Megadeth Meets the Symphony

Dave Mustaine of Megadeth – Unlikely Classical Music Ambassador?

 

One of my favorite online discoveries this year was Sandow, a blog written by Greg Sandow.  Subtitled “On the future of classical music”, he writes prolifically about the challenges, from both artistic and business standpoints, to cultivate new audiences for what often seems an intimidating art form.

He posted recently about a collaboration between the San Diego Symphony and Dave Mustaine, founder and lead guitarist for Megadeth.  Even though metal and classical usually aren’t on my Spotify, I cheered reading Sandow’s account of the concert as well as the ingenuity of the symphony’s programmers for bringing two seemingly disparate types of music together for one night.

As a now-regular reader of Sandow, I often consider the similarities between cultivating wine’s fan base, if you will, and the struggle to bring a new generation to classical music before more symphonies and orchestras have to fold.

I’m not merely applying MBA thinking here; just concerned about bringing up the numbers.  If we’re talking total wine consumption, the U of S A is now in front. (Per capita?  That’s another story).

It’s not about kitschifying wine.  One aspect about the wine industry I really like is that its marketing isn’t always in your face.  You don’t see countless commercials for it like you do for, say, beer.  Print is the primary medium for advertising, and that allows for more creative use of photography and the written word to sing a bottle’s praises.

But that also means that wine’s allegiance to tradition puts it in a place that sometimes feels a little too much like church.  Where there’s a silent dogma that it’s assumed you know and respect.

And you know about the financial struggles for print media.  We are living in a world where information is circulated more and more through electronics.  Are we reading less?  I’m guessing no.  Are we reading shorter? Definitely.

And that’s troubling for the providers of the special pleasures of our world that require more study to fully understand.  The challenge is to bring more “swing-voters” into your tent; without dumbing down your product (hate that word in this context!)

As I budding wine professional, I want to help create a culture that can’t always been expressed by hard numbers.  To have customers not be afraid to ask me questions while I am pouring samples for them.  To get them curious about where their wine comes from, places that most of us won’t have to chance to visit in person.  To know that every great bottle has several great stories to tell, and once you open one, it should inspire you to share your own.

If you have stories about how you have introduced new audiences to wine, or creative ways of presenting  it, please share in the comments below.  And start reading your Sandow.  You may get some inspired programming ideas!