are endless,” Littlejohn said. “The hard part will be figuring out what we say ‘no’ to.”

The ASO’s River Rhapsodies series will also be held at the center.

“It’s important for the community to see that we have a home; it gives a sense of permanence,” Littlejohn said. “It also elevates the importance of all we do for the community. Putting education in the same space as performance shows that we care about both.”

Community Buy-In

Littlejohn and Johnson attribute much of the ASO’s success to the local community.

“The community continues to support us so we’re financially viable,” Littlejohn said. “Our budget has grown from $2.8 to $4.4 million [since 2009]. If it weren’t for Arkansas, the ASO wouldn’t exist.”

ASO’s endowment has grown from $2.7 million in 2009 to more than $10 million today, with total organizational value exceeding $20 million.

This financial strength enabled ASO to maintain full employment during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many orchestras had to make cuts.

The ASO is also able to host the robust E. Lee Ronnel Music Academy, with more than one-third of students receiving scholarships through the annual fund.

“Any child that can play and wants to play, we welcome them and find the money if they can’t afford it,” Littlejohn said. “We exist to connect, enrich, inspire and advance Arkansas through the power of music.”

Looking ahead, the ASO plans for expanded programming in its new facility, including daytime concerts, family programs and potentially a children’s choir. The organization is also exploring ways to nurture new composers in the state.

“Symphony is for everyone,” Johnson said. “We are an accessible symphony and a welcoming symphony. Building the community that we have here really helps us be successful.”