Life's A Pitch

This week in interviews-with-people-who-know-more-than-me-land, we have jazz pianist and composer Dan Tepfer on blowing off astrophysics for music, putting on concerts that actually speak to young people, and the difference between coconuts and peaches. Dan Tepfer is a New York-based jazz pianist and composer. Originally from Paris, France, he earned a bachelor's degree in astrophysics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, before settling down in the United States. Today he divides his time between sideman work with some of the great jazz … [Read more...]

I live in envy of the Performance Monkey. That is, David Jays, fellow ArtsJournal blogger and Sunday Times and New Statesman critic. I enjoy his writing and his subjects very much, but I truly resent his ability to market himself within the world of ArtsJournal. After we submit an entry to our own ArtsJournal blog, bloggers have the option of posting a teaser on the ArtsJournal homepage with a heading and sentence-long description. My last teaser was Embracing Excess: Would offering all-you-can-see cards help fill empty seats?. The challenge … [Read more...]

[If someone's already doing this, stop me now; or, at least, post a comment and tell us all.]Perhaps it's just me, but everywhere I turn in this city there's an all-you-can-eat special. I blame/credit The Recession/People Getting Fatter. Would an all-you-can-see card work for concert presenters? I'm not sure how pricing for something like that could be figured out, but I do like the idea of paying for a card at the beginning of the season, getting week-of or day-of e mails when performances haven't sold out, and then sitting in the available … [Read more...]

I've always wondered how products get placement within other products' ads. For example, 30 Rock is in featured in both Netflix and Hulu ads: The iPod print and television ads not surprisingly drive me nuts: how do they choose which artists' songs and cover art to feature on the Nano, etc. screens in their ads? I've certainly never seen a classical album featured...Which is why I was pleasantly surprised and impressed to see pianist Simone Dinnerstein's new album cover on the eMusic subway and MetroNorth ads:I asked her publicist if she or … [Read more...]

New York City subway stations are, in theory, prime for marketing because they're unavoidable; most of us need them to get from point A to point B, multiple times each day. That said, beyond standing and waiting for trains to come, people aren't paying attention to their surroundings when walking from outside-to-train-to-train-to-outside. Consequently, ads in subway stations have to be extreme enough to warrant stopping one's sprint-walk, pausing one's iPod, and possibly missing the next train. Two friends and multiple strangers e mailed and … [Read more...]

I received an e mail from a woman at the UK-based management company Harrison Parrott this morning, and this was under her title/phone number/address in her auto signature:News Flash: The BBC Symphony Orchestra have just announced Oliver Knussen as their new Artist in Association, the three-year appointment consolidating his long relationship with them as a composer and conductor. Full press release >>  More news >>I assume everyone at Harrison Parrott changes their signature as news about their artists comes in, and I think … [Read more...]

I went to buy tickets to So Percussion on the Joe's Pub website, and this was the show description: So PercussionPrice: $12 9:30 PM - March 12  Show Description A one-year New York Magazine subscription, a $9.97 value, will be included with your ticket purchase for this show! Feel free to click here for more information. Brooklyn-based percussion quartet, So Percussion, who Billboard calls "astonishing and entrancing" and the New York Times calls "brilliant", will be performing selections from their ongoing project City Music, an … [Read more...]

(Via You've Cott Mail)Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic for The New York Times, is answering your questions until Friday the 13th! E mail him at askthetimes@nytimes.com. There's a nice healthy bio before the Q&A; it would be great to have bios for all the critics in the arts section, I think, so readers (and publicists) can learn where the journalists are coming from in their reviews/features without having to comb through Wikipedia like I do obsessively. This bit from his bio is interesting in light of the earlier discussion … [Read more...]

I stand pleasantly surprised by the Grammy live pre-telecast. It worked without a hitch and looked lovely. Here's our girl:The presenter said he gets "1 minute" for the classical awards every year. He also said that this kind of music "is your friend when times are hard" (I....guess?)  and to "grab Hilary" if you have any questions at all about classical music. Thanks dude: I'm the one who's going to end up fielding those. … [Read more...]

Each week, I'll post an interview with someone far more knowledgeable than myself on specific marketing and publicity subjects. This week, Goldstar CEO and co-founder Jim McCarthy on sitting in half-full audiences, going genre-less and why you don't actually gotta having a gimmick. Jim McCarthy is the CEO and co-founder of Goldstar and the Editor of Live 2.0. He's a decade-long veteran of the Internet and e-commerce business, starting with GeoCities way back when "myspace" was something you told somebody you needed when you wanted to break up … [Read more...]

Further to my post about e-programs, look at this 09-10 e-season brochure from The London Philharmonic Orchestra! You can flip through it online, download as a PDF, and/or e mail it to a friend. Having spent 20 minutes playing around with it this morning, I can officially say it's the first orchestra season brochure I've read cover-to-cover -- or, perhaps more accurately, page 1/68 - 68/68 -- in years, if not ever. And it cost zero dollars ($0) for them to get it to me. Thanks to Ronen for the link. … [Read more...]

As someone who has been known to Photoshop a few images in her day, I have to brush-tool draw your attention to La Cieca's top-notch Aretha Franklin Inauguration Hat/George Man-of work: This is excellent, excellent Photoshopping. … [Read more...]

The (now not so) new Carnegie Hall programs are fantastic. I've been meaning to write this since seeing Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Orpheus there in October, but my scanner has been on the fritz. I was reminded how much I liked said programs, however, on Sunday night at the Kurtag recital (um...go Steelers?) and promptly repaired my scanner for this purpose. Such nice bright colors in the calendar section! Gives the hall the opportunity to highlight specific concerts in an aesthetically pleasing fashion without using wasteful and noisy program … [Read more...]

I was just (remortgaging the house I don't have and) buying flowers online, and this popped up: I'm always "chatting" with Verizon reps, too. Sometimes they suggest I call the 800-number with my question, but often they're quite useful online, and I don't have to listen to hold music. I'd love to see a presenter box office live chat option. "Need help picking the perfect concert? Let one of our experts help you. CHAT NOW." That way, venues could have trained box office representatives who work from home. Call them "experts", too - not … [Read more...]