Classical Music’s Marketing Problem
As I was editing the May/June issue of the SCI Newsletter this week, I was struck by a discussion on the SCI listserv concerning the difference between Art and Entertainment. A number of ideas were offered for a way of differentiating the two, including focus audience or the content of the music. Some even offered better terms that would not be so derogatory, such as craft in place of entertainment.
I’m not sure that any of this discussion even matters. As Anthony Cornicello points out, there is such a big disconnect between composers and audiences that the public generally does not even know what a composer does. Conrad Kehn accurately describes the modern market with an incredible amount of entertainment options, with classical music ranking fairly low on the list for an entertaining evening (he mentions the stale, pretentious atmosphere, which forbids speaking and moving for long periods of time). Kyle Gullings made the most salient point in my mind: contemporary classical composers do a poor job of packaging their product.
Gullings mentions Alex Shapiro’s blog, Notes from the Kelp as an exemplary model of quality and consistent marketing. I don’t know if that’s enough. Just look, for example at the homepage of Yo-Yo Ma. The attractive and user-friendly layout draw audiences into the wealth of content (of which there is much). Or, notice how a search on YouTube for Joshua Bell produces 1,210 hits (he also has a great website).
Some of the only composers that I am aware of that have similarly great marketing are Eric Whitacre and Osvaldo Golijov. I don’t think that these composers are working for the same market as say John Corigliano or Steven Stucky, but they are definitely gaining a larger market than these other composers.
Composers should be able to make a list such as Gramophone’s “Top 20 Classical Superstars of the Future” just as easily as the performers and conductors that currently make such lists. I believe we need to market not only ourselves, but also our field. A conversation such as the following should never happen again:
Dan: Well, what do you do here in Houston?
Herb: I write music for the high schools.
Dan: So, you’re teaching music there?
Herb: No, I am writing music for the music groups here.
Dan: You are giving guitar lessons.
Herb: No, I compose new classic music.
Dan: You are a conductor.
Herb: No, I write new music for the schools.
Dan: You must be on the school music administration staff. Right?
Herb: No, I compose music and the kids play it and sing it.
Dan: You must be in charge of the football half-time shows.
Herb: No, I do things that Mozart and Beethoven used to do.
Dan: Huh?
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