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Classical Music's Digital Future
The chairman of Universal's Decca classical-music label talks about how classical has bucked the recording industry’s downward trend.
WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Alexandra A. Seno
Newsweek International
July 30, 2007 issue - The Internet is transforming the entertainment industries. The music industry has been particularly hard hit by the illegal downloading and is struggling as sales of CDs decline. But the classical music industry appears to be benefiting from the “long tail” effect—as a niche industry, it’s been able to exploit the Internet to broaden its audience and boost its bottom line. Christopher Roberts, chairman of Decca Label Group, the classical unit of Universal—the world’s biggest music company—spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Alexandra A. Seno about how the business is evolving. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: What types of music sounds best on portable digital devices?
Christopher Roberts: Consistent dynamics and an intimate sound—that often means baroque works, early music pieces, chamber music and solo instrumental music. These types of music do better digitally than they would ordinarily on CD.
Universal Music’s classical labels have had a great deal of success using digital because it presents a new way for us to present classical music and the younger generation of artists. Helene Grimaud, Janine Jansen, Lang Lang and Anna Netrebko have all had a great deal of success in the digital medium. In addition, certain great recordings by recognized artists such as Karajan, Solti, Barenboim and others, of the most popular works (Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony) also sell extremely well online.
Furthermore, success breeds success in digital, due to the presence of the charts on iTunes and other digital services as key drivers for sales. Placement and continued strong chart positioning drive digital sales, perhaps even more than in the traditional [retail] business.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, sales of classical music rose 22 percent in 2006 versus a decline of 5 percent for total album sales. Why did this happen?
Classical is not as subject to piracy, and also not as popular for track-by-track sales digitally, which erodes full album sales in more youth-oriented genres. Many people on the Internet are browsing on iTunes and other digital services with few clear ideas of what to buy. They are open to suggestion. They are not necessarily obsessed with any one genre of music. Digital encourages experimentation. When you see Lang Lang right next to Toby Keith and 50 Cent on the main page of iTunes, all of those artists get a chance to reach the consumer. It is not so odd for people to have an interest in Beethoven concertos as well as hip-hop and alternative rock, and that can only be a good thing for the development of our society and our performing arts.
Have young, good-looking artists like pianist Lang Lang and opera singer Nicole Cabell helped create new audiences for classical?
Younger artists like Nicole Cabell, Lang Lang and others move a consumer on the edges of classical music toward purchasing, especially given how easy it is to do online, with the close proximity of these artists to those from other, more traditionally mainstream genres.
Strong images from these artists certainly help, but perhaps not in the way that many people think. The paradox of digital is that, although space is theoretically unlimited, it is harder to browse through that infinite space. People want to be guided, to [be helped in finding] what they are looking for.
It is a myth that these young artists online are really converting nonclassical listeners into rabid classical fans. Instead, they help to move the listener at the edges of classical music front and center into the genre, to take a chance and listen. If you don’t like opera, you will probably not like Nicole Cabell, Anna Netrebko or Rolando Villazon. But if you see a singer who appeals to you, never mind an opera singer, but simply a singer, then you might be moved to take a chance, and that expands our marketplace for classical in a very powerful way.
Every few years, we read about the demise of classical music. What do you think of this?
Classical music may not always be in the mainstream, but a certain audience for it always exists, and always will. Fresh waves of new talent, new artists and composers, and new musical perspectives are always flowing in continually and keep classical music invigorated. The digital medium has breathed new life into classical music by bringing in audiences who might be generally interested but not specifically knowledgeable about classical music into the fold, turning them into classical buyers by breaking down the glass walls that tended to separate the classical section from the rest of a record store.
Do you release any classical music in digital-only format?
Yes, we currently have several unique digital-only concepts and products. Our DG and Decca Concerts series uses the speed and flexibility of the Internet to give people round the world the opportunity to attend [virtual] concerts in some of the world’s best concert halls with the world’s leading orchestras.
We also engage in digital-only catalog releases that take advantage of the unique opportunities of the digital medium. We are reissuing vast amounts of our back catalog that have long been unavailable at retail—even resurrecting entire labels like Argo and L’Oiseau Lyre—with digital as a driving force due to infinite shelf space and the much-discussed promise of the “long tail.”
We are also creating album concepts such as “The Works” which would not be possible in the physical world. Together with the editor in chief of Gramophone Magazine, we have put together the most critically acclaimed performances in the DG catalog of 10 of the most popular classical works as separate “albums” of varying length and at fair prices, no matter whether they would fill an entire physical CD or not. Released last month, these albums are currently dominating the top 20 of the iTunes Classical album chart, and they are only available digitally.
Is digital classical-music marketing different than traditional classical-music marketing?
Marketing is marketing—it really doesn’t matter whether it results in a digital or physical sale. Marketing in online or offline can result in a sale online or offline. There are some differences between digital and physical marketing, mostly to do with the fundamental nature of the Internet: infinite space and limited computer-screen size. The marketing of classical music for digital sale is driven extensively by positioning with the digital services. Because visible digital space is limited by the size of your computer screen, and other choices are only a mouse click away, you need to draw the audience in quickly, to draw attention to an artist, to urge the audience to experiment, and to discover more.
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
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© 2007 MSNBC.com
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