The Future of Classical Music

Jocelyn Burnham on using play to understand AI

Today, I‘m talking with Jocelyn Burnham, a speaker and AI communicator from AI for culture. AI is ever-present in our news cycle and a technology that both will and is transforming the world we live. On the one hand, it has incredible potential, making huge leaps forward in scientific research, productivity, and creative tools. On the other, it is a threat to jobs and the creative industries. I recently met Jocelyn at a conference and I loved her deliberately neutral approach to talking about AI and encouraging us all to play with AI tools to improve our AI literacy and help us form our thoughts, both positive and negative. There is so much value to this approach that I thought she would be great to dig into everything AI, whether you’re a musician or work at a large organisation. We talk about how embracing play can help us understand AI, the possible roles AI could play in culture, how it could impact the administrative and artistic side of our work, some of the ethical and environmental concerns of AI, and how to get started on your AI journey. Guest: Jocelyn Burnham: https://www.aiforculture.com/ [https://www.aiforculture.com/]

Joe Perkins, Managing Director of Chaptr, on why arts websites should be destinations, not just listings

Today I’m talking with Joe Perkins, Creative Director at Chaptr, a web design agency that specialises in a UX led approach. The internet is going through big changes at the moment. Web traffic from search engines is already in decline, and the world of AI and AI overviews in search results means this decline will only increase. It’s going to be harder and harder to get people to visit our websites. In order to be successful, websites are going to have to adapt. I thought that Joe would be the perfect person to talk the future of websites and the web. I previously collaborated with Joe and Chaptr in working on the website for Leeds International Piano Competition, and was fascinated with their UX led approach and the impact it can have for organisations of all sizes and even individual artists. We talk about the role of websites in cultural organisations, the importance of user experience and stakeholder engagement, how to write a strong website brief, what makes an effective homepage, the impact of AI and Google Zero on website traffic, the growing importance of mobile-first design and payment tools like Apple Pay, how smaller organisations and musicians can build powerful websites on a budget, and why accessibility, inclusivity, and digital strategy are essential for the future of the arts. Right, that’s enough from me, let’s jump in. Guest: Joe Perkins [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeperkinsuk/] https://chaptr.studio/ [https://chaptr.studio/]

Sam Jackson, Controller, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, on the future of the BBC Proms in an ever-changing world

Today, I‘m talking with Sam Jackson, Controller, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms. The BBC Proms is the world’s largest and longest-running classical music festival, taking place over 8 weeks each summer. With concerts broadcast on the radio and on television around the world, and with international artists and orchestras performing, it is one of the most important, visible, and impactful parts of the classical music industry. However, everyone has an opinion on the Proms and the BBC itself. For some, the festival is guilty of dumbing down, and for others of not doing enough to be more accessible. The BBC Proms is always an easy target for clickbait articles, and as a full confession, I’ve written a couple myself. But with the digital world continuing to impact the world of broadcast, changing consumer trends, and real-term cuts at the BBC, there are some challenges that the BBC Proms faces that are worth looking at. So, with the BBC Proms about to start on July 18th, I thought it would be great to dive into it all with the person in charge, Sam Jackson. We spoke about how the BBC works and making decisions as part of a large organisation, what impact for the proms looks like, and the challenge of programming a festival for a broad-church of audiences when what the Proms means to them and what they are looking for can sometimes be very different and even conflicting things. We also dive into some more challenging areas, such as whether the BBC Proms has fulfilled its potential in the digital world, whether the broadcast of the Proms has kept up with advances elsewhere in the industry, and AI and innovation. I’d like to thank Sam for being up for the challenging questions, and I certainly learnt a lot from the answers. This is one of my favourite chats I’ve had for a long time, andI found it really enlightening. I hope you do too. Let’s jump in.

Alexandra Robinson, social media manager at the Minnesota Orchestra, on orchestras using social media to engage with a wider world

Today, I‘m talking with Alexandra Robinson, Social Media and Content Manager for the Minnesota Orchestra. Social media is ever-present in our lives and has redefined the society we live in. Despite this, many orchestras have been slow to adopt social media and continue to make basic mistakes. However, there are a few orchestras doing great things. If you’re a follower of the blog, you already know just how much I love the Minnesota Orchestra. They are exceptional online, creating incredible and funny audience-centric content, and Alex is the driving force behind it and one of the leading social media and content managers in the industry. If you’ve seen their posts, you know their musicians are front and centre of the content, and if you’ve not seen them, I can highly recommend you go and check their socials out. In this conversation we spoke a lot about how to build trust, with musicians, guest artists, and the organisation to be able to create and implement an audience-focussed strategy. We also spoke about balancing audience focussed content with the need to post about concert tickets, developing an organisational voice on socials when it can be so different to the corporate voice, some of the tools used to create, schedule, and manage content, and how to avoid being overwhelmed as a social media manager. Honestly, this episode was a blast, and Alex drops some incredible thoughts and advice throughout, I can’t wait for you to listen. Let’s jump in Guest: Alexandra Robinson [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrakaterobinson/]

Christopher Widauer on bringing about digital transformation in traditional organisations

Today I’m talking with Christopher Widauer, CEO of AMS and former Head of Digital Development at Vienna State Opera. Christopher has a wide-ranging career, with a speciality in all things digital. This includes the introduction of 2,100 tablets for interactive infotainment and seatback subtitling in Vienna, consulting for organisations like Cairo Opera and Teatro alla Scala on their digital transformation, and being involved with the digital sheet music app Newzik We talked a LOT about digital covering a lot of bases, including how to bring your audience and organisation with you when innovating, the death of Google, the role of artists in the digital age, and of course, AI.