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This post originally appeared on the Social Enterprise Conference at Harvard's Blog. To learn more about one of the world's largest and most recognized social enterprise conferences, which is happening on Feb 25-26 at Harvard Kennedy School & Business School, please visit: http://socialenterpriseconference.org/

Prior to business school, I had always thought of performing arts organizations as slow-moving, traditional, and reliant on fundraising. However, after spending a summer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, I saw first-hand how many performing arts organizations are rapidly adopting digital technology and innovating their business models to not only survive financially, but also better fulfill their missions. 

While some performing arts organizations may have seen digital technology as a threat to their ticket sales, others have embraced it as an opportunity for growth. The Met Opera has done particularly well in adapting its content to digital technology by broadcasting select performances Live in HD to thousands of movie theaters around the country. While early skeptics argued that Live in HD would cannibalize sales and diminish the quality of the opera, the opposite has been true as live and broadcast viewership have both increased. First of all, Live in HD has allowed The Met to reach thousands of people who normally would not go to an opera due to geographic or financial constraints and has also energized current fans. Second, the broadcasts have not adversely affected artistic quality or intensified competition. Drawing an analogy to sporting events, broadcasts offer a much different experience than live performances, allowing The Met to maintain its prestige and luxury appeal. Finally, the broadcasts have been a financial success for The Met bringing in over $50 million in annual revenue. Other performing arts organizations have also embraced digital technology by offering their content on iTunes (New York Philharmonic) or by online subscription (Berlin Philharmonic), allowing them to earn incremental revenue and reach new audiences.

In addition to adapting quickly to technology, performing arts organizations are also finding ways to expand their reach and increase financial sustainability through new business models. For example, Lincoln Center recently took on a consulting project in Tianjin, China, serving as an advisor to the municipal government on building a new performing arts complex. Lincoln Center’s move into consulting is meant to help the organization expand its presence globally while allowing it to depend less on fundraising and ticket sales. While some critics have argued that consulting is not Lincoln Center’s core competency, Lincoln Center officials believe that taking an advisor role is a natural fit for the world’s largest performing arts complex. Lincoln Center’s move into consulting differs from the strategies of the Guggenheim and Louvre museums in expanding abroad because it hopes to generate arts centers that will operate independently of Lincoln Center. Regardless of the outcome, Lincoln Center’s new venture exemplifies the entrepreneurial zeal of many performing arts organizations.

I am looking forward to learning more about how performing arts organizations are incorporating entrepreneurial business practices during the Creative Enterprises: Innovative Business Models in the Arts Panel of the Social Enterprise Conference on Feb 25-26, 2012. The panel will include speakers from Lincoln Center, Alvin Ailey Dance Center, and the Opera’s Singer Initiative. Buy your tickets here to explore this topic as well as many others at the Social Enterprise Conference!

Tony Muljadi is a second year student at Harvard Business School. This summer he interned in the Strategy and Business Development group of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. Prior to HBS, Tony spent a summer in Bangladesh working in the microfinance division of BRAC, the largest non-profit development organization in the world. He also spent time as a management consultant with PwC in New York. Tony received a BS in Business Administration with Highest Honors from the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

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Thi s is a guest post by Rawia Abdel Samad . Rawia is an MBA student at Harvard Business School. She is currently doing an internship at Social Finance in Boston. Prior to her MBA, she was a senior consultant with Booz & Company in the Middle East for 3 years where she worked on a range of projects with governments, regulators and private sector players in addition to several pro-bono projects with nonprofits .

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This is a guest post by Tony Muljadi . He is an MBA student at HBS with the Class of 2012. He grew up in Colorado and loves travel, skiing, and exercise. He studied Accounting and Finance at the University of Colorado at Boulder and moved to New York City after school where he was a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers for three years. He spent the summer before business school in Bangladesh as a microfinance intern with BRAC. At HBS, He is co-chair of the Social Enterprise Conference, co-president of the Global Immersion Experience Program, and a former cast member of the HBS Show.

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This is a guest post by Jocelyn Cheng . Jocelyn is a joint-degree student at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to school, she worked in investment banking and private equity in the US and Latin America. She graduated from the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a proud Canadian and a co-chair of the 2012 Social Enterprise Conference.