Diversity is Everywhere, Except Classical Radio

What a crazy time we’re in, with global economics on everybody’s mind.  Whew.  If you need a break from crisis mode, there’s been an interesting conversation going on in the comments of this blog, and I’d like to move some of it up front and possibly get some input. I read an interesting article in the Seattle Times on Sunday on Defining Mixed-Race Identity.  The changing face of the American population is a legitimate reason we classical types need to respond to what’s going on around us and not just hang on to our old — very old — traditions.  But one of our readers pointed out that to him diversity means attracting new people to classical music, whereas I think it also means classical music reaching out by broadening its playlist to appeal to diverse listeners.  Can it be both?  What do you think?

Here are the comments, moved into chronological order.

From David Preiser, whose own blog Through These Ears, is very interesting:

I’m a bit late in noticing this, but what diversity project are you talking about that’s been a proven success? I’ve come across a few major obstacles in the area of audience diversity for Classical Music, and it’s not just with the stations and programmers.

Is the racial make-up of the audience exclusively the fault of the broadcasters? If they never reach out to anyone, that’s certainly a problem. But is this about expanding the audience for Classical Music, full stop, or just for the stations? Also, in which category are ethnic Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese listeners counted in these percentages?

From Throw Open the Doors to Diversity!, 2008/09/25 at 1:18 PM

Hi David,

Excellent questions. When I was the Editor of Performance Today I was the moving force behind two weeks of programs that brought a variety of ethnic voices and music into the mix. We called it something like “From the Village to the Concert Hall.” The audience response was amazing. Just huge, and all positive.

Another empirical experience was when I was a full time announcer on a classical station. I had a lunchtime show that brought in performers of many, many ethnicities, and the ratings for that hour doubled in a year when I infused the programming with really meaty, interesting, diverse content.

My third experience was the children’s programs I produced for four years. I created 110 of these programs, called Boombox Classroom, and they were half world music and half classical music. The series won a number of awards.

On the strength of those successes, I applied two years in a row to the CPB to create programming that would be diverse but could fit within the parameters and core values of classical stations. The CPB personnel were for it (it was, after all, funding for diversity!), but the peer reviewers at stations said it would never fit on a classical station. How did they know, if they weren’t willing to try it?

In general, I think we underestimate our audiences, and it’s for sure we don’t reach out to new, diverse, young audience. And yes, I included Chinese, Korean, and Japanese music in the mix! I used to play in a Japanese ensemble.

I wish I could convince my colleagues that there’s a whole world of music out there that would enrich our programming!

Marty

From Throw Open the Doors to Diversity!, 2008/09/25 at 2:02 PM

Marty,

Thank you for the detailed reply. I was hoping that the program you were talking about was directed at getting a more diverse audience for Classical Music, rather than combining World Music with Classical Music to bring people in. As much as I enjoy music from all sorts of folk traditions, as well as genre fusions, I was wondering about Classical Music. I realize your concerns are much broader than mine, but that’s where I’m coming from.

I agree with you that audiences are routinely underestimated – in so many ways! But will diversity programs like these dilute the content of Classical Music or bring a more diverse audience to it?

The reason I bring this up is that I’ve heard too many times that Classical Music cannot be made relevant to non-whites because it lies mainly outside of their ethnic tradition (I’m not saying that’s right or wrong here, I’m just saying that’s the barrier I’ve run into). So when I hear about a mixed program, my first thought is that someone is taking the position that Classical Music cannot bring them in, so we must add World Music to the mix. If that’s a bit of bait to draw in people who otherwise wouldn’t listen to Classical Music on purpose (so to speak), obviously I can get behind that idea. That’s great, and there are plenty of ways that can work. But if it ends up reducing the amount of program space for Classical Music, that’s not what I was hoping for. I don’t think it’s out of line for me to suggest that the reverse wouldn’t be allowed, simply because there isn’t any logical reason to include, say, a Haydn string quartet in a World Music program.

Again, I understand that you’re looking at a larger picture. Thanks again for your time.

From Throw Open the Doors to Diversity!, 2008/09/26 at 10:11 AM