This was the IMZ Academy Session 2019: “Social Media is live!”

This IMZ Academy Session took place in cooperation with Classical:NEXT on 17 May in Rotterdam, Netherlands and explored the challenges + opportunities offered by the rise of social media + streaming for performing arts live experiences.

We all know that social media and streaming have the potential to connect and engage with new, broader and younger audiences for classical music. But how in today’s noisy media world do you actually do this and what does success look like?

IMZ Academy Director Peter Maniura brought examples of two recent editorial initiatives – Shakespeare Lives (a six month digital festival) and #OperaPassion day (a collaboration with opera houses across the UK) – in which the BBC worked with many partner organisations and across conventional and digital media to achieve scale, impact and audience numbers. He also shared his insights with the enthusiastic crowd and gave some candid views on what works and what doesn’t.