Digital opportunities research
programme: findings from phase 1
15 May 2009
Emily Keaney, Senior Research Officer
Adrienne Hart taking part in Dance SCAPES project, Swindon
Photo: Kevin Clifford
To get great art to everyone by
championing, developing and
investing in artistic experiences
that enrich people’s lives.
Agenda
1. Digital technologies: availability and take up
2. Current attitudes: what the public thinks
3. Current opportunities: the online offer from the RFO
portfolio
4. Key messages
5. Next steps
Digital technologies:
availability and take up
Skin, ACE Dance and Music
Photo: Brian Slater
What the existing data tells us
• the research programme began with a broad look at
what the current data tells us about:
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How many people use digital technologies?
Does access and use vary between different groups?
What do people use digital technology for?
What do we know about how people are using digital technologies to
engage with the arts?
• the findings were collated into a background paper: The
digital world: a review of the evidence. This was used to
inform the next stages of the research
Penetration of digital technologies
• the majority of adults in the UK now have home access
to most types of digital services
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88% have digital television
86% have a mobile phone
65% have the internet
58% have broadband
39% have digital radio
• take up for almost all these services, with the exception
of digital radio, is growing
The digital divide
• there is still a digital divide. Those least likely to use
digital services include adults:
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from the North East and North West of England
on low incomes
over 65 (particularly those in the 75 and over age group)
in social class DE
with a visual, hearing or mobility impairment
with low educational levels
• take-up among many of these groups is increasing at a
faster rate than average, but from a low base and
progress is slow
• the groups that are least likely to use digital technologies
are also those who are least likely to attend or
participate in the arts
The barriers to take up
• reasons for not taking up digital services are both
voluntary and involuntary
• the main voluntary reason was lack of need
• involuntary reasons are primarily due to affordability,
although income level was rarely the only reason
• other factors among those on the lowest incomes
included variability of income and lack of a bank account
preventing payment by direct debit
• among older groups the main involuntary reason for not
taking up the internet was not knowing how to use it
Activity online
• among those who have internet access the most popular
activity in 2008 was sending or receiving emails,
followed by finding out information about goods or
services
• downloading or listening to music was the most popular
audiovisual activity carried out on the Internet in 2008
(38% recent internet users)
• a quarter of people also uploaded their own self-created
content, including text, images and videos and 23%
downloaded or watched movies, short films or videos
Type of content watched
Top Linked Online Videos, Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Rank
Top linked online videos
1
YouTube - Ninja cat comes closer while not moving!
2
YouTube - Matt Damon Rips Sarah Palin
3
YouTube - John McCain: economy is 'still strong'
4
YouTube - Large Hadron Rap
5
YouTube - Phil Gramm: "Mental Recession... Nation of Whiners
6
YouTube - Escape de Sofía
7
YouTube - New Family - Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates Ad
8
YouTube - Sarah Palin Holds Forth on Bush Doctrine, Pakistan
9
YouTube - Hockey Moms Against Sarah Palin
10
YouTube - FASHION WEEK SS'09+ERIN WASSON
Nielsen Trend Index, Internet, 2008
Arts activity online
• according to the Taking Part survey, in 2007/08
– 18 per cent of internet users had used the internet to look at a museum
or gallery website
– 35 per cent had used it to look at a theatre or concert website or other
websites about art.
– among those users the most popular activities were buying tickets and
finding out information, with only 1 per cent getting online to view or
download a performance.
– 10 per cent of English adults had created art on a computer
– 2 per cent had made films or videos
– 4 per cent had been to a video or electronic art event
Current attitudes:
what the public thinks
Bicycle Ballet, Brighton, 2006
Photo: Matthew Andrews
The next step – understanding attitudes and behaviour
•
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the review of existing data showed that information
about how people are using the internet to engage with
the arts is limited
we therefore commissioned some qualitative research
with members of the public to investigate
– what do people consider to be ‘art’ in the digital space?
– who currently engages with ‘arts content’ digitally?
– what form does this engagement take, i.e. accessing arts content,
interacting with arts content and creating/remixing arts content?
– through what formats does this engagement take place, e.g. through a
PC, mobile internet, digital television?
– how do people think this is going to change in the future? What are their
aspirations for their own engagement in the future?
– what are the barriers and/or incentives to engaging with the arts
digitally?
