Orchestras seek BFF by cellphone texts

New York, USA

Classical Music News for 2010-07-31

Before the New York Philharmonic presented a concert in Central Park last week, the executive director of the orchestra had an announcement: Audience members could vote for an encore from the evening’s soloist by text message. The choices were a Chopin  étude or, in honor of the guest musicians from the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, a traditional Chinese melody. The Chinese melody won, and so did marketers for the soloist, the piano virtuoso Lang Lang. Voters swiftly received a reply offering a discount to “pre-order” his new CD set, “Live in Vienna,” and an invitation to follow him on Facebook. The incident pointed to an increasingly common practice by orchestras: soliciting texts for marketing purposes, in what they consider a new way to connect with audiences. Even the tradition-bound classical music world has embraced the democratizing influence of new technology, allowing audiences to participate in programming in a way that would have been unthinkable a short time ago. It is less surprising that music organizations are using the technology to sell themselves or raise money. (The New York Times)

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