Ten Great Marketer-Musicians

I assembled a list of ten musicians who market themselves beautifully. I realized in the process how this became a list of great musicians regardless of marketing.

Photo by Carol Highsmith*

1. The Gustavo Dudamel / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Walt Disney Concert Hall / El Sistema / Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela combine. Why can’t airline alliances succeed like this?
2. The Kronos Quartet, with its market position of intense creation.
3. Lang Lang. The joy of his music-making bursts from his photos, which I find marvelous for marketing materials. I love his autobiography, Journey of a Thousand Miles, which depicts his terrifying childhood. And those critics who think he’s flash without substance? Their grandparents didn’t appreciate Horowitz.
4. MTT. What other conductor besides Thomas is branded?
5. Hilary Hahn, whose engaging postcards started before blogging.
6. Yo-Yo Ma. Some call it crossover. I’d call it product development. Is anyone’s heart more open to music?


Petronel Malan

7. Pianist Petronel Malan. Few artists have the courage to maintain a consistent message. Petronel recorded Transfigured Bach, then Transfigured Mozart, and Transfigured Beethoven–each of them full of surprises and delights.
8. Percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who continues to excite audiences at a time that only pianists, violinists and cellists are in demand.
9. Pianist Jeremy Denk for his Think Denk blog.
10. Gidon Kremer with his Kremerata Musica, Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra and Kremerland. It’s Kremerama!

Who would you add to this list?

* This photograph is from the Carol M. Highsmith Archive at the Library of Congress. Highsmith has released her photographs in the collection into the public domain.