Who we spoke to
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leading edge
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digital enthusiasts
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those who are highly engaged in digital technology, but who attend or participate
in arts activities to only a low or moderate degree, and have low or moderate
interest in the arts.
arts enthusiasts
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people who attend/participate in high levels of arts activity ‘offline’ as well as
being frequent and enthusiastic users of the internet for non-arts related activity
people who attend/participate in high levels of arts activity online and ‘offline’ and
are frequent and enthusiastic users of the internet for arts and non-arts related
activity
people with high or moderate engagement in the arts, but low engagement with
digital technology
the sample was broadly representative of English adults in terms of
gender, ethnicity, disability and socio-economic group
Understanding of the digital space
• constitutes four formats
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Computers/online
Digital TV
Digital radio
Mobile phones
• digital TV and radio are still viewed in the same way as
their analogue predecessors, while mobile phones are
not considered suitable for accessing content online
• the conversations were therefore dominated by the
opportunities and challenges presented by the internet
‘I watch digital TV - didn't even
know I was enjoying arts through
digital media!’
(Female, ‘Leading Edge’)
Perceptions of arts in the digital space
• art in the digital space exists on four levels:
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Access – directing people to arts events offline
Information – about works of art and artists
Experience – exploring works of art in the digital space
Participation – creating art in the digital space and taking part in digital
arts experiences
• the general perception is that for something to be art, its
creator must have intended it to be so. This means
people are prepared to accept much user generated
content as art, if this was the original intent
• however, the value of the art is more contested, with
many people making a distinction between ‘art’ and
‘good art’
Levels of engagement
 most people have little awareness of art in the digital
space. However, when prompted, nearly everyone is
engaged with art in the digital space in some way, with
downloading music particularly popular
 different groups engage in different ways:
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for ‘digital enthusiasts’ engagement tends to be limited to accessing
basic details about offline events
‘arts enthusiasts’ do this too, but many also use the Internet to learn
more about their favourite artworks and artists
‘leading edge’ consumers do both of these things a great deal, as well
as being much more open to idea of experiencing artworks and
performances online
Active participation - a niche activity
• while overall levels of engagement are high participating in
arts online is still a niche activity and there was little
expressed desire for these kinds of opportunities
• while many are participating by, for instance, uploading and
sharing photos, this is generally not perceived by them to be
‘art’, and they are resistant to defining it as art
• for those who are engaged in participatory activity offline one
of the primary motivations is the social nature of the activity.
Online creative participation is not perceived to offer these
benefit
• however, many do enjoy user-generated websites, even if
they do not create or remix content of their own
• people are also keen for more interactive experiences, where
they are able to tailor their arts experiences to suit their
personal tastes
The importance of the live
• linked to this was a strong, unprompted anxiety among
participants that digital represented a threat to the live
• people were clear that digital was not a replacement for
the live experience – it lacked the energy, atmosphere
and sociability that are inherent to the live
• there was concern that digital would divert funding away
from the live and that artists would gradually lose the
skills required to create live experiences
• these fears were largely resolved when digital was
presented as a complementary experience, rather than a
substitute
Value of the arts online
•
complementing the live – people thought digital arts experiences
had value as a way of complementing and expanding their live
experiences through:
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an acceptable alternative for some – in some cases online
experiences were also seen to offer value as alternatives to the live,
including:
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details about locations, times and upcoming events
convenient, accessible information about artists and the arts
a tool for research and self-education
live performances that are no longer available
accessibility for those outside major urban hubs or with mobility problems
enjoyable arts experiences in their own right – when prompted
some also recognised that at its best digital can provide enjoyable
arts experiences independent of offline events and activities
The desire for expertise and authority
•
there are barriers to people fully experiencing the benefits of digital
arts experiences
•
the biggest barrier is a lack of confidence. There is considerable
social anxiety surrounding the arts in general, which can also be
found in peoples attitudes to the arts online
•
the fact that art is defined by the intention of the creator is a source
of anxiety – people worry about looking at ‘the wrong things’ or
interpreting them in ‘the wrong way’
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in contrast people trust the arts content they enjoy through TV and
radio because it has been specially selected by an ‘expert’
•
this creates a desire for ‘experts’ and trusted brands to help people
navigate arts content online
Other practical barriers
• technological constraints - slow loading times for videos
and high resolution images
• internet security – concern about viruses from unusual
or unknown arts sites
• computer literacy - lack of confidence in using
technology resulting in low appeal for online arts
• awareness and discoverability – low levels of awareness
of many of the more niche online arts offerings is
combined with a disinclination to proactively seek out
these kinds of experiences and low levels of signposting
from mainstream media
The future – aspirations and attitudes
 despite fears about the fate of the live experience many
are excited about the future. This is particularly the case
when considering the possibilities of virtual worlds and
immersive technologies
 many see real benefits in more interactive and
integrated experiences, where digital technologies
provide the opportunity to tailor experiences to suit
people’s personal tastes and offer more choice and
