Where and who is the non-audience?

Michael Bühler - Reports of declining attendance and subscriber numbers at classical concerts around the world are nothing new. And the fact that the average age of this audience is rapidly increasing and greying (keyword: silver society) is itself an old story (the only exception seems to be Asia, where the audience is ageing rapidly, just like in the rest of the world, but its hair is simply not greying). Against this backdrop, fears of a dying classical music audience seem understandable. Or are they? According to surveys1, it can be assumed that classical cultural institutions are only able to attract 4.5 percent of potential users of cultural offerings to their venues.

So where - or more importantly: who - are the other 95.5 percent?

Until the 1980s, organizers of classical concerts were largely exempt from the entrepreneurial duty to take an interest in who was in the audience and what expectations were placed on a concert attendance due to the high capacity utilization figures and based on the educational mandate and the associated state subsidies. Since classical music is (or was) part of general education, it had to be made accessible to everyone. Who exactly "everyone" was therefore of little interest.

Since the success story of the classical concert has collapsed2, research and organizers have increasingly sought to better understand the expectations of the audience present in order to be able to respond to individual expectations (the fulfillment of which is of greater importance today). While cultural visitor research is now a much studied field of research in cultural sociology, art psychology and cultural management3, the much more important group of non-visitors has been little studied, even though they should actually be the focus of interest of this cultural institution.

Changing cultural and consumer behavior does not make things any easier. The typical concertgoer, to whom clear characteristics (such as high education, high income and social position, etc.) could be assigned, has been displaced by cultural "omnivores", who are characterized by the use of different cultural offerings. However, this is not characterized by arbitrariness, but rather by an unbiased and generally open attitude towards other art or music genres.

And instead of the former class society, today a coexistence of different lifestyles dominates, which can be found in certain scenes and milieus4.

The interests, socio-demographic structure and also the expectations of people with these lifestyles should therefore be of central interest for corresponding marketing efforts.

a) Who are all these people who don't (or hardly) go to classical concerts?

What is your cultural background? Do you live in a partnership? Do you have children? What is your taste in music? What do they like to do in their free time? What financial resources are available to them for leisure activities?

But more importantly b) Why don't they go to classical concerts?

Do they not like the social setting? Does no one else in their circle of friends go to such events? Or is it simply a question of musical taste?

With the latter in particular, it is important to bear in mind that we try to differentiate ourselves from others through our tastes and thus define ourselves socio-economically. By attending a cultural event and all its ritual, habitual and distinctive accompanying effects, we define ourselves as a unique individual in our social environment.

By knowing how to behave "correctly" at a classical concert, I set myself apart from those who can't or don't want to.

From a sociological perspective5 , attending a concert is therefore also an expression of a lifestyle and goes far beyond the enjoyment of music.

According to media research, whether I attend a concert or not also depends on the entertainment value I experience or expect6. Particularly in the case of cultural events, it is not only about affective satisfaction, i.e. having fun or being distracted from everyday life, but also about cognitive challenges, i.e. thinking about what has just been experienced. It also seems to contribute positively to the entertainment experience when viewers learn something personal about the protagonists7. The hypothesis that the emotional involvement of the audience could be strengthened and thus the overall experience enhanced by promoting both content-related and personal closeness to the audience8 also seems to be confirmed here.

Unfortunately, it has to be said that although various areas of the commercial entertainment industry, such as the film industry, TV shows or video games, have already been intensively researched, there are hardly any concrete results or findings from classical concerts.

Especially against the backdrop of changing cultural and consumer behavior, it therefore seems crucial for organizers and musicians to better understand what motivates audiences to attend a concert - or not.

To ensure that these and other questions can not only be asked but also answered in the future, Kalaidos is committed to devoting itself intensively to this topic. The various disciplines of applied research will deal with these questions in a practice-oriented and forward-looking manner and make the findings directly available to students so that they are optimally prepared and thus succeed in creating new opportunities and finding their own skills as well as individual solutions to this challenge.

Sheet music

1 Schmidt, S. / Wilhelm, A. (2010): Holiday behavior.

2 Tröndle, M. (2011): "The concert".

3 Tröndle, M. (2019): Non-visitor research.

4 Tröndle, M. (2019): Non-visitor research.

5 Blaukopf, Kurt (1982): Music in a changing society.

6 Tsay-Vogel M./ Nabi R (2015): The power of positive action.

7 Tal-Or, N/Hershman-Shitrit M (2015) Self-disclosure and the liking of parcitipants in reality TV.

8 Tröndle, M. (2019): Non-visitor research.