Dear classical music musicians and agents,

Hello! I have been a promoter of classical music since 1997, and at first, during those times, what we had in terms of content for marketing was fine. However, times have changed.

Our world is filled with events that compete for attention. On a given night, you can have 5 different events (or more) happening in town that are direct competition. Also, in the age of digital entertainment, everything on television and the internet is competition. Staying home and viewing the Berlin Philharmonic at a fraction of the cost of going out to see your event might be the easier choice for some people. They won’t have to get dressed, drive and use gas, find a parking spot (which most of the time is not convenient), etc., etc. We have global competition now!

In order for us arts marketing folks to promote in a way that rises above all the noise and competition, we are in need of fantastic content. Or to put it another way, in order to get the attention you deserve for the fantastic concerts to gain a healthy audience, we are in need of this fantastic content for publicity, digital ads, social media, posters, postcards, and other promotional materials.

Usually we are receiving a few head shots, and if we are lucky, a shot of the musician(s) with their instruments. Most of the time they are not smiling (perhaps trying to communicate the sexy, sophisticated nature of classical music), sometimes smiling, but almost all of the time they are static photos. We also receive bios that contain lists of accomplishments and past, present, and future performances. Rarely do we get a glimpse of who the musician is at heart.

Currently, I am beginning my work for building content for my promotional plan. I am in the middle of working with a designer as well. I have only static headshots to work with. At least the musician is smiling in one, but it does not elicit the energy and feeling of the music or the talent of the musician. I have one video to work with about a particular piece on the program (thank goodness), but no audio clips.

How can we promote properly in this digital age without content that has motion and emotion? How can we continue promoting classical music without content that has sound?

Here’s what arts marketers could use in order to create content that will get noticed:

• Action photos that have an energy to them. This is one of the reasons L.A. Philharmonic is doing so well. Those fantastic shots of Dudamel are captivating and full of passion.
• Videos of the musicians to show their personality and talents. Why are they performing this piece, this time, with this ensemble? Even if it is a short clip saying hello to the audiences, this is very helpful!
• Interesting facts about the musicians. The more we can have people see them as the wonderful people they are and connect with them, the better off we will all be. Why are they musicians in the first place? What is their story?

In addition to this fantastic content, we would love if you would become part of the promotional team. It takes a team to really get the information about the concert out there. Let me give you a few examples.

I was promoting a concert that had a piece by Grammy-winning composer, Jennifer Higdon. I posted a message about the concert on Facebook and tagged her on the post. Lo and behold, she took the time to not only like the post, but she shared it with her followers! This is rare indeed. Her act of sharing boosted organic reach, which is super helpful during Facebook’s stingy algorithms that we now have to work with.

Another example, and another Jennifer, violinist Jennifer Koh took the time out of her busy schedule to create an under a minute video to say hello to our audiences. She also shared with her followers.

I also had the pleasure of working with a few agents over the years that went above and beyond the norm, such as violinist Vadim Gluzman’s agents, and I received content that made it super easy to promote their artists. This extra care makes arts marketers sing “Hallelujah!” Vadim Gluzman also took the time to create a video for me to use.

Imagine if all arts marketers had only fantastic content for all our promotions for your concerts! We would be able to promote you properly in this digital age. Imagine if we had the help of the musicians to boost the reach of our messages! It is the big reason why community groups sometimes do better than professional groups since all hands are on deck.

In summary, how do we promote classical music in the digital age?  By using fantastic content that is moving, full of energy, that shares the talent and personalities of the musicians and the beauty of music combined with a new mentality toward team work to spread the word.

Thank you, classical music musicians and agents, for your consideration, and as always, we arts marketers look forward to your reply!

Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,
Shoshana

Shoshana Fanizza
Chief Audience Builder, Audience Development Specialists

An action shot of me back in the day with the Celebration Brass Quintet in Chicago. We celebrated with people in a variety of interesting locations, which was part of our brand.