Audience development for classical music performances in The Netherlands

Audiences for classical music are ageing. Attracting younger audiences could be helpful for classical music institutions in order to create a sustainable future. The current study aimed to develop a deeper insight into the motivations of young people (18-44 years old) in The Netherlands who don’t attend classical music concerts and those who do attend (the demand side), and we examined what could be the role of Dutch subsidized symphonic orchestras in this (the supply side). We examined the motivations of the demand side with a questionnaire, and collected data on the age of audiences at Dutch subsidized orchestras. Furthermore, we interviewed the marketers of all Dutch subsidized classical symphonic orchestras, and conducted 4 additional interviews with parties who are successful at reaching younger audiences for classical music. Results show that concepts targeted at younger audiences specifically are successful at reaching younger audiences, as these concepts respond to uncertainty factors that would otherwise prevent new audiences from going to classical concerts: they fear that the concert will take too long and that they don’t have enough knowledge. Concerts with an informal presentation or at an informal location also reach more young audiences than traditional concerts, at which 80% of the audience is over 44 years old. When trying to reach younger audiences, lower pricing and peerbased marketing are amongst the effective strategies. Younger audiences who attend classical concerts do so because of the music itself and social factors, and they have a slight preference for intellectually challenging music and innovative executions compared to those who do not attend. Self-reported visits to non-classical live concerts where similar for those who attend classical music and those who don’t.