| President’s
Corner
 There
was an exchange recently on the AMPPR listserv which raised once again
the seemingly eternal specter of the imminent death of classical music
radio. It was suggested in ominous tones that the audience is aging, as
though none of the rest of us are, as though, to state baldly the implication
of that remark, our current listeners are all going to die soon, and then
there will be no one left to listen to Beethoven string quartets.
I have been hearing these predictions of the death of classical music on
the radio since I started working in public radio in the 1980s, and I have
seen them quoted from much further back than that. I have never understood
them. The one thing that seems clear from all the research is that classical
music as a radio format is heavily favored by people in their fifties and
above. Well, fine. As people get older, their interests change. They start
to take the long view, or become more interested in art forms that address
mortality and infinity, or just stop caring what other people think and
decide they like it. Whatever the reason, as people cross the half-century
mark many of them discover classical music.
To me this is a sign not of pending calamity, but of fat times coming for
classical music radio. The reason? Baby boomers. Most boomers are in their
forties now. The oldest of them have recently received that dreaded membership
invitation from the AARP. What is going to happen when these people, who
are as a group numerous, intense about their passions, and rich, get turned
on to classical music? Obviously demand will increase sharply, and some
purveyors of the art form will enjoy considerable success.
Some, but not all. The purveyors, commercial and non, broadcast and retail,
who will enjoy the greatest success will be the ones who get the tone right,
who package and market this timeless product in a way that lures and grabs
and holds the boomer consumer. If we want to raise listener dollars with
our classical programming, we need to figure out which qualities of the
service we offer appeal most strongly to this demographic, and then maximize
those qualities.
So what qualities of the service we offer do appeal most strongly to this
demographic? No doubt a lot of people in a lot of industries are spending
a lot of money right now trying to answer that question. My best guesses
for classical radio come in paradoxical pairs: high professional quality,
but with a casual and unstudied touch; a widely appealing service, which
nonetheless makes each listener feel unique and special. Whether my guesses
are anywhere near right or not, it is not going to be easy.
Don’t worry about the death of classical music radio. Think about which
music to put on the air and when. Consider what to say about the music
you present. Figure out what to call what you do and then get the word
out. Do what you can to stay up with the electronic media revolution. The
boom is coming, and some of these wells are about to gush. Will yours be
one of them?
Dave Bunker
President |
