Digital Marketing as a Classical Musician: Finding a Strategy

[@SuminaStuder1]

Chapterssss: 0:00 Welcome 🤗 0:26 Today's topic... 0:35 Why Digital Marketing is important for artists 01:14 Let's talk about the stigma. 01:32 The "Starving Artist"-mentality 02:37 Classical Musicians struggling with Marketing 03:16 Social Media Managers VS Social Media Strategists 03:40 My Goals & Intentions 04:56 The skillset I'm looking for in a Social Media Strategist 05:24 Platform to find that strategist 06:12 I found a strategist! 07:23 The material/deliverables I got... 08:54 What I learned! What do you think about modernizing the classical music industry with marketing? 🤔🎶

[@michaelsommers2356]

I think you ought to add Patreon or something like it to your marketing efforts.

[@timmychooi]

Classical musicians need to understand that in order for our voices to be heard through our music, it's our responsibility to interact with the ever-changing demographics of the world. I'm always trying to find the best way to interact with the public about this incredible art form and never sacrificing its integrity. I think the best way to think about it is adapting to how people absorb content/music/anything and find a way to blend it. Really got me thinking, Sumina. Keep it up and we are going to see classical music thrive into the 22nd century!

[@SuminaStuder1]

Timmy! I learn so much from our conversations, and I totally agree. Integrity won't be sacrificed if educated properly. Your understanding on this matter means the world, thank you so much! We are all in this together 😌

[@geza1283]

I love what you wrote about never sacrificing the integrity of classical music. You are very right, but what would be great music or Art in general without a little of sacrificing anyway? Do you agree? Gezalius

[@pennysalvetti7085]

I really appreciated your video! I completely agree with you, and we need more content like this for classical musicians!

[@upscustomerservice.7934]

This is a great video that talks about the darker side of musicians. So many talented musicians aren’t getting paid for their value simply because they aren’t able to market themselves appropriately. I’m not a musician but I think this is relevant to any profession these days. Being able to market yourself is key to getting hired or having a perceived value in society (as terrible as that might sound)

[@otherryan]

As they said in Shang Chi, "if you aim at nothing, you hit nothing" so having a dedicated digital marketing strategist and manager is a great way to stay focused and hone in on the work. Glad that you've had a very positive experience with Fiverr and the manager you selected too! Will have to look into this more sometime 👀

[@SuminaStuder1]

Thank you so much Ryan! I love that Shang-Chi reference, talk about relatable to all aspects in life! 😆 For sure, let's chat about that when we record on Saturday 💪🏻

[@johannesbachlein149]

First I was a little irritated but now I think it is a great video, because it is deeply honest. As a classical musician, you are a product that you create yourself and that you have to advertise on the market. There are 10.000nds of extremely skilled musicians in the world, but only a few have success. This is not only related to their skills as a musician, but also a lot about marketing themselves. One could have a romantic view on the "classical music industry", but it's like everything else - a business. Btw., same for contemporary makers of music instruments. Many of them produce very good results, but only a few have a "name" and can get high prices, because they also know about self marketing. Thumbs up!

[@raymondchou9550]

100% agree People need to get with the times- classical music can be so much bigger than what it is, but just a bunch of stubborn, old, gatekeeping people and their closed-minded, elitist perspectives hold it back Why is TwoSet so successful? Why do I know who Sumina is but not every contest winner ever? People need to shift their perspectives about what a “successful” music career looks like Too many opportunities lost because people don’t change their ways or keep up with all the options they have

[@SuminaStuder1]

Twoset is absolutely presenting classical music in the enjoyable way it's supposed to be understood as, agreed! People definitely want classical music, and the future is bright! We should all be at the forefront together on this topic. And so true - I personally relate to your statement about opportunities revealing themselves if the ins & outs are innovated. Thank you so much for your support - means the world!

[@ale5014]

incredibly interesting . its the most in-depth info I've found on the internet so far.

[@qingng_]

Set up looks so professional! And I love the time stamps! Learning a lot from your videos! :)

[@SuminaStuder1]

Thank you so much, it took me a bit to figure the setup out but your comment made me smile 😊

[@gerardo4104]

Thanks for the tips, Sumina. very useful!! You have a fantastic natural lighting in your room btw!

