CultureTalk: Rethinking Digital Investment in Arts and Culture with Ben Park

What happens when someone who's worked both sides of the CultureTech relationship – running a venue and working inside a leading sector platform – looks at where the cultural sector is now? In this episode of CultureTalk, we're joined by Ben Park, a culture and entertainment sector consultant with over 20 years of experience. Ben spent 12 years at Spektrix, joining when it was a small startup and growing with the company as it became a sector standard. Before that, he worked venue-side at The Place, a contemporary dance theatre in London. He now runs his own consultancy helping cultural organisations and technology suppliers unlock growth. We explore why websites have been slower than ticketing systems to make the shift to SaaS, what "control" actually means when venues hand their technology to a third party, and whether the funding model the sector relies on is holding back digital progress. We also get into vendor responsibility, peer-to-peer learning, skills development, and where AI fits into all of this. Key topics covered: 💻 Why websites have lagged behind ticketing in SaaS adoption 🏛️ The real meaning of "control" in cultural technology decisions 💰 CapEx vs OpEx – and why the distinction matters more than ever 🤝 What effective vendor-led community building looks like 🧠 Skills development and the sector's digital literacy gap 🤖 How the sector should be approaching AI adoption 🔗 The case for peer-to-peer learning between venues Featuring Ben Park Consultant, BenPark.net Want more CultureTalk? Listen on your favourite platform: 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2fZmkPCIiFac8GxvV3Lytg 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/culturetalk/id1792405488 🎧 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/768e691f-b4a7-4612-9ae4-c820ad9dba3f Subscribe for more insights from leaders in arts and culture! New episodes every month.