Sorry for the feast and famine blog posts, but I am especially motivated this week. I was delighted when a colleague sent me a link to a new classical music blog (well at least new to me). This blog, "The Dutch Perspective" written by Marc Van Bree is a refreshing take on cultural affairs and PR from the perspective of a non-profit PR and social media specialist. Not only did the title of his latest blog post excite me, but the content was quite exciting as well. The title, "The ten best ideas in classical music online" says it all, but as I read his David Letterman top 10 list, I realized that I (moreover Naxos) have much to do with several of the initiatives mentioned in the list.
If you are curious about the whole list, please feel free to read it and Marc's other posts here.
I will spare you the details and go into the movements and initiatives that I/we had something to do with. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra gives away memberships to Naxos Music Library with subscriptions to the new season
"The BSO enthusiastically proclaims “Imagine leaving a concert and wanting to go right home and hear your favorite parts of the music again and again…Well now you can!†on its Web site. And rightly so. This is a perfect example of a smart collaboration that adds value to the orchestra experience." ## That's right folks. We did it! We are partnering with not only the BSO, but a slew of other great Symphonies to offer the highly acclaimed Naxos Music Library as a value-add to season tickets purchases. The opportunity to work with these great orchestras offering this value for their subscribers has been a wonderful experience. Hopefully more will jump on board for next season!
Keeping Score / Beyond the Score
"Although they have distinct differences, I would put the San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score programs and the Chicago Symphony’s Beyond the Score programs in the same category of innovation. If it wasn’t for the negative connotations, I would be tempted to use the term “infotainment†to describe the presentations. Check them out and see how you would describe them." ## While I have nothing to do with the beyond the score project (which I think is a phenomenal endeavor), I have worked with the good folks at the San Francisco Symphony on their initiative for a few years now providing licensed music for their educational CDs and am glad that their series is garnering recognition. Classical music on Twitter (Toronto Symphony, Aspen Music Festival, London Symphony, Atlanta Symphony)
## Along with these great Symphonies, Naxos also has several Twitter accounts. We have found that these are a great way to connect with our customer base. In case you were wondering, you can follow the official Naxos Twitter account, Naxos Direct, Naxos Music Library account, or my personal account.
I think it's pretty exciting that we are involved with 3 out of 10 of these initiatives. I enjoy being a part of a forward-thinking leader in the Classical Music World. That's all for now.