[@cloudplays9265]

please! I'd totally like this type of contents

[@SuminaStuder1]

Noted! Will cover more topics 😊

[@zoevrachnas]

Love this type of content!!

[@thecorgi985]

This kind of content is so much more useful than just those entertaining videos that others are doing (no offense, those are amazing). But this is really practical, great job!

[@thiminhtran4985]

Thankyou for this video, this is great! Love your work, your playing and your generosity in spirit.

[@alicansuner.violin]

Great video Sumina- I've been recently getting more and more active on socials as well and this video addresses many things correctly. The idea of "selling oneself" is very intimidating to most classical musicians- but when done properly (by not lowering your standards in the process), it's very powerful. The good thing about this is we actually have much more control nowadays- one just needs to put in the effort to learn about marketing a little bit better. All the best from your hometown, Zürich- I somehow ended up here ;)

[@anonymousperson2948]

Thank you Sumina! This is so helpful! And it's something nobody talks about!

[@treexlxthroughmyeyes]

I heard Juilliard offers course about developing entrepreneurship as a musician. I am really curious about what do they teach at school, and how wide the gap is between school taught content and the real world.

[@SuminaStuder1]

If you mean the Entrepreneurship Symposiums, I've visited some of them 🙌🏼 Can be very interesting. However, I did think that attendance can be pretty low at times (as they are not mandatory). There are many other school courses that occupy the top of the priority list of a student, so not much time and energy is kept free for such topics, unfortunately. In regards to school materials vs real life - I find that nothing will ever replace real life experience both on & off stage, but basic topics such as developing a music lesson contract from scratch, or setting up automized sign-up systems, or creating an e-mail list, etc. are all things that every artist can (and should!) be taught in school, in my opinion! 🙂

[@benjaminng4582]

Thank you Sumina! Great content ❤️

[@mafer_theviolinist6895]

Yes pleasee do more videos like this one 🙈🎻♥️thank youuu

[@yjlconductor]

Thank you for this helpful video Sumina! I really appreciate the good advice you share.

[@horacetantang7259]

Ever since the start of covid19 I’ve been trying to look into digital marketing as well. Thank you for bringing up in depth analysis for this matter! Unfortunately as aspiring conductor, I haven’t found a good angle to dive into digital marketing. It seems like conductor is no longer needed in the hype of virtual performances. Maybe I’m wrong, I do hope to gain more insight as well.

[@randomcubing7106]

love that jazz bgm!

[@SuminaStuder1]

Thank you so much! Picked the music very thoroughly 😙🎶

[@geza1283]

Great Sumina !

[@colinlevins4110]

Thank you for posting this! Do you think you can make a video talking about getting more online students?

[@juniortovarmusic]

There are not big audiences for classical music, in that is the true.!! If classical music is broccoli and other kind of music is fast food, most of the people like fast food, including me, and the solution for making them like “broccoli” is giving them broccoli until they like it.!! Because is healthy and better than fast food.!! But the companies and the media won’t do that, so what I do is try to mix the music, play everything.. I also study classical music, but I love to perform Reggaeton, Hip Hop, Cumbia, Pop, Rock.!! And I’m selling performing popular music much more than classical.!!

[@njrous]

Love this video and definitely agree with you! I studied jazz (so not exactly the same) and have grappled/am currently grappling how to make music that’s not only appealing to other musicians. Thanks for these tips!

[@SuminaStuder1]

I'm so glad to hear that it isn't just Classical Music in particular, makes us allies in some way haha! Music of all kinds needs to welcome non-musicians as well. Let's make it more relatable to everyone 💪🏻😄

[@njrous]

@@SuminaStuder1 haha definitely not just classical music, and I feel like there’s a lot of gatekeeping perpetuated by universities and conservatories in general. But yes, music is for everyone!

[@michaelsommers2356]

_"... currently grappling how to make music that’s not only appealing to other musicians."_ That's a problem jazz has had since bop came along, and especially since the 1960s.

[@njrous]

@@michaelsommers2356 I think I disagree, I’d date it to the 70s when Berklee was creating their curriculum. I think by making the music academic, there becomes this “trained vs untrained” stigma around the music and those who aren’t trained are considered inferior. At least that’s how I feel about jazz academia, a lot of the times.

