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Classical music takes digital leap in U.S.
2006-01-20
NEW YORK - Digital downloading has begun transforming the classical music marketplace. From new faces to household names, artists across the classical spectrum are enjoying a growing percentage of album sales courtesy of digital retailing. And it is happening faster than even the most optimistic marketers could have expected.The numbers are stunning. Digital downloads are responsible for 19.7 percent of total U.S. sales for violinist Hilary Hahn's recent album of Mozart sonatas, according to Nielsen SoundScan. For Yo-Yo Ma's "Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet," downloads make up 10.7 percent of sales. Such successes are not limited to mainstream repertoire or the major labels. Downloads account for 16.8 percent of sales for pianist Christopher O'Riley's second disc of Radiohead transcriptions, "Hold Me to This," released on Harmonia Mundi's World Village imprint. And then there is new artist Janine Jansen. Downloads have amounted to 73 percent of sales of the violinist's album of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons." While U.S. classical album sales were down 15 percent in 2005 compared with 2004, digital downloads of classical albums grew 93.9 percent for the year. That figure lags behind the overall digital albums market, which grew by 194 percent in 2005, but it still indicates a shifting climate. CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS Classical labels increasingly see digital sales as an effective remedy for the genre's woes, which include shrinking retail space, aging consumers and slow-moving deep catalog. Digital retailers also are proving to be important partners in setting up key projects and launching new artists. "There's a vast amount of (classical) repertoire and recordings, not to mention a number of different varieties of consumer interest, and it's very tough to try to pack all of that into a traditional store," says Jonathan Gruber, VP of new media for classics and jazz at Universal Music Group International. The digital realm can overcome space limitations and at the same time transform the shopping experience, Gruber says. "You can experience music far more fully and immediately than you can at retail today," he notes. "And if you want to sample just a taste of a particular interpretation of a piece, you can do that for just 99 cents." Apple VP of applications Eddy Cue applauds the digital efforts of Gruber's team, citing Jansen as a notable success story. Her album, released October 11, 2005, on Universal Classics' Decca label, was promoted heavily on iTunes. The album quickly reached No. 15 on iTunes' overall album chart and peaked at No. 3 in its second week on Billboard's Top Classical Albums list. NO PANACEA While such sales patterns are impressive, they apply only to a minority of classical releases, and all involved are quick to say that digital retailing presents its own set of challenges. "Digital business means a theoretically infinite amount of stock space, but there's a downside to that limitless space," Gruber says. "You have to be able to find the stuff you're looking for." To court consumers, placement programs are crucial. "We've been very forward in working with the digital retailers to place our titles on the main page at iTunes and other outlets," Gruber says. Digital stores can also help consumers navigate the often daunting classical world through sampling and search capabilities. The user interface at eMusic is particularly classical-friendly, with search fields for composers, conductors, soloists, ensembles and specific works. The ability to browse online has created interesting opportunities for shoppers to exercise their musical adventurism. At iTunes, it is an easy leap among genres for some classical customers -- many of whom would probably never venture into the classical section of a traditional retail store. For example, some who have snapped up Deutsche Grammophon's recent recording of Osvaldo Golijov's genre-bending song cycle Ayre are also purchasing tracks by such diverse acts as Alice in Chains, Amadou & Mariam, LeAnn Rimes and 2Pac, not to mention music from jazz legends like Stan Kenton and Anita O'Day. "Certainly, that kind of browsing is something that we've tried to encourage from the beginning, in the way the site has been built," Cue says. "Great music can and should reach an extremely broad audience," Universal's Gruber says. "When you walk into a retail store, you're blown away; it can be very intimidating to a newcomer. What the digital medium allows us to do is to focus attention on recordings, artists and composers whom we think will appeal to a lot of people, and break through a lot of the barriers that exist in the physical retail world." Reuters/Billboard
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