Introduction & Strategic Positioning

This platform is aimed at all members of cultural institutions working closely or far on issues of public development and retention. It is therefore aimed simultaneously at administrative and legal departments and services, ticketing services and communications teams, as well as those responsible for relations with the public. The partners of the European project Prospero Extended Theatre, the originator of this publication, wanted to propose, as part of their European project, a tool to help those responsible for defining and implementing public strategies. With this resource, they will be able to master the range of issues, applications, and possibilities induced by the exploitation of data in the context of live entertainment.

The concept of data literacy is defined as "the ability to access, interpret, evaluate, manage, manipulate and use data critically and ethically (Calzada-Prado and Marzal, 2013) through knowledge of the characteristics of the data, its life cycle and the various impacts of its use, including security and privacy" (Verdi, 2023).

"If the term data or data has long been part of the vocabulary of the performing arts professionals, it is uneven and often with a great deal of incomprehension about its issues," recalled Anne Le Gall, co-founder and general delegate of TMNlab at TMNlab 2022 meetings. Training is needed to develop responsible uses, in accordance with the law, that effectively serve the institution's cultural project. That's why we're offering this digital space, which we hope will enable it to become competent according to its own needs, its initial mastery of the stakes - and its curiosity.

According to Ugo Verdi (2023), this data acculturation must enable the formation of "data readerates" (data readerates), people "understanding, explaining and documenting the usefulness and limitations of data by becoming a consumer of critical data, capable of managing its digital traces, finding meaning in the data and making decisions based on it". If the Data Literate is not considered a technical expert, but understands the issues of data and has some expertise in their manipulation.

In the cultural sector, the attitude of professionals towards data seems to have changed significantly recently. According to Julie Knibbe (2023) "They first showed some mistrust of these new methods of work, and they understand more and more the value they can derive from using the data to assist them. There is a decline in the number of debates between intuitive approaches (where artistic quality prevails) and data-driven approaches (data-driven) as maturity develops. The author also highlights the challenges facing the living spectacle, "related to the ownership and sharing of data between actors, and to the technical, political and regulatory issues associated with it, such as the protection of personal data", which only reinforce the urgent need for the sector to become more competent.

In view of the near-total digitization of our world, it is more than time for professionals to embrace these topics. When, in 2000, a quarter of the world's recorded information was in digital format, 98% of the world's recorded information was in digital format in 2013. These digital spaces have become areas of socialization for a large majority of citizens, and this far beyond the borders that the media now struggle to cross in certain segments of the population (see the fact sheet "The increasingly digitized cultural practices?"). For cultural public service projects whose aim is to reach the widest possible audience, not investing these spaces would be to fail in its mission. In addition, these data represent an important lever for cultural marketing. As stated by the Diagnostic Competencies and Future Trades UNOCO LAB produced by TMNlab and Hacnum, "The explosion in the volume of data produced, coupled with the improvement of technologies in the collection and mass processing of data, is an opportunity for cultural structures to make data a strategic lever in the acquisition, retention and possible monetization of their audiences".

The other objective of this platform is to enable cultural operators to train independently, and to develop an emancipated competence for the intervention of their suppliers or software publishers. When these data are collected, professionals in the sector face a lot of difficulties in accessing and interpreting them (Knibbe, 2023), which is why cultural professionals need to develop their own data management skills without depending on their surroundings from service providers and ticketing, CRM or marketing providers. This time spent fighting against what Bernard Stiegler called "generalised proletarization", i.e. the destruction of knowledge in all its forms, especially the know-how of workers, which he links with the anarchical and savage (i.e. ultra-liberal) development of the digitisation of trades and the massive automation of processes. (Stiegler, 2015, P31-32).

With a better understanding of the issues involved, the teams will be able to balance the balance of power with providers who have technical knowledge of these issues, but who do not always share the same vision of their use. This will enable them to collaborate more equally with their partners.

Interesting in cultural marketing and its digital tools, it is also confronted with wide ethical and ecological issues. Indeed, the technologies and services that make up the tools of marketing teams can create reservations, see dilemmas, as their principles and effects on society are sometimes opposed to the principles and values defended by living entertainment.