Corporate Structure and the Financial Support of U.S. Symphony Orchestras

The United States experienced merger waves of unprecedented proportions during the 1980s and 1990s. After mapping the resulting relocation of corporate headquarters among metropolitan areas, this article investigates how relocations affected the financial status of leading American symphony orchestras, which depend for support upon philanthropic contributions from corporations and gifts from listeners, including corporate staff. The size of orchestras' budgets is explained most strongly in a panel analysis by local income per-capita and the magnitude of their endowments. Endowments in turn depend upon income per-capita and the amount of assets controlled by corporations headquartered in the area served by orchestras.