There’s a lot of talk about what kind of audience classical music has
\nand wants. Generally speaking, I think we want young people with
\ndisposable-enough incomes who like to go out and have a network of
\nfriends in their cities or towns. <\/p>\n
That stated, the industry
\nexpects the members of this coveted demographic to change their current
\nroutines to accommodate it. I decided to conduct a highly-scientific
\nfocus group – i.e. e mailing my sister Aliza and her three roommates – on the
\nsubject.
Aliza – <\/i>Marketing Coordinator, Dauphin
Brianne – <\/i>Group Strategist, Saatchi & Saatchi
Cammie – <\/i>Operations Analyst, QVT Financial
Katharine – <\/i>Analyst for Strategic Planning, American Express <\/b>
<\/i>
All 23 years old, college-educated and living in New York City.<\/p>\n
– – – <\/p>\n
How much money do you spend on a normal night out?<\/b><\/font> What was the last thing you bought over $30?<\/b><\/font> What time do you normally eat dinner?<\/font> Have you ever seen the New York Philharmonic?<\/b><\/font> <\/i>If yes, what did you see?<\/b><\/font> If no, do you have any desire to?<\/font> How much would you pay to see a classical music concert? <\/b><\/font> Would What is the biggest obstacle to seeing a classical concert in your mind?<\/b><\/font> Aliza:<\/b> <\/i>I would go for A, those tickets get to be super expensive. Anytime it’s free or not too expensive I’ll go. <\/i> Would you go see a movie\/concert\/play because it got a good review or because your friends told you it was good?<\/font> Which websites do you look at every day?<\/font><\/b> What was the last time you heard classical music in any setting? (movie, elevator – anywhere) <\/font> What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say “classical music”?<\/b> <\/font> Many thanks to my hip and trendy lab rats for their answers. H<\/font>ighly-scientific conclusions and suggested solutions:<\/font><\/b> Members Members Members Members Members of the CV still think of classical music as completely high-brow. Note: In my “What is the biggest obstacle…” question, I just realized that I didn’t even give them the opportunity to say they just don’t like classical music! I’m all, THAT IS NOT AN OPTION. In actuality, however, that’s something no amount of marketing can change: I don’t like Rachel Ray, no matter how many refreshing-looking iced coffees she promotes. It is interesting to think about, though: just “not liking” something that is completely omnipresent but often accepted as background music or cell phone ringtones. Another post for another time.<\/p>\n Update – 7\/24, 2:30ish pm<\/i>: It was brought to my attention via e mail that Lincoln Center will be presenting two concerts of The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen with <\/font>Paavo J\u00e4rvi conducting on March 2, 2009; the first concert is at 7:30pm<\/a> and the second is at 10:30pm<\/a>. The programs are different. They are also presenting a free concert with <\/span>The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen the following Wednesday, March 4th<\/a>, in the middle of the day. Additionally, <\/font><\/i>Jordi Savall’s Lincoln Center concerts in October<\/a> and February<\/a> of 2009 are slated to start at 9pm. Good stuff. <\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There’s a lot of talk about what kind of audience classical music has and wants. Generally speaking, I think we want young people with disposable-enough incomes who like to go out and have a network of friends in their cities or towns. That stated, the industry expects the members of this coveted demographic to change […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Aliza:<\/i><\/b> $40-$60.
Brianne:<\/b><\/i> Probably at least $40 or $50 when you add in cost of cabs!
Cammie:<\/b> <\/i>$40.
Katharine:<\/b><\/i> $100.<\/p>\n
Aliza:<\/i> <\/b>Jack Rogers (shoes).
Brianne: <\/b><\/i>Summer dresses.
Cammie:<\/b> <\/i>Dinner.
Katharine:<\/b><\/i> A bathing suit.<\/p>\n
Aliza:<\/i><\/b> 7:30ish.
Brianne: <\/i><\/b>7:00.
Cammie: <\/i><\/b>On weekdays probably between 7:30 and 8. Weekends a bit earlier, more like 6 or 6:30.
Katharine:<\/i><\/b> <\/b>7:30.<\/p>\n
Aliza: <\/i><\/b>Yes.
Brianne: <\/b><\/i>No.
Cammie: <\/b><\/i>Yes.
Katharine:<\/b><\/i> Yes.<\/p>\n
Aliza:<\/i><\/b> The first concert in Central Park this summer.
Cammie:<\/b> <\/i>Philharmonic in the Park.
