A research project of Jazz Arts Group
What is the Jazz Audiences Initiative?
The Jazz Audiences Initiative will tackle fundamental questions about how and why people engage with jazz. Jazz artists and presenters nationwide will learn new ideas for building audiences, and infusing the art form with new energy. Over the next 21 months, the project team will research and test new strategies for overcoming barriers to jazz participation and for building jazz audiences through more targeted marketing and programming efforts.
Why is this work necessary?
Relatively little research has been done on jazz audiences and what they value. We know that jazz audiences are aging, jazz media outlets and festivals are fading, jazz organizations are struggling, and jazz musicians are overly burdened. In addition, the jazz field lacks meaningful opportunities to network and learn as a professional community.
Simultaneously, we know that in general, audiences crave participative, interactive and intimate experiences that they help create. They make last minute decisions to attend events, and subscription buyers have declined drastically. As more people look to create a “work-life” balance, they are interested in modest “perfect moments” as a result of experiences that are authentic, community-based and unforgettable.
The long-term sustainability of jazz depends on new knowledge and insight about the needs, attitudes and motivations of existing and potential audiences.
Key Research Questions
- What does “jazz” mean to people? How do people relate to jazz as an art form?
- How do people develop preferences for different forms of jazz?
- What are the pathways into the art form?
- How much “taste diversity” is there within the jazz audience?
- What kinds of live jazz experiences do people want?
- How does setting affect preference and attendance?
- What are the connections between attendance and personal practice?
