Why subscribe?
The Broadway DNA Blog is a weekly newsletter about theatrical IP from around the world, written by NYC-based producer Natalie Rine, founder of international producing and licensing company Broadway DNA.
Every Monday, I compile a round-up of global theatrical news along with my (peppered snark and) industry commentary— with notes on what I’ve published, read, and listened to that week. On Fridays, paid subscribers also receive essays on special topics in international theatre. Once per month, paid subscribers also get the “Royalty Report” dispatch, with exclusive interviews and recommendations from key producers, licensors, and creators from around the world.
What is The Broadway DNA Blog about?
Broadway DNA Blog’s themes include:
The IP Owners: what are Disney Theatrical, DreamWorks Theatricals, and Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures up to? How do they think (or not…) about the world they increasingly run? As more Hollywood properties look to cross-pollinate their footprints from screens and stores to stages, understanding what’s going on means thinking like a brand strategist.
The Licensors and Agents: profiling emerging and existing entertainment licensing companies around the world that may be vested with the power to continue (or kill) your show’s post-premiere lifecycle. Licensing agreements that property owners and licensees make have the potential to unlock powerful (and sometimes surprising) brand alliances in new markets that drive real value to both parties, putting real dollars in creators and producers’ pockets. A valuable production in today’s global marketplace is an incumbent from the 1980s Mega-musical era, with the attendant blind spots and weaknesses. Modern licensing practices in this newsletter are a bet on the future, based on a vision of how it will differ from the present to value resources and advocacy on behalf of artists and their original visions with substantial, tangible brand strategy. (And as your licensing agent, I would be the best.)
The Crowd: educating Broadway readership on mature and emerging international theatre markets by providing un-whitewashed investigative journalism and news that seek to de-centralize the industry’s Western gaze, and make the licensing business of bringing shows outside the US (and vice versa) more transparent. Most of you know me from my viral deep-dive on the Korean theatre industry peak-pandemic.
Who writes The Broadway DNA Blog?
Natalie Jean Rine is the founder of Broadway DNA, a US-based theatrical producing and licensing company committed to connecting artists and projects to a prosperous life through IP expansion, brand management, and distribution in the world marketplace. Natalie brings experience in global IP management for entertainment companies including Peanuts Worldwide, Rodgers & Hammerstein, DreamWorks Animation, and Broadway productions and tours.
Her writing and research activities include “Devising, Decolonizing, and Disrupting American Musical Theatre Aural Anatomy Through the Playlist Musical” (Critical Stages/Scènes critiques), “Immersive Theatre as Christian Liminality” (Robyn Rafferty Mathias Research Conference), and “A Study on the Strategic Advancement of Musical Theatre Performance Between Korea and the US” (Yonsei University).
Nearly fluent in Korean, she can be seen walking around Manhattan with Starbucks and her Lion King Shanghai tote bag. www.broadway-dna.com
Who reads The Broadway DNA Blog?
My readers skew toward the field I write about and service: theatrical writers, creators, licensors, presenters, and especially producers. Readers include critics, actors, theatre makers and theatre lovers alike from 20+ countries— not including the US/UK/AUS— including South Korea, Japan, China, Turkey, Germany, Denmark, and Brazil.
What You’ll Get
Here are a few posts that cover Broadway DNA-related themes I’ve done for other outlets:
Op-Eds:
Broadway Can Learn from South Korea's Theatre Market During COVID-19 (April 29, 2020)
Digital Theatre Venues—Because Yes, They Are Venues and Are Not One Size Fits All
‘Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical’: A Case Study of Connecting to a Digital Theatre Audience
How Theatre Producers Can Use Alternative Marketing Activations to Build Brand Awareness
Intentional Journalism:
FIRST LOOK: Hadestown Korea Cast Revealed! (Featuring one of my favorite footnotes of snark on the licensing business ever written)
BREAKING: Hadestown to Premiere in South Korea in August 2021, EXO’s Xiumin to star? (Posted one month before the Broadway Hadestown channels made the "announcement"...)
Select Reviews:
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