context to their live experiences
 older generations also see digital as having great
potential for their children and grandchildren
‘I'd love to see on-line initiatives to
help children learn to read music’
(Male, ‘Leading Edge’)
Current opportunities: the online offer
from the portfolio of regularly funded
organisations
Porcelain table light and candle holders by Linda Stevens
Photo: Theo Moye
Completing the picture – the RFO online offer
•
alongside the qualitative research we also
commissioned a snapshot of the digital presence of
those organisations in receipt of regular funding from
the Arts Council (RFOs)
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the aim was to better understand what was currently
available to an interested consumer online through the
portfolio of regularly funded organisations
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the research only examined the current online offer from
the perspective of the public – it did not engage with
arts organisations directly and so does not provide any
information about their future plans or potential
What we looked at
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core sites and social networking sites
functionality and content
delivery against Ofcom’s public service content criteria
A widespread digital
presence
Almost all regularly
funded organisations –
99% - have some kind of
online presence
Ai Wei Wei Web of light, commissioned for Liverpool Biennial ’08
Photo: ADatabase
Variety of form and function
•
sites fall into four broad categories:
– basic marketing sites (68%) – promotes a live, predominantly offline arts
experience or service. Has limited content or functionality
– rich marketing sites (26%) – promotes a live, predominantly offline arts
experience or service. Greater breadth and depth of content and
functionality.
– multi platform cultural institutions (4%) – site promotes a live experience
and also serves as stand alone online resource or experience
– Online specialists (<1%) – site created by organisation for which online
is primary medium for delivering or distributing content
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majority (94%) are primarily marketing the live
experience
High uptake of social networking sites
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regularly funded organisations are actively using social
networking sites
over half (56%) maintain a profile on at least one SNS,
with most having a presence on more than one
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45
40
35
30
25
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20
15
15
10
7
3
5
0
Facebook
MySpace
YouTube
Flickr
Twitter
Base: 869 RFOs
Note: as many RFOs maintain a presence on more than one
SNS, percentages do not add up to 100
SNS use is tailored to organisational objectives
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scale and type of SNS usage varies
almost all Facebook and MySpace profiles contain
basic information about the regularly funded
organisation and pictures of venues and recent events
other activity depends on objectives of the organisation,
for instance
– theatre group might post videos of live performances
– community arts organisation might send messages to friends
encouraging them to volunteer
Level of SNS traffic and maintenance varies
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most activity is small scale, attracting a relatively small
number of users
– 1/3 of RFO Facebook sites had fewer than 100 friends
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the majority of the communities of regularly funded
organisations are relatively inactive
– the average number of comments and wall posts per RFO is 40
– over half of profiles had not had a message posted by either the RFO or
a user in the previous month
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however a small number of regularly funded
organisations have highly active communities and
invest considerable time in maintaining them
Variation by artform
•
regularly funded organisations that are active in artistic
practices that are heavily impacted by digital, e.g. visual
arts or music, are more likely to maintain sophisticated
core sites than those specialising in other artforms
•
music regularly funded organisations tend to have the
largest SNS profiles, with an average of 590 registered
friends per profile, almost double the size of the next
artform
Variation by region
•
there is some variation in the sophistication of core sites
across the regions but this is largely related to the
geographical distribution of regularly funded
organisation in each artform
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regularly funded organisations in London have, on
average, double the number of friends and wall
postings on their social network profiles as regularly
funded organisations in the region with the next highest
number. This reflects the high profile of several London
based regularly funded organisations and potentially the
higher penetration of SNS in London
Defining public service content
•
public service content is content that fulfils the following
purposes:
– informing ourselves and others
– stimulating our interest in and knowledge of arts, science, history and
other topics
– reflecting and strengthening our cultural identity
– making us aware of different cultures and alternative viewpoints
– stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
•
to fully meet these purposes it should display the
following characteristics:
– high quality (referring to websites that display high production values)
– distinctive (assessing the extent to which the site is original, innovative
and/or challenging)
– engaging (including a measure of interactivity)
– discoverable
Delivering public service content
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56 regularly funded organisations (6%) are providing
content that meets some or all of the characteristics of
public service content
most of these organisations are
– major cultural institutions with strong brand names and relatively
substantial budgets
– small but digitally literate organisations with a focus on moving
image/multimedia
•
however, discoverability remains a key issue, with only
one organisation – the RSC – attracting a large enough
audience to register in the Nielsen/NetRatings top 6,000
in 2008
Types of public service content
•
regularly funded organisations are providing four main
types of public service content
– short and long-form video programming - for example: a museum
producing and distributing a weekly video podcast
– interactive resources and applications - for example: an interactive
learning resource focused on the history of a particular artist or art
movement
– catalogues and archives - for example: an art gallery making its
collection available online
– net art - for example: works of digital art primarily created for the web
Arts organisations as public service content providers?
