Archives for August 2008

I get excited whenever someone comments on this blog. People are engaged and want to brainstorm about marketing the arts, three cheers! One scary guy did comment on the Contact field and e-yelled at me, saying I should find a shrink and/or a husband to burden with my problems rather than airing them in a public forum, but other than that, all of the comments have been constructive and interesting, I think. [Naturally that one comment led me to a sitcom-esque fantasy sequence flash in which I see a normal shrink every week and say things … [Read more...]

In what seems to be the theme of the week here on Life's a Pitch, I'd like to give my own glowing review of Vivien Schweitzer's review of the Emerson String Quartet. I actually worked on the ESQ concert at Joe's Pub, so throw that layer on the fire, too. First, word up to The New York Times for approving the double review of a concert at Joe's Pub and a concert at Lincoln Center the following evening. What better opportunity to explore the similarities and differences in both the concert-going and performance experiences than reviewing two … [Read more...]

I think an important moment in the industry happened at my "day" job today: we got rid of the New Media section of a marketing report, and instead moved topics like e-cards, banner ads and blogs into the community outreach, advertising and press sections. I got kind of emotional about the whole thing. It was embarrassing. Now if someone would just remove the "adventurous" label from contemporary music programming... … [Read more...]

I'm generally very pleased to be alive in 2008. For example, just this morning I got an interview request from Time Out Beijing. Who knew. It appears to be a monthly publication rather than a weekly publication, but other than that, quite similar to Time Outs in other nations. Speaking of nations, this month has an article about GaydarNation coming to China; What Would Mao Zedong Do (WWMZD) about that?Another reason I enjoy 2008 is that we've reached a point where journalistic criticism has been diluted (or, as some might argue, polluted) to a … [Read more...]

Each week (usually on Fridays, but, on occasion...Mondays), I'll post an interview with someone far more knowledgeable than myself on specific marketing and publicity subjects. This week, vocal manager Matthew Horner on the changing faces (and bodies) of opera and how important (or not) marketing materials are at the onset of a singer's career. Matthew A. Horner is Vice President and Artist Manager at IMG Artists, New York. Previously, he was an Artist Manager at Columbia Artist Management (CAMI).  He does frequent classes for singers at … [Read more...]

That's right, folks - she's still in the race.Cast your vote here. Clearly, Hilary is the best artist for the job. Yes we can.I wonder if there will be a borderline-racist New Yorker cover, with Dudamel as a cartoon Che Guevera and Natalie Dessay as Marie Antoinette. Maybe Murray Perahia's camp will run TV ads about Rolando Villazon's "celebrity status", and Anna Netrebko will respond. Will Angela Merkel let Paul Lewis give a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate, or will that make him look too much like J.F.K.? And the real question on … [Read more...]

Now I've got your attention.One thing that has struck me about this year's Olympics is the quickness with which the NBC correspondents interview athletes after races/performances/matches. Good results and bad, the large majority of Olympic athletes agree to be interviewed. What good...sports they all are. (Poor Lolo Jones was even interviewed last night after not medaling in the hurdle. Props to her for having a great domain name, by way.) It's almost uncomfortable to watch an interview so soon after an event: must the runners still be panting? … [Read more...]

Apparently, the Broadway Godspell revival ad campaign wasn't as good as I thought it was.  … [Read more...]

In the third paragraph of his August 6th article in The New York Times, Dan Wakin quotes Opera Omnia artistic director Wesley Chinn's press release:The first news release quoted the founder and artistic director, Wesley Chinn, as saying, "I can't actually pretend to quote myself in a release I'm writing myself just to satisfy the conventions of press-release style."Fourth paragraph:If the tongue-in-cheek communiqué was meant to draw attention during the summer doldrums, it worked. But further investigation reveals that Opera Omnia is a serious … [Read more...]

Each week, I'll post an interview with someone far more knowledgeable than myself on specific marketing and publicity subjects. This week, Juilliard masters student (and my assistant!) Allegra Lilly on how prepared she feels Juilliard students are for The Industry post graduation. Allegra Lilly began playing the harp at age seven and made her solo debut with the Detroit Symphony at age twelve.  Recent honors include winning the Anne Adams Award of the American Harp Society, taking third prize in the Concours International de Harpe in Nice, … [Read more...]

Nope, I'm not going to write about it, but I sure wish the press would!The Olympics have renewed my fascination with all things surrounding child prodigies and, especially with the games being in China, I wonder why we haven't seen child prodigy athlete vs. child prodigy classical musician press. Surely there are huge, glaringly obvious similarities: extreme focus on a singular pursuit from a very young age, supportive beyond-supportive-parents (or parental figures), intense training, legendary coaches/teachers, presence of natural gifts, … [Read more...]

The New York Philharmonic's Facebook group is "secret". Seriously? The Philharmonic decides who is worthy of their Facebook group? Facebook, a free digital platform that makes access to new things almost too easy, and somehow - somehow - the Philharmonic finds a way to make it exclusive?  … [Read more...]

Oh bless the Godspell Broadway revival ad campaign my soul: Creepily religious, straightforward and smart. Gets people who already know Godspell excited and people who don't, intrigued. All for the best. I realize core-classical music doesn't have lyrics to pull from, but I would love to see an ad campaign for a presentation of The Rite of Spring (I know I've used this example before) that uses quotes from all the terrible reviews and then just says "www.carnegiehall.org/ichoserite" at the bottom. Or, "I am delighted to add another unplayable … [Read more...]

My friend Meg joined me at the exceedingly lovely Mostly Mozart Festival's presentation of Ravel, Faure and the-man-of-the-two-hours on Saturday night. Previously, Meg was my date to Satyagraha at The Met, lured there by the promise of puppets. Whenever I go to a classical presentation with a first-timer, I become eminently more aware of the comedy of errors that is the audience. What a crew. Here are some of the highlights: Saturday night, 7:45 pm. We found our seats in the orchestra and sat down without incident, which is more than I can say … [Read more...]