Orchestras pulling strings to reach online audiences

Attending a symphony concert in cyberspace will soon become possible under a first-of-its-kind agreement that will allow orchestras to distribute live and recorded music on the Internet.

Musicians and management from 66 orchestras and opera and ballet companies in the US are expected to vote in mid-July on the agreement. They hope the pact will bring classical music to a larger adult audience and serve as an educational tool for children and teachers. “I don’t ever want to be reading about the orchestra being a dinosaur,” said Florence Nelson, director of symphonic services for the American Federation of Musicians, which negotiated on behalf of its union members.

“We want to reach out to people and keep our institution alive,” Nelson added. “So the question was, ‘How are we going to use this new Internet technology to be able to fill seats and to generate new audiences?’” Groups under the pact include the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, Nashville Symphony and New York City Ballet Orchestra.

Under a tentative agreement, orchestras would make two kinds of performances available on the Internet: live, unrecordable “streaming audio” and pre-recorded music for downloading. It would be up to a local committee of musicians and managers from each orchestra to decide which concerts to put online and whether to make them available as live Webcasts or as online recordings that listeners can download.

Rather than getting paid up front for their work, as is the case when orchestras make traditional recordings, they would receive little or no payment right away but would receive a share of the generated revenues. “If we want to stay viable, we have to sell tickets,” Nelson said. “If there’s anything we can do to keep the music alive as an art form, to keep people interested and make them inspired...we need to go for it.”

Once approved, the agreement will run through Jan. 31, 2002. The deal would not replace agreements that govern creation of TV programs, production of compact discs, or audio and video for recording companies. But it may change the way orchestras handle their recordings in the future and the way the public buys classical music. “Instead of licensing the music to the recording company, the rights will be retained by the musicians and the orchestras. It’s cutting out the middleman,” said Philadelphia Orchestra president Joseph Kluger, who represented the interests of orchestra managers in the talks.

Such thinking may be wise during these tough times for the classical recording business. Citing sluggish sales, many recording companies have dropped classical artists from their labels, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, which lost its contract with EMI Classics in 1996. “Record companies, because they’re run by commercial enterprises, their motivation is primarily financial—it’s more important to maximize sales,” Kluger said.

An orchestra making its own recordings also would have more freedom to record all kinds of music, not just what may be considered commercially valuable, he said. Officials were unsure how long it will take for orchestras to go online once the agreement is passed.