Bizarre ways of marketing classical music

[A Lark Ascending]

There are the usual strategies:

• 
  
  
• Celebrity conductor/performer looking terribly serious on the sleeve.
  
• Beautiful young thing in evening dress promising the genius of the future.
  
• Nice bit of visual art to remind you that you are buying into high culture.
  

But every now and then the companies do some very odd things - Nige and his punky hairdo from the 80s sticks in mind.

Here's a strange one that is being pushed in the UK at present:

Both have classical programmes but the last is a live disc with spoken commentary by Rhodes with naughty words (I believe, haven't heard it).

Blurb:

Rhodes has forged a career through a resolutely unconventional path. As a child, he used his love of music as a form of escapism against a traumatic life of abuse. After turning down a music scholarship at the age of eighteen, Rhodes didn’t play the piano again for another decade, instead working in the City while battling drug and alcohol addiction, as well as spending time in mental institutions. The birth of his son was the catalyst he needed to quit his day job and to pursue the career he had always dreamed of.

Just as well he became a professional pianist - the only alternative with that resume was to be a Tory politician.

The suffering artist - a great selling point since at least the late-18thC.

What other 'odd' approaches have you come across?

[Just in case there are any classical marketing departments watching this board, I'm a sucker for a nice painting!)

Edited August 30, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[T.D.]

FYI, I used to read this blog on "the future of classical music". Sandow discusses a lot of marketing approaches, but I don't recall anything as extreme as your example. I recall him talking a lot about jazz and popular music, without much deep insight (perhaps a reason why I no longer follow the blog...).

[A Lark Ascending]

Most classical marketing aims either for an established or potential middle class + audience with the sort of education that programmes to aspire to classical music (e.g. me!) or to cherry pick and constantly recirculate the big tunes for general consumption (I'm not criticising that, it's just how it is).

The Rhodes example is a bit different - seems to be aiming for a 'hip' (not H.I.P), alternative culture, rock audience, trying to present classical music as having kudos in that milieu. Again, marketing is a fact of life, but I'm not sure they stand much of chance there with largely 19thC Romanticism. They'd be far better off with Stravinsky, Bartok and beyond.

I feel a bit sorry for Rhodes; he'll have his moment in the spotlight and then be dropped. These hipster marketing campaigns tend to have brief shelf lives in classical music; I recall a similar spurt in the early 90s where there were a number of classical concerts with light shows and the like. Made a buzz at the time but didn't really go anywhere.

There's a really serious issue with regard to how off-putting a classical concert can be to a non-initiate (all those fusty rituals); but I'm not sure this is going to change much.

Edited August 30, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[A Lark Ascending]

This one seems to be using both the physical attractiveness of the performer and an allusion to classic Italian cinema to hook you in.

The odd thing is it's a baroque programme.

Now I'd have gone for a late-17thC priest with a wig riding the scooter.

[Ken Dryden]

RCA came up with a way to market classical music with a sexy angle to young single females. What's particularly stupid about this series is that the suggestive poses on the covers are cartoons, therefore earning parental advisory stickers, instead of due to the music. Here's the Mozart anthology:

Beethoven:

Chopin:

Edited August 30, 2012 by Ken Dryden

[PHILLYQ]

RCA came up with a way to market classical music with a sexy angle to young single females. What's particularly stupid about this series is that the suggestive poses on the covers are cartoons, therefore earning parental advisory stickers, instead of due to the music. Here's the Mozart anthology:

Beethoven:

Chopin:

'Bedroom Bliss with Beethoven', 'Shacking Up with Chopin'

[A Lark Ascending]

'In the Hot Tub with Webern', 'Boulez Babes'?

[Hoppy T. Frog]

I always found CRI's cover art for the "music by Gay Composers" and "Music by Lesbian Composers" to be just as odd. Cheescake appeals to all, but the composers inside are worthy of better.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Hoppy T. Frog

[A Lark Ascending]

Never seen those two. They look like 'Venus' label covers.

This one puzzled me:

Looks like an advert for tasty gravy.

All the cover needs is 'special guest - Sting'.

[A Lark Ascending]

[king ubu]

[A Lark Ascending]

Edited September 16, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[Quincy]

That would be a great way to hook a 12 year old boy into classical music. Of course how the kid would run into the advert I don't know. I hope they're running an ad in Creepy Comics or whatever the modern day equivalent is.