#CLASSICAL: AN ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN THE CLASSICAL MUSIC INDUSTRY Ms Annabelle Angela Lan Lee Royal Holloway, University of London (2017) A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Music) Page 1 of 299 Page intentionally left blank. Page 2 of 299 Declaration of Authorship I Annabelle Angela Lan Lee hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: Date: 28 April 2017 Page 3 of 299 Page intentionally left blank. Page 4 of 299 Abstract With the re-emergence of social media in the 2000s and the increased worldwide usage of mobile devices, the impact of social media still cannot be ignored. From corporate businesses to popular culture, social media are now used in many sectors of society. Not least among these is the classical music industry. Artists and organisations have keenly capitalised on social media in the face of increasing budgetary reductions in the arts and long-held elitist perceptions of classical music. In addition, the classical music business has used social media to profit from economic growth, audiences, and public profiles, and to market accessibility, relevance, and value to a wider audience, notably, younger demographics and non-attenders. As a result, the classical music scene tries to engender technological determinism and digital optimism, ideologies reflecting discourses around Web 2.0/social media. Simultaneously, a so-called ‘digital divide’ is at risk. Various factors, for example, socioeconomic strata, greatly influence how classical music is marketed and branded on social media networks, however, they are barriers to access and enjoyment of the art, online and offline. Drawing on these discursive frameworks, this thesis is a critical analysis of social media marketing within the classical music industry. The core of my dissertation is a case study approach: social media branding of opera singer Joyce DiDonato and concert pianist Stephen Hough, social media marketing of a concert hall, namely, Wigmore Hall, and classical music apps. Furthermore, the research questions and broader implications do not just deal with industry marketing approaches or the mechanics of classical music’s e-strategy (electronic media strategy) but extend to key scholarly areas: media behavioural theory, sociology, political economics, creative geographies, socio-spatiality, sociotechnology, and post-digitality. It is anticipated that my PhD research will be able to instigate public dialogue and debate within the classical music and wider cultural sectors. Page 5 of 299 Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge the financial support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Royal Holloway, University of London, without which this research would not be realised. I am also extremely grateful to my supervisory team: Dr Shzr Ee Tan, Dr Mark Berry, Dr Derrick Chong, and Professor Anna Morcom, who have provided invaluable academic and pastoral support, motivated, and encouraged me to challenge my own ideas and arguments throughout my doctoral studies. Many thanks to all of the artists, digital marketers, senior staff, and participants, who took the time out of their busy schedules to contact me and contribute to this thesis. Additionally, I wish to thank Professor Erik Levi, Professor Jason Stanyek, Professor Julie Brown, Professor Nancy Guy, Professor Amanda Jefferies, Dr Jun Zubillaga-Pow, Helen Shore, and Rachel Fahy for their advice and support during the PhD process. I wish to extend my gratitude to my viva examiners, Dr Anthony Gritten and Dr Marius Carboni, for their constructive feedback and helpful advice for this doctoral dissertation. Finally, thank you to John McCollin, my sister Helena, and my mother Chwee for being so patient and for everything that they have done to help me at every stage of the PhD. Page 6 of 299 Table of Contents Abstract ______________________________________________________________ 5 Acknowledgements ____________________________________________________ 6 Chapter 1: Introduction ________________________________________________ 13 Literature review and the research gap _______________________________________ 19 Definition and exploration of the field ________________________________________ 21 Overview of the thesis _____________________________________________________ 26 Contribution to knowledge _________________________________________________ 35 Chapter 2: Literature Review ____________________________________________ 39 Classical music ___________________________________________________________ 39 The classical music genre __________________________________________________________ 39 The classical music culture_________________________________________________________ 41 The classical music industry _______________________________________________________ 44 Social media _____________________________________________________________ 47 Marketing _______________________________________________________________ 50 Conclusions about the literature review ______________________________________ 53 Chapter 3: Methodology _______________________________________________ 54 Introduction _____________________________________________________________ 54 Sources _________________________________________________________________ 54 Email __________________________________________________________________________ 55 Interview _______________________________________________________________________ 55 Informal conversation/meeting _____________________________________________________ 56 Scope of research _________________________________________________________ 59 Research methods ________________________________________________________ 61 Case studies ____________________________________________________________________ 61 Data collection methods ___________________________________________________________ 63 Ethnography and netnography _____________________________________________ 69 Autoethnography _________________________________________________________ 71 Page 7 of 299 Challenges, limitations, and concerns ________________________________________ 72 Conclusions about the methodology __________________________________________ 78 Chapter 4: Branding Classical Music Artists on Social Media ___________________ 79 Introduction _____________________________________________________________ 79 Branding ________________________________________________________________ 79 Case Studies _____________________________________________________________ 89 Joyce DiDonato and the ‘Yankee Diva’ ______________________________________________ 89 Constructing the ‘Yankee’ brand: the case of ‘#letJoycesing’ _____________________________ 91 Performing the (anti-)‘Diva’ persona ________________________________________________ 98 Stephen Hough _________________________________________________________________ 113 Comparative analysis and conclusions ______________________________________________ 122 Chapter 5: Social Media Marketing of the Classical Concert Hall _______________ 128 Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 128 The history, cultural aesthetics, and brand values of Wigmore Hall ______________ 129 Wigmore Hall’s e-strategy _________________________________________________ 136 Market segmentation _____________________________________________________ 146 Creative cities ___________________________________________________________ 152 Spatial representations ___________________________________________________ 157 Conclusions _____________________________________________________________ 168 Chapter 6: Classical Music Apps _________________________________________ 173 Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 173 Apps and mobile usage ___________________________________________________ 174 App categories within a classical music context _______________________________ 179 Case Studies ____________________________________________________________ 189 My First Classical Music App _____________________________________________________ 189 The Liszt Sonata _______________________________________________________________ 197 Composed ____________________________________________________________________ 207 Conclusions _____________________________________________________________ 218 Chapter 7: Conclusion _________________________________________________ 221 Page 8 of 299 Summary of the thesis and research findings _________________________________ 221 How does the classical music industry’s social media marketing differ from other social media marketing? _______________________________________________________ 229 In ‘an age of mechanical reproduction’, have social media degraded the ‘aura’ of classical music? _________________________________________________________ 235 Developments for the research _____________________________________________ 243 Postscript __________________________________________________________ 248 Glossary____________________________________________________________ 251 Bibliography ________________________________________________________ 259 Additional web links _____________________________________________________ 295 List of Tables Table 3-1 - Data collection: Personal correspondence (e.g., interviews) ........................ 63 Table 3-2 - Data collection: Observation (e.g., netnography) ......................................... 63 Table 3-3 - Data collection: