From the Field

Public Funding for the Arts 2024

Grantmakers in the Arts has published Public Funding for the Arts 2024, offering a detailed analysis of the public funding ecosystem that supports arts and culture across the United States. Compiled by NASAA, this article examines fiscal year 2024 trends in federal, state and local government appropriations amid economic normalization following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The analysis provides data-driven insights into funding changes and the critical role of public support. As the sector navigates fiscal transitions, this resource underscores the importance of sustained public investment to ensure broad access to arts and cultural opportunities nationwide.

Research and Legislation on Live-Event Ticketing

The Congressional Research Service recently released Tickets for Live Entertainment Events, reviewing the current state of event ticketing and actions taken by the federal government addressing certain issues related to event ticketing. The report highlights that the primary recent federal legislation related to event ticketing is the Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016 (BOTS Act), which prohibits individuals from circumventing the ticketer’s security system to purchase more tickets than permitted by the ticketer. Any sale of tickets through these means is also prohibited. This legislation addresses concerns about ticket pricing markups in the secondary market. Since the passage of the BOTS Act, federal oversight has generally consisted of legal action by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, including action taken against three ticket brokers for violation of the BOTS Act, as well as antitrust enforcement. The report concludes with other potential legislative considerations.

2025 Trending Legislative Topics

State legislatures are in full swing. In light of this, the National Conference of State Legislatures forecast of 2025’s legislative topics provides context for recent legislative developments and what to expect in the upcoming year. The report summarizes trending topics, such as artificial intelligence, across 13 broad categories, such health, labor and climate.

“Botting” Skews Survey Data

In a recent analysis of its Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, the American Alliance of Museums discusses its discovery of evidence of “botting” in its survey data. “Botting,” the practice of fake respondents or “bots” using automated tools to complete many surveys as fast as possible, has significantly increased in recent years, skewing data and compromising the integrity of research. It its “visual data story,” the American Alliance of Museums discusses red flags for catching evidence of botting and emphasizes the importance of data cleaning.