Katharine:<\/b> <\/i>Sadly, I can’t remember (it was years ago).
<\/i> <\/p>\n
Katharine: <\/i><\/b>I would love to go again!
Brianne:<\/b><\/i> Not really. Maybe if other friends were going. But it definitely wouldn’t be my suggestion for an outing. <\/p>\n
Aliza:<\/i><\/b> $50 – $75 depending on the concert.
Brianne: <\/b><\/i>Depends who I’m going with. Maybe $25-30.
Cammie: <\/b><\/i>$40.
Katharine:<\/b> <\/i>Up to $125.<\/p>\n
\nyou go to a concert by yourself, or would you want to go with friends?
\nOn a date? With someone who knows about classical music?<\/b> <\/font>
Aliza:<\/i><\/b>
\nI definitely would not go to a classical music concert by myself, but I
\nwould go with friends or on a date (although I don’t think I would be
\ndating any guys who would take me to a classical music concert unless
\nthey were my sister’s friends). I would prefer to go with someone who
\nknows about classical music because I like the back stories about the
\norchestra, the piece, the time period, etc..
Brianne: <\/b><\/i>Wouldn’t go by myself. I’m not really the type to go to movies or concerts or anything alone. I’d probably want to go with friends who had the same level of knowledge\/appreciation about classical music as I do, which isn’t much. Definitely don’t want to feel intimidated or judged by the person I go with!
Cammie: <\/b><\/i>I’d rather go with someone, whether it be a friend, date or classical music aficionado.
Katharine:<\/b><\/i> I would not want to go by myself, but beyond that I would be open to
going with anyone (friends, a date- why the heck not?, and it wouldn’t
really matter if they did or didn’t know about classical music).
<\/i><\/p>\n
a) price – concerts are too expensive
b) location – who hangs out in midtown?
c) timing – we go to dinner at 8 pm
d) comfort level – I don’t know anything about classical music<\/b><\/p>\n
Brianne: <\/b><\/i>I guess D. I’m not sure it’s really all about comfort. I’d say it’s more that I just don’t really care for classical music. I’d rather do something else.
Cammie: <\/b><\/i>A. <\/b><\/i>
Katharine:<\/b><\/i> I think the biggest obstacle is that it seems that it requires a lot
of advance planning and it might be difficult to get people to go.<\/p>\n
If you’re looking for something to do on a Friday night, where do you look?<\/b><\/font>
Aliza:<\/i> <\/b>Time
\nOut to see if there’s any new shows or restaurants to try or I talk to
\nfriends and make plans that way, through things they know about.
Brianne: <\/b><\/i>Out to dinner, a movie, or typical bar scene.
Cammie:<\/b><\/i> I usually talk to friends or do something low key on a Friday like the movies or just going to dinner.
Katharine:<\/b><\/i> <\/b>Usually I talk to friends and occasionally look at Time Out.
<\/i> <\/b><\/p>\n
Aliza:<\/i><\/b>
\nProbably more so if my friends told me it was good because they have
\nsimilar interests to me, but if it’s get a good review and I happen to
\nstumble upon it, I would give it a try.
Brianne: <\/b><\/i>I’d trust my friends over a good (or bad) review.
Cammie: <\/b><\/i>Both.
Katharine:<\/b> <\/i>I usually give more weight to recommendations from friends over reviews.
<\/i> <\/b> <\/p>\n
Aliza:<\/i><\/b> Yikes, this is where it starts to get embarrassing…Perez Hilton<\/a>, People<\/a>, Gawker<\/a>, Jezebel<\/a>, NY Times<\/a>.
Brianne:<\/b><\/i> NY Times<\/a>, Bitten<\/a>, Times style section<\/a>, Iconoculture<\/a> (trends website my company subscribes to).
Cammie: <\/b><\/i>MSNBC<\/a>, CNN<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Gmail\/Google<\/a>, Weather.com<\/a>.
Katharine:<\/b> <\/i>Sadly, the only sites I look at everyday are work-related (financial
websites, payments blogs, etc.).<\/p>\n
Aliza:<\/i><\/b> <\/b>Last night, I watched “Talented Mr. Ripley”…LOADS of classical music, I mean, they’re in Italy!
Brianne:<\/b><\/i> Restaurant at lunch yesterday maybe? Can’t say I really pay attention to it!
Cammie: <\/b><\/i>My iPod.
