Marketing & Audience Development

The term ‘Audience Development’ has received much attention lately, but it has been practiced by music operators for a long time. It is a collective term that describes strategic, dynamic and interactive processes that encompass all aspects of promotion, publicity, marketing, public relations, programming, membership, community engagement, communications and educational programs aimed at making the arts widely accessible and addressing the needs of existing and potential audiences.

What makes a person decide to go to a concert nowadays? Music venues and festivals have always had an interest in reaching out to new audiences and strengthening bonds with existing ones. The Music Cities Network is hereby starting the first international Audience Development Knowledge Exchange Program between the venues and festivals of the participating music cities to investigate best practice models of marketing strategies, audience development and experience in the music sector and look into the future.

What tools do venues use to attract new audiences? How can venues in cities collaborate to enhance audiences? What are the best tools to empower your existing audiences for festivals and venues? What role will venues/festivals play in the future society?

The focus is connecting different venues in the participating cities and to share their knowledge in the field of audience development. 4 venues and 1 festival from the Music Cities Network members Aarhus (f.e. Radar & SPOT Festival), Groningen (f.e. Simplon & Eurosonic Norderslaag), Hamburg (f.e. Molotow & Reeperbahn Festival) and Sydney (f.e. Oxford Art Factory & Venue 505) took part in the study. Apart of the results of the questionnaire which are discussed in first part, a spotlight on Instagram for venues and festivals and 13 recommendations complete the report.

Find the first pages including the executive summary below. If you are interested in the full report get in touch with us via info@musiccitiesnetwork.com