•
there is a relatively substantial body of public service
content, but it is fragmented across a large number of
sites
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the best sites illustrate the potential of the web for
bringing great art to the general public in new,
interactive and participative ways
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the high quality content can be hard for the public to
discover, and is therefore unlikely to be achieving
sufficient reach and impact at the moment
Opportunities for the future
•
there may be opportunities for regularly funded
organisations to do more to
– exploit online’s potential for participation and collaboration
– explore the relationship between online and offline
– increase the quality, reach and impact of the public service content
currently being provided
•
but more work is required to understand the resources
and support needed to make this happen
Summary
Louise Brown taking part in Dance SCAPES project, Gloucester
Photo: Kevin Clifford
Digital on the rise
•
use of digital technologies is widespread and growing,
with people’s use of the internet in particular becoming
increasingly sophisticated
•
many arts organisations are beginning to reflect this,
with an active and varied online presence and
widespread use of social networking tools
Deeper not wider?
 the evidence suggests that as it stands digital is unlikely to draw a
new wave of previously unengaged audiences to the arts:
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those groups who are least likely to have access to digital technologies are also
least likely to engage with the arts
among those who do have access, those who have little interest in the arts are
unlikely to look for arts experiences online, and if they do stumble across them
are unlikely to stay
 rather, those who are highly engaged now are likely to explore the
digital space as a complement to their existing arts activity,
experiencing deeper and more fulfilling experiences as a result
 however, while they may not define it as ‘arts’, many people are
exploring their own creativity and appreciating the creativity of
others online, whether downloading music or watching videos on
YouTube. In the future it may be possible to tap into this appetite,
finding ways to make audiences wider as well as deeper
Complement not substitute
 this message is reinforced by the strong feeling across
all groups that digital cannot replace the atmosphere,
sociability or immediacy of the live experience
 however, most people believe that digital can come into
its own when providing context for the live experience,
for instance through educational resources or additional
material, or when providing a safe space to test out new
live experiences before taking the plunge in person.
An unknown market
 currently the market for charging for arts content online
appears challenging. For research participants the point
of the internet is that it is free
 most regularly funded organisations appear to use digital
as a means of driving more people to their live offer
 persuading people to pay in the future will require
guarantees of rare or exclusive content, trusted brands
and consistent quality. If this is in place it is possible
people could become more prepared to pay over time
Exciting possibilities for the future
 people are excited about the future, particularly for their
children and grandchildren
 the analysis of the portfolio of regularly funded
organisations revealed standout examples that offer
innovative ways of extending and enriching people’s live
experiences as well as some examples of stand alone
digital arts experiences that are enjoyable and engaging
in their own right
Next steps
Adrienne Hart taking part in Dance SCAPES project, Swindon
Photo: Kevin Clifford
Next steps
 priorities for the next phase of the research include
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quantitative research with the public to test how the attitudes and
experiences presented in the qualitative research break down across
the population as a whole
discussion with artists and arts professionals to share and test the
findings so far, to learn more about the opportunities and challenges
that digital presents for them and to consider the most appropriate role
for the Arts Council in this context
engagement with practitioners, policy makers, academics and other
experts to develop the future research agenda in this area
 for more details and to keep up to date on progress visit
www.artscouncil.org.uk/plan/digital-opportunity
Thank you
www.artscouncil.org.uk
Sophie Ryder Sitting 2007. Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Photo: Jonty Wilde