Radio songs

American Demographics, Sept, 1996 by John P. Robinson

SUMMARY

As Americans gain more education and greater access to public broadcasting, the audience for classical, jazz, and other music forms should continue to grow. In the 1980s, low-tech radio was more effective than CDs and other new technology in promoting "serious" music. Radio listening has grown rapidly because it fits well with driving, working, and other daily activities.

Whenever a symphony orchestra runs short of funds or a jazz musician dies, you're likely to hear people talk about the decline of "serious" music. But serious music is doing fine. In fact, the proportion of American adults who say they appreciate classical music, jazz, or show tunes has grown 5 to 8 percentage points over the last decade. The proportion who attended live performances of jazz, ballet, and opera was slightly higher in 1992 than 1982, according to the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) of the National Endowment for the Arts. The proportion attending classical concerts declined by 0.5 percent, yet total attendance increased from 22 million to 23.6 million because of population growth. And the proportion of Americans who reported listening to jazz or classical music on the radio increased from about 20 percent in 1982 to nearly 30 percent in 1992.

Much of the public's growing appreciation for serious music can be attributed to the spread of public broadcasting. The proportion of American homes capable of receiving a public radio station has increased from 86 percent in 1989 to 91 percent in 1995, and about 12 million American now tune in to public radio every [week..sup.*] The number of national public radio member stations increased from 395 in 1990 to 540 in 1996, and the number of public television stations increased from 340 to 352.

Today, serious music is readily available in automobiles and living rooms simply by turning on the radio or TV. Americans are twice as likely to enjoy classical music via technology as they are to attend live performances. Thirteen percent of American adults attended a classical concert in 1991-92, but 24 percent heard a recording of classical music; 25 percent saw a classical music performance on television; and 31 percent listened to classical music on the radio, according to the NEA. Counting noses at concerts is a misleading way to measure music audiences, because the way people enjoy music has changed.

Moreover, media use of the arts is more frequent. People who watched classical music on video (television or VCR) saw an average of 6.4 performances, while the average concert-goer saw two or three live performances. This translates to an estimated 309 million performances of classical music seen on TV, more than five times as many as the 60 million seen in person. Add in the millions more who experienced classical music on the radio or via recordings, and it's hard to argue that Americans have deserted serious music.

The same pattern holds for other kinds of music and art. Americans said they watched more than four times as many dance performances on television as they did in person in 1991-92. They reported viewing more than four times as many plays on TV (or VCR) as in person, and they viewed TV programs on the visual arts at more than three times the level that they visited art museums or galleries. Only for musicals and operettas does the live audience begin to approach the television audience. The probable reason is the relatively large number of amateur musical productions combined with a limited TV market for this genre. Every year, millions of people dutifully traipse along to see their children, nieces and nephews, and grandchildren perform in school productions of "Guys and Dolls," while millions more patronize community theater or professional productions--of "Guys and Dolls."

EDUCATED EARS

Although the mass media appear to be boosting the total audience for classical and other serious music, that "mass" audience still tends to be well-educated. Public broadcasting is free to everyone, but people with a graduate-school education are five to six times more likely than those with a grade-school education to listen to classical music or jazz on radio or TV. Class distinctions are stark in the audience for live performances, where the most-educated adults are over 20 times more likely than the least-educated to attend.

Education is by far the strongest demographic predictor of arts participation in general. Adults at higher income levels are by far the most likely to watch or attend music/dance events, but this is largely because of their higher educational attainment. Culture does have a greater impact than education in some cases. The audience for jazz is disproportionately black, and the audience for classical music is disproportionately white. But other racial differences in media audiences are surprisingly small. White Americans are only slightly more likely than blacks to experience opera, musicals, plays, or dance. Other demographic variables are less important.

Middle-aged Americans follow the arts most avidly in the media. They are especially more likely than younger or older adults to harken to opera performances. Also, the arts media consumption of people aged 65 and older increased markedly between 1982 and 1992.