Katharine:<\/b> <\/i>Over the loudspeakers at the Tampa airport on Sunday night.
<\/i><\/p>\n
Aliza:<\/i><\/b> Big concert halls with huge orchestras…sorry Amanda, Wordless hasn’t changed that yet!
Brianne: <\/b><\/i>Requires concentration to appreciate it!
Cammie:<\/b> <\/i>Um,
\nI’m not sure. I listen to classical music when I really need to
\nconcentrate, or want to relax. I guess it makes me think of culture
\nsomewhat.
<\/b>Katharine:<\/b><\/i> Bow ties.<\/p>\n
<\/i>
– – –<\/p>\n
(CV = coveted demographic)<\/p>\n
\nof the CV have money to spend, but they spend it on social activities.<\/b>
\n
Make performances social activities, but in a natural and logical way.
\nThat is, don’t just slap an “under-30” party onto a performance and
\nexpect the CV to come. The advertising has to match the concept, has to
\nmatch the places it’s advertised, has to match the programming. Figure
\nout who throws the best parties in your community and co-sponsor an
\nevent with them. Also, make it easy for the CV to plan social events
\naround your concerts. Sell tickets and dinners-for-two at a local restaurant together, offer
\nintermission drink ticket add-ons when people are purchasing their tickets,
\nand encourage the bar across the street to give out a free drink for
\nevery concert ticket post performances.<\/p>\n
\nof the CV have money to spend, but they spend it on [SPOILER ALERT!] products they see
\nadvertised in the magazines and websites they read.<\/b>
Hold (actual) focus
\ngroups and find out which blogs\/publications the CV reads in your
\ncommunity. Advertise there. I have thought about gossip\/fashion sites for advertising, but not about the financial sites\/blogs that Katharine mentions.
\nIt’s possible that most of those are too national to be useful for
\nlocal marketing, but worth looking into anyway. My lawyer friends
\nread this<\/a> obsessively, for example, and I think I will suggest advertising upcoming classical albums there. Also, I’m glad Brianne mentioned the Times<\/i> Bitten blog: it would be cool for a classical label (or any label, actually) to work with a site like Epicurious<\/a> to pair music with recipes. Playlists for dinner parties, soundtracks for preparation, etc.. <\/p>\n
\nof the CV (at least in New York City) eat dinner around 7:30 pm.<\/b> Most
\nclassical music\/theatre\/dance performances are at 8 pm.
<\/b>Make
\nperformances earlier or late. The NY Philharmonic has “Rush Hour”
\nconcerts at 6:45 pm, but they’re geared toward commuters, not the CV. (When work ends, come experience a different kind of rush. Head over to
\nthe Philharmonic for an evening of music that’s guaranteed to move you.
\nConcerts last about an hour. So by the time the last notes die down, so
\nhas rush hour.<\/i>)
\nIt’s perfect – a one hour concert at 6:45 pm! I’m not saying my sister
\nand her roommates wouldn’t want to go to a full-length concert, but the Philharmonic already has a program in
\nplace that fits their schedule; it just isn’t marketed to them. Something I’ve thought about a lot is the idea of a “two-night stand”. That is, present the exact same concert at a classical venue at 8 pm, and then again somewhere else (a club downtown, for example) at 10:30 pm. Same program, same ticket prices, same artist, see who comes. <\/p>\n
\nof the CV take recommendations from their friends over what they’ve read in the newspaper in deciding what to do and where to spend their money.
<\/b>…so if you don’t get the big preview in the paper for your performance, it’s not the end of the world. Reach out to young community leaders – heads of church groups, student body presidents, groups\/club leaders at local universities, etc. – and involve them in the process of promoting your performances organically.
<\/b>
Members of the CV feel comfortable at classical music concerts.<\/b>
\n
This is both news and not news to me. On the one hand, I strongly
\nbelieve that we underestimate the proverbial “new” audiences’ ability
\nto sit still and refrain from texting during classical concerts. On the
\nother hand, I assumed that my sister and her roommates would have felt more
\ncomfortable going to a classical concert with someone who knew about
\nthe genre. Apparently not!<\/p>\n
\n
<\/b>Thoughts on that, in no particular order: concert dress, advertising
\ncampaigns, artist photos, album covers, presumed dress-code at
\nconcerts, exclusive donor events, lack of funding and performance
\nopportunities for new music ensembles, over-generalization of the art
\nform in popular media.<\/p>\n