Orchestra of Southern Utah

Orchestra of Southern Ut= ah – Podcasts

Double your audience= , and widen public exposure through podcasting concerts

The Premise:

Along with iTunes, t= he popularity of podcasting has grown as fast as the iPod. The Orchestra of Southern Utah fol= lowed this fast track to younger audiences and reached them through their headphones. The orchestra rea= lized the growing popularity of podcasting and began experimenting with it as a w= ay to expand their listening audience and public exposure.

How It Works:

Unlike negotiated co= ntracts with iTunes or other online music distributors, podcasting can be a free me= thod to spread an entire concert or a portion of a concert to listeners across t= he globe. OSU podcasts generally= span an hour in length, but have reached 3 hours to include a full opera. Podcast length is only limited by = the orchestra’s server storage size, which has subsequently been upgraded= to 100 gigabytes to allow for the longer length and greater amount of download= s. The podcasts can be downloaded by = anyone with an Internet connection – without fees or other obligations. This is truly free advertisement, marketed to a demographic that already subscribe to podcasts. Aside from iTunes, OSU podcasts ar= e also available on Podomatic, the web s= ite where the OSU podcasts are stored and created. Podomatic allows for integration w= ith iTunes, and other Internet music services, as well as storage for podcasts = and a listener call-in line, allowing listeners to leave messages for the podca= st moderator. The site also tracks statistics such as the number of daily downloads. The Orchestra of Southern Utah began podcasting recitals in September, 2005, but soon expanded to include entire symphony concerts. The podcasts grew to include inter= views with Xun Sun, music director, as well as the occasional comment from a musi= cian or audience member. By the en= d of the 2005-06 season, the podcasts were uploaded a= fter every concert.

Early Results:

The inaugural podcas= t in September 2005 capped at 200 downloads.&nb= sp; With each new posting, the number of downloads increased; the most recent posting – the tenth to date – recorded 800 downloads. There are nearly 300 regular subsc= ribers to OSU podcasts, meaning that every time a podcast becomes available, it is automatically downloaded on the subscriber’s computer. Recently, the OSU podcasts reached= more than 400 downloads in the first month, with additional downloads coming aft= er that time. The number of down= loads is nearing the total audience count. The downloads are not centralized to the = local community, finding reception as far away as Japan, Brazil, and Australia. Most of the U.S. downloads are coming from larger metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles and the eastern seaboard. The podcasts offered by the OSU ha= ve ranked in the Podomatic daily top 100 music podcasts, consistently ranking = in the 70s, but peaking at number 37. While the effect of the podcasting is felt in the concert hall throu= gh the visible presence of younger attendees, the OSU has not created any spec= ific audience surveys to track the results.&nbs= p; The orchestra assumes that the increased presence of a younger audie= nce directly correlates with the podcast releases. By next season (2006-07), the OSU = hopes to reach more than 1,000 downloads per podcast.

Further info contact:<= /span>

http://www.orchestraofsout= hernutah.org/

Ken Hedgecock, kenh1242@aol.com 435-531-6446