Music in the Marketplace: Where Do You Find Your Fit?

What happens when an outstanding musical organization struggles to attract audiences while another performer has people spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a concert experience? Is it the quality of the music, the price, the audience, or something else entirely?

Maybe understanding the marketplace can give us another frame of reference.

In this episode of Intentional Musicianship, Jeff Price explores how audience choices, business models, and changing expectations influence the opportunities available to musicians.

Inspired by a Cadenza article examining the challenges facing American orchestras, Jeff takes a broader look at the marketplace and how musicians, educators, and organizations can better understand where they fit.

From the changing price of a Five Guys hamburger to Taylor Swift's concert experiences, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's programming, and the popularity of candlelight concerts, this episode examines how people decide where to spend their time, attention, and money.

You'll discover three ideas to consider in your own musical environment:

1.   Notice the patterns in your marketplace. What are audiences choosing, what influences those decisions, and what can those choices tell us about the experiences people value?

2.   Understand how your musical environment operates. Whether you're involved with a professional orchestra, a school music program, a community ensemble, or an independent band, understanding funding sources, audience expectations, and organizational relationships provides another perspective.

3.   Consider where you fit. Explore how your musical interests, skills, and experiences connect with the people you hope to reach. Sometimes a small adjustment, a new relationship, or a different approach can create opportunities.

Jeff also introduces practical business concepts, including price sensitivity, supply and demand, differentiation, customer experience, and value propositions. He touches on nonprofit funding, publicly available IRS Form 990 information, and how understanding the business side of music can expand professional possibilities.

Whether you're a student, music educator, community musician, or established professional, this episode offers another frame of reference for considering your musical opportunities.

Success at center stage isn't always about improving what happens during the performance. Sometimes it's about understanding where that performance fits into the lives of the people w