[@Nightmar1500]

10:20 is me at the water pipes in my house whenever I’m trying to record lol

[@SuminaStuder1]

Hahah 😂

[@michaelsommers2356]

I don't think schools in any field teach the business side of the field. That is, I don't think medical schools or law schools will teach you how to set up a practice, for example. So music schools seem to follow that general trend.

[@SuminaStuder1]

That is so true, doesn't specifically set one up for a freelance life 🧐 It's interesting that even in a corporate industry, the business side doesn't get covered!

[@michaelsommers2356]

@@SuminaStuder1 I guess music is different from other fields, in that brand-new lawyers and doctors don't usually set up their own practices right away, but rather join an established practice. Perhaps you should write a book.

[@Nightmar1500]

I’m curious, was it your career goal prior and in college to be a freelance musician or is it part of a bigger picture, or did you go to Julliard for a completely different reason. I know some of my friends aren’t exactly sure what they will do with their music degree, even I took a while to figure it out for myself (and it’s still kinda changing in some ways).

[@furiozcruzado6751]

hi bru when u mean chanching in a way u mean by applying fod an orchestra or freelancing or in overall music production industry /mainstrean movies etc etc industry i gues they always look ppl in that field

[@Nightmar1500]

@@furiozcruzado6751 I originally went to music school planning to transfer to get a Bachelors in Music with a focus on performance, I wanted to be a violinist that would perform a lot, but I also wanted to focus on making music so I also took on a recording arts major, but now I find that ideally and what I would probably enjoy most is Music Education, so that’s what I plan on transferring into, but when I say changing in some ways, it’s because I still want to do more than teach, but I’ll probably use that to fund making music and joining an orchestra and my overall living and possibly a future in going back to school to get a Master’s in music.

[@saskiaviolinist]

I think it's more of an 'and... and... and' situation as opposed to a 'this or that' situation in our current situation. If you're into teaching, making music and recording, why can't you do all?

[@thehouseofwhiskeywhiskey9343]

👍👏👍

[@jim_jim1674]

💪

[@spocksjohnson5594]

ok. I have a question. what about that classical musician who feels that all this extra "content creating" and ridiculous dialougue with the listener is just superfluous dribble. what about that musician who feels that it is the MUSIC that is of primary importance rather than wasting hours in editing (as I saw on your schedule) when that time is better utilized in the practice room. can't possibly be a consistently good performer wasting time that way. do a video on making the music do the talking rather than flapping lips.

[@cyclotrojan]

While it seems like you are connecting more with your audience, this is actually disconnecting you from us - but yes you will make more money this way so I guess thats the sad state of the world

[@saskiaviolinist]

Why would she disconnect with us when she's talking about a very important topic in the classical music scene?

[@yurivillan196]

Despite the economic crisis, this is still a good time to invest in Gold and crypto

[@thomasjonathan3897]

The rich spend less and invest more

[@lindaannmarschkefx9169]

Investing in these economic crisis will be one of the best thing to do

[@princejohnson7074]

You're right I think Gold and crypto are the best to invest right now

[@jennyfranciscan5033]

Gold's are good but crypto is better

[@angelinafernando1629]

I wanted to trade crypto but got confused by the fluctuation in price

[@luizabrito1522]

Like the video, hate the background music. It's distracting and really loud

[@adamsmith786]

Will you ever make a new music video? I want to hear the violin sound rather than talking.

[@SuminaStuder1]

Sure, but right now I'm really enjoying sharing educational videos - because I know that I would have appreciated this information as an aspiring musician 10 years ago, too. I'm sure you'll find many other musicians on KZbin that you can choose to listen to 😊🎶

[@ninezerofive]

Ehmm, I don't know where this channel is going, but can you just upload some videos where you play ? You are such a talented violinist, we just wonna hear you play, in your bedroom, in sweatpants, we don't care :)

[@SuminaStuder1]

I hear you - thank you for your feedback on my channel! 🙂 At the moment, I am really enjoying creating educational content rather than "entertainment", because I personally feel like there is a need to position classical music more attainably to a greater audience. I really appreciate your comment, but in the meantime, I'm sure there are many other violinists on KZbin that you can enjoy listening music from! ☺