A Los Angeles stage website is causing a stir by asking theatres to pay $150 for a review, Mike Boehm reports.
The old adage, “you get what you pay for,” has acquired new meaning on the Los Angeles theater scene, where a busy stage website, Bitter Lemons, is making this offer to theaters: Send us $150 and we’ll send you a reviewer.
Bitter Lemons founder Colin Mitchell says he’s responding to the dwindling number of reviews by professional critics amid upheaval in the media industry. Many traditional outlets have retrenched in the face of falling advertising revenues they’d relied on to fund coverage, including arts reviews. He's asking theater companies themselves to help fill the void.
But many are refusing, adamantly.
“I would be embarrassed if I paid for one of these reviews,” said Brian Polak, marketing and communications chief at Pasadena’s Theatre @Boston Court. “The majority of [theater] people are upset and think it’s a bad idea... Keep reading on LA Times
The old adage, “you get what you pay for,” has acquired new meaning on the Los Angeles theater scene, where a busy stage website, Bitter Lemons, is making this offer to theaters: Send us $150 and we’ll send you a reviewer.
Bitter Lemons founder Colin Mitchell says he’s responding to the dwindling number of reviews by professional critics amid upheaval in the media industry. Many traditional outlets have retrenched in the face of falling advertising revenues they’d relied on to fund coverage, including arts reviews. He's asking theater companies themselves to help fill the void.
But many are refusing, adamantly.
“I would be embarrassed if I paid for one of these reviews,” said Brian Polak, marketing and communications chief at Pasadena’s Theatre @Boston Court. “The majority of [theater] people are upset and think it’s a bad idea... Keep reading on LA Times