Social Media and Classical Music Succeeding Together

By -

Music is by its very nature a social art form. Therefore it only makes sense that music would do so well with social media


I look around a some of the big names on Twitter and realize music has an huge influence on our community. Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and Shakira have over 200 million fans combined. Granted there are probably a fair number of these fans who follow more than just one (if not all) of the above noted names in the music industry. Still, their combined reach is estimated at over a billion people. IF you could get all seven of these 'stars' to tweet about the same thing you'd be reaching nearly a sixth of the world population. Wow, the power of music!

Seven of the top ten Twitter feeds are directly related to music. Twelve of the top Fifteen Facebook pages are music personalities. That shows the importance our society (and as a result social media) places on music. If music is this important to us, and the people that make the music that popular, it only makes sense that classical music should be leveraging social media to get the word out.

And it is

Name a major orchestra anywhere that doesn't have a Facebook page? While not all of these have twitter accounts, the number of major orchestras that don't are rapidly dwindling. Major solo artists from Lang Lang (@Lang_lang), Sarah Chang (@sarahchang) and Wynton Marsalis ‏ (@wyntonmarsalis) to opera stars Renee Fleming (@reneesmusings), Deborah Voigt ‏ (@debvoigt) and Thomas Hampson ‏ (@thomas_hampson) are active on Twitter. Chamber ensembles like eighth blackbird ‏(@eighthblackbird), Paragon Ensemble ‏ (@ParagonEnsemble), and Bang on a Can (@bangonacan) are more than just active. You can get updates about where they are, what they're playing, and even glimpses into the struggles they face. Numerous string quartets thrive on twitter. Emerson String Quartet (@EmersonQuartet), JACK Quartet ‏(@JACKQuartet) and Raven Quartet (@ravenquartet) are just a few of the hundreds of string quartets sharing their travels with fans on Twitter.

Why? Because music is nothing without an audience. Today's audience is talking on social media so there is no better way to connect with the audience than by being where they are.

Part of what makes social media work is the cooperative nature of it. Social media isn't just advertisement (although there are plenty of organizations that do nothing but); it's about making connections. When fans feel connected, they share that connection with all the people they know. The reason the top seven twitter musicians can reach over a billion people even though their combined fan base is only 200 million, is because those 200 million people will help spread the word. That's what social media does!

TwtrSymphony is a new concept in the symphony orchestra. It isn't just an orchestra of musicians from all around the world. We are that, but much more. TwtrSymphony is also a collective of musicians, composers, technicians and fans all working together to create something larger than the sum of our parts. We have just over 200 fans on Facebook, but regularly are reaching to over 2000 people. Our 1800+ Twitter followers give us a reach of 50k and more. The reason our videos are so successful isn't just because the music is good (ok, I'm a bit biased on that count). It's because everyone, from musicians to the fans are eager to spread the word whenever a new piece is released. TwtrSymphony is leveraging the power of social media through the combined efforts of everyone involved.

Just like Lady Gaga is not for everyone, TwtrSymphony isn't for everyone. Not everyone we run across wants to be a fan. We're ok with that. But if you like what we're doing and think what we're doing is worthwhile, connect with us on Twitter and Facebook. Get to know us and let us get to know you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more