This post is written by Marius Carboni.

To pursue wider audiences of classical music, musicians and organisations need to take ‘perception’ into account. Perception means lots of things: image, appearance, an individual’s interpretation or understanding – ultimately how the general media portray our sector of the business.

Whatever the music (product or service) the first question is who is my target consumer or buyer? Once established, the second is how to reach them so they know about your product/service, followed by how to persuade them into using/buying that product or service. The wish to grow your market is applicable to any commercial enterprise and targeted media is needed. In music, traditionally, a pop band releases an album, ties in a tour at the same time, devises a promotional strategy a few weeks before release, creating a media build up. The classical music genre needs to follow the same pattern, but easier said than done; its repertoire and the forces required will dictate a much longer planning period (such as for a symphonic or choral work). Combined with that is the wish for classical music to reach a bigger audience, a marketing challenge. Budget limits mean not all areas of the potential market can be reached in the first phase. A wider consumer base requires a detailed social media plan whilst the traditional classical consumer is at the older end of the market where offline media is often more applicable.

I often reflect on the image the OAE used in their 2012-2013 South Bank Centre season, pictured below. It encapsulates brilliantly what I imagine every musician or organisation wants to be perceived by, a cross-section of society, a representation we all applaud. And with it goes an investment in a range of digital and non-digital media tools.

Eleanor Shaw defines marketing strategy as ‘an organisational approach that is organised around the consumer, with a keen focus on identifying customer needs, wants and demands and matching these to features and benefits of the products contained within an organisation’s portfolio.’ (Shaw 2012:321). How well do we as classical musicians manage this process, bearing in mind the constraints indicated above?

Marius Carboni is Lecturer in Music Business, Entrepreneurship and Marketing, SAE Institute and Morley College, London