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Art and Entertainment Industry Resources

Arts, Entertainment & Recreation – Sector Overview
This part gives you a quick overview of this industry sector, the number of businesses that comprise the sector broken down into large and small businesses along with a discussion about some issues and challenges facing the businesses.

Arts, Entertainment & Recreation - List of Businesses
This section provides our readers with a listing of the businesses that are categorized under this industry classification.

Arts, Entertainment & Recreation - Resource Directory
A great tool put together painstakingly by our staff that identifies the major associations and organizations that serve the various businesses in this industry classification.  Besides the name and website, you will also find a brief description about the organization.  Our small business owners always thank us for putting this tool together – we are confident that you will find it useful as well.

ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT & RECREATION – SECTOR OVERVIEW

The first step in determining how to write a business plan at Trident Consultants involves identifying the correct business sector to which our client’s business belongs.  The arts, entertainment & recreation sector is a vast industry classification as per the NAICS – North American Industry Classification System.  It covers businesses like theatre companies, dance companies, musical groups, artists, spectator sports, sports teams, racetracks, promoters, agents and managers, independent artists, museums, historical sites, zoos, amusement parks, arcades, casinos, golf courses and many others.  (A detailed listing of arts, entertainment & recreation businesses has been included at the end of this page.)

There are over a 235k larger businesses (with employees) in this industry sector that employ over 1.9 million people with a total payroll of $52 billion.  On average the larger arts, entertainment and recreation firms have at least 8 employees and the average income nationally for each of these employees is about $27k.

In the small business world covering firms with no employees, there are 972k such arts, entertainment and firms with total gross receipts of $23 billion and the average annual income as reported by each firm of around $24k.

A business plan for a musical group or independent artists must take into account the rapid proliferations of entertainment on the internet and the consequent decline in the traditional venues of sale of entertainment media.  It is well known that CD’s and music releases in books and music stores have been falling for the past decade and online sales of music have been increasing steadily.  A sound business plan for an independent artist or group must account for how they intend to bring their work to the attention of the public – if they choose to go the internet route then an aggressive marketing plan has to be launched in both the online and offline world.  Many new artists are now able to put up their works on Youtube and other social networking sites and are able to develop and underground following before becoming main stream.  Business planning must address this alternative source of both advertising and instant recognition for artists starting out.

Museums, historical sites, zoos and botanical gardens all depend on the disposable income of their clientele and thus their profitability is tied directly to the local economy.  Thus if the local business and economic environment is sluggish these businesses will be the first to feel the pinch since they do not factor in as a necessity but more as an optional and occasionally expense.  It is important in business planning for such businesses to understand the nature of the larger and local economic business cycle.  These businesses also traditionally depend on government grants.  These grants can come from local or state governments and sometimes may even come from a federal agency.  Thus the health of the budgets of local and state governments will also directly affect the ability of firms like museums and historical sites to get government funding.  It is not uncommon in tough economic times for governments to cut their patronage of the arts resulting in hardships to businesses like dance and theatre companies.  A sound business plan must account for this dependence on government funds and must make suggestions to the owners and managers of these businesses to make provisions for such events. 

Demographic analysis is yet important element of business planning for businesses in the entertainment and recreations sector.  Health clubs for example have historically had members who range from 20 to 45 years of age, but as the local demographic shows baby boomers aging, the health club may want to start offering softer exercises like Yoga and Pilates that have become hugely popular especially with the aging population.  A business plan that has strategic ideas like offering new products to a target markets will benefit the firms tremendously. 

Seasonality of cash flow is yet another major issue affecting firms operating in the arts entertainment and recreation industry.  The summer season brings in a lot to tourist into major metropolitan areas and businesses like museums, zoos can benefit tremendously.  The holiday season is yet another time when these businesses are very busy.  Health clubs on the other hand tend to get most of their dues in the first quarter of the year but they face operational costs through out the entire year.  A sound business plan must also address the ability of theses businesses to deal with the seasonality of cash flow by suggesting business loans and lines of credit.

If you are starting an arts, entertainment or recreation business, or are already established but are looking to grow, secure a partner, venture capital or business loans, we would be happy to help.  

 ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT & RECREATION – LIST OF BUSINESSS:

The following is a list of the various businesses that fall under this industry sector:

Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries
Performing Arts Companies
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
Dance Companies
Musical Groups and Artists
Other Performing Arts Companies
Spectator Sports
Sports Teams and Clubs
Racetracks
Other Spectator Sports
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities
Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions
Museums
Historical Sites
Zoos and Botanical Gardens
Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions

Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries
Amusement and Theme Parks
Amusement Arcades
Casinos (except Casino Hotels)
Other Gambling Industries
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
Skiing Facilities
Marinas
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
Bowling Centers
All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries