Where Audio Fits in Your Business Model

Where does audio theatre fit in your business model? Whether you're a producing house making your own work or a presenting venue programming touring content, this episode explores how audio theatre creates revenue diversification, extends geographic reach, and builds long-term value—without competing with live ticket sales.

This week, the Theatre in the UK 2026 report landed with stark numbers: 36% of organisations expect deficits this year, rising to 51% among subsidised theatres. Real-terms ticket prices have fallen 8.9% since 2019. Theatres globally face the same structural squeeze: costs rising faster than revenue, ticket prices that can't keep pace, and touring economics under strain. Revenue diversification isn't optional anymore—it's essential.

Drawing on the Theatre in the UK 2026 report, cinema windowing models, and union frameworks that now make audio capture viable, Barry explores:

• How producing houses can extend the value of work they're already making—capturing live productions or commissioning audio-first to test demand before investing in full staging
• The cinema model: theatrical release, rental, purchase, streaming—and how theatre can think the same way about different audiences and revenue windows
• Why audio theatre is a data-driven development pathway for new writing, proving market demand before committing to full production investment
• How presenting venues can work with local companies, negotiate with touring artists, and support community outreach while ensuring fair pay through union contracts
• Script-in-hand performances with audio soundscape as a low-cost alternative to traditional touring—a model that's now possible with new union agreements
• Secondary licensing for translation: how work created in one language can reach global audiences in Gaelic, Welsh, Spanish, or any other language
• Why keeping revenue local matters: theatres as economic anchors generating £1.40 in local activity for every £1 spent, versus global platforms that extract value offshore

This isn't about replacing live theatre. It's about reaching new audiences, generating income from work you've already made, and building assets that keep earning long after the final performance. For theatres under financial pressure, audio theatre provides revenue diversification that supports your mission without competing with your core business.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction
03:32 Producing Houses - If You Make Work
04:56 The Cinema Model
06:55 What This Means for Producing Houses
09:42 Why This Matters for New Writing
12:48 The Infrastructure You Need
13:46 Presenting Houses
15:15 Working Locally
16:57 Touring Artists
18:35 What This Requires
19:40 Both Models - Why This Matters
19:53 Revenue Diversification
21:17 Geographic Reach
22:19 Long-Term Value
23:42 Keeping Money Local
25:45 You're Not Doing This Alone
26:50 On the Next Episode

Podcast links:

• ⁠⁠The Grey Hill Website⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠Barry Robertson LinkedIn⁠⁠

Music by ⁠⁠https://www.bensound.com⁠⁠ | License code: 0YZPRSAEYDVUNFSE | Artist: Benjamin Tissot