# Apple and classical music



## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Apple has recently been running an advertising campaign involving composer Esa-Pekka Salonen.

What do you suppose was Apple's reasoning behind it? I'm assuming that the company is big enough to get whoever they want, so why a classical composer? With the arts in supposed decline in the US, surely the only thing less popular than classical music is contemporary classical music. Is Salonen cool enough to be associated with their brand? Someone in charge thinks so.

What do Apple see in this partnership that no one else in the business world seems able to? What are the likely outcomes for either Apple or Salonen.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this composing app was Salonen's idea, so they made the ad with him. Otherwise, I have a feeling they probably would have picked Taylor Swift or some other well known artist who would interest more people to write music

What's Apple's angle? I think keeping an air of sophistication is good for marketing. Subconsciously, the viewer will think that apple products are for business people, intelligent people, artistic people, etc. Usually their ads feature people who are upper-middle class or so, making apple products more valuable in the sense of social status. Since classical music is stereotyped as for the old, the rich, and the smart, perhaps that's why apple wanted a contemporary classical composer than say a house DJ or a pop star or something else. That's my take on it, anyway.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Apple probably knows what they're doing; this publicity is presumably going to pay for itself. 

I bet this won't hurt Salonen's popularity at least. 

As a result of this someone somewhere is going to youtube Salonen's works and be surprised and interested and classical music got one more listener. 

Of course we'll start to see Salonen as a sell-out and scorn that loser who listens because of Salonen. 

So everybody wins.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

It's not like Salonen is the only one they use. They use The Pixies' Gigantic in another ad.

It all adds up. Non-mainstream, artsy, creative types. Think Different. It's exactly what I'd expect from Apple.

And my impression is, most people respect Classical, even if they don't listen to it themselves. Maybe teenagers don't, but others think it's worthy stuff, just not how they want to spend their time. A bit like those ads showing chefs cooking with fresh, local produce, etc.


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## satoru (May 29, 2014)

Cosmos is right. Here is a quote from Apple's site on the app: "I created the Orchestra app to share my love of classical music. To make it more approachable, especially for the next generation." Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor and composer

http://www.apple.com/your-verse/orchestrating-sound/

I feel like this is a continuation of Apple's ad featuring Martin Scorsese, Samuel L. Jackson, John Malkovich and others, who use iPad/iPhone in creative manners. Salonen has been an enthusiastic user of Apple products, with high reputation for his artistic talents, so featuring him in advertisement add nice dimension to Apple's image, I take. The ad is quite beautiful, both visually and acoustically.

By the way, US may look like a dead end for classical music, but the reality is not that bad. Many local classical concerts are quite filled with audiences spanning wide range of generations. A lot of my young colleagues have taste for classical music, too. I live in an area that hosts a financially successful orchestra (rather rare in US), so what I see could be an exception, though.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I'd like to see Apple stop calling all classical music pieces "songs"


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Lots of big names mentioned. Names that I would expect to help sell product. Salonen is the odd one out but I didn't know that he made the app.


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