WolfBrown Tastes and Preferences Survey

How are audience musical tastes changing?

• Classical music is part of a rich landscape of varied musical interests. Only those ticket buyers age 75+ consider classical music central to their everyday lives, and few of today’s younger ticket buyers listen frequently to classical music outside of the concert hall.
• Many patrons love to hear long-treasured musical works (of all genres), reflecting the musical cultures they identified with during their teenage and early adult years.
• At the same time, one quarter of all classical buyers (and those in younger age groups) have a significant appetite for contemporary works by living composers. Few classical ticket buyers have no interest whatsoever in new music.

How can we encourage this interest in contemporary works by living composers?

• Taste is socially transmitted: creating social experiences that encourage a ticket buyer to share a musical passion with a friend, or that bring a group of friends together, can broaden musical tastes while also enhancing the concert experience.

What high-demand programming opportunities might we be missing?

• While ticket buyers are broadly satisfied with current programming overall, there is evidence of unfulfilled demand for specific types of musical experience:
  • Regardless of the presence of children in their own household, two thirds of current ticket buyers (classical and pops) say they would like to see young, local musicians regularly performing on stage with the orchestra. This finding shows clearly that community and youth programming have the potential to expand the orchestra’s audience and solidify crucial community partnerships, while also driving ticket sales.
  • Classical and pops ticket buyers are both moderately but equally interested in jazz and American folk or traditional music, and in chamber music, suggesting that these genres and concert types could have cross-marketing potential.
  • Chamber music and opera (fully staged) are also popular with classical ticket buyers, as well as orchestra repertoire.
  • Popular music scores highest among pops ticket buyers, yet orchestral works rate second.
• Unless they are motivated by faith, classical ticket buyers are significantly less interested in choral music than pops ticket buyers.

What kind of new concert product could respond to diversifying musical tastes?

• Three quarters of all current classical ticket buyers and 82% of pops buyers say they are open to theme-based programming. Themes tested in the survey include “Postcards from Earth” (intersections between classical music and the natural world) and “Movement” (spotlighting classical music written for dance). This type of product – emphasizing mood or narrative rather than repertoire – appeals especially strongly to those ticket buyers who attend both classical and pops concerts, and to younger audiences.

How are audience concert format preferences evolving?

• A large majority of ticket buyers would like the opportunity to select different formats, depending on the concert program. How much longer can we afford to dismiss concert format as an audience diversification strategy?  
• Ticket buyers are currently most interested in conventional concert formats and “relaxed” formats (no intermission; post-concert social hour).
• Classical ticket buyers are also very interested in “interpretation-rich” experiences that incorporate educational elements, while pops ticket buyers rate film screenings with live orchestra score highest, followed by orchestral rock band tributes.
• Across all age groups, there is strong interest in commentary and context to appreciation of the work performed. Presenting relevant commentary and context could help to build loyalty among harder-to-engage ticket buyer groups. Classical single ticket buyers are as interested as subscribers to learn more about the work performed as subscribers. And there is some interest from pops ticket buyers too.
• Beyond the conventional subscription series pre-concert talk, there are other opportunities for orchestras to consider new, engaging ways of offering this support before, during and after the performance, building engagement between visits to the hall.
• Regardless of their interest in learning about classical music, around 2/3 of all ticket buyers (both classical and pops) would include in their ideal concert experience a 2-3 minute introduction to the pieces being performed, by the Music Director, before the music begins.
• Visualizations such as projections can also help to add context and commentary, but some ticket buyers prefer not to be distracted from the music. Classical buyers are equally divided in their opinion on this, while pops buyers are eager to explore the intersection between music and visual imagery.
• Interest in “immersive entertainment experiences” is higher among younger age groups. Overall, around two thirds of pops buyers and one third of classical buyers are open to the idea.

Loyalty influences ticket buyers’ loyalty and willingness to donate. What other steps can we take to build engagement and loyalty, as ticket buyers attend concerts less frequently?

• Reimagining the commentary and context provided to audiences could help orchestras to repositioning themselves as guides to their audiences’ lifetime journey through classical music, rather than simply as providers of specific concert experiences. This in turn could help orchestras to deepen the organizational affinity that sustains engagement and loyalty over time.
• Building loyalty among classical ticket buyers and pops ticket buyers requires different strategies.
  • For classical ticket buyers, there is a strong correlation between a connection with the Music Director, and loyalty to the organization overall. Building on the Music Director connection between concerts could be a strong strategy for elevating loyalty despite declining frequency in attendance.
  • This correlation also exists for pops ticket buyers, but to a lesser extent. Selling individual tickets to artist-driven pops programs builds loyalty towards the guest artist, not to the orchestra itself. What might turn this around?