Interest in the audience arose while art became public and since then it has not weaken, rather it has become more and more special. For more than a century the audience of art has been the subject of systematic scientific research. Why then is the problem of the relationship between art and its audience becoming once again a topical issue? The consequences of the civilizational shifts in the last decade have clearly shown: the things that have for a long time been considered true suddenly turn out to be illusive or banal in the changing world. In the modern market paradigm of the artistic culture development, the problem of the relationship between art and its audience acquires a new sound. A theater, a museum or a concert organization needs not the social and cultural portrait of the spectator, but an understanding of the causes and characteristics of its consumer behavior in the wider context of cultural life. And the first step to overcome the communication barriers between art and its potential consumers should be the abandonment of stereotypes and outdated research approaches.