Audience Development remains a topic of interest in determining social and cultural policy. Public cultural subsidies have declined and to the degree there is subsidy, there are questions as to the legitimacy and efficacy of those subsidies. (Hadley, 2017). Despite these declines, there remains within the system of public subsidy a moral imperative to continue to promote cultural inclusion. one method of continuing the democratization of cultural events is through the construct of audience development. a report on audience development issued by the European Commission was promulgated in 2017 and featured several case studies that, in combination of separately, attempted to create a series of attributes that facilitated an organization’s ability to foster audience development (European commission, 2017). These case studies had a variety of features in common, one of which was the commonality of data relevance (European Commission, 2017). This paper focuses on the use of data to determine of current efforts are effective in engaging audiences, particularly those who are otherwise under-represented and under-engaged. Understanding the role of data in examining audience development helps to promote standards in data collection, data analysis and assimilation into an overall strategy, both at the organizational level and at the public policy level. Specifically, this analysis revealed that engagement behavior varied by audience segments. Participation rates amongst segments were influenced by organizations utilizing public subsidies. However, this impact did not extend to the under-presented and under-engaged. Understanding the motivations of segments across various art forms may facilitate a better application of public subsidies that furthers the continuing democratization of cultural events.
