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Popularity and Orthodox Media
Posted on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 9:52 AM by Jason Barker
A blog about classical music recently looked at the long-standing claim that classical music is dying (i.e., that its listenership is disappearing, and thus the music is becoming an unsustainable artform). The writer makes a cogent point:
Basically: people who say classical music is dying are doing so, in large part, because they don’t think that classical music generates enough of a bandwagon effect...A lot of this arises from a comparison with pop, and is usually follwed by a prescription to present and market classical music more like pop culture. Pop culture dominates the market because it generates lots of bandwagon effect—it’s designed to. (Think of the way Hollywood blockbusters are marketed, and the way they open in thousands of theaters to maximize the return on their short-lived bandwagons.) Unless it can follow suit, it’s claimed, classical music will be left hopelessly in the dust.
There’s almost always an accompanying argument that classical music must be dying because it’s lost the competition for mindshare/media attention/cultural relevance. The concept is similar to another economic idea, a close relative of bandwagons. It’s called a network effect...critics will say that classical music doesn’t really matter anymore, because only a small portion of the potential audience listens to it.
He goes on to ask two questions: 1) Are there enough organizations, musicians, listeners, etc., for classical music to remain economically viable (he answers, "Yes"); and 2) Is the ultimate value of an artistic pursuit necessarily dependent on its ability to generate network effects? He answers:
The second question, in reality, isn’t economic at all. It’s philosophical. And this is why this argument has gone on, and will go on, for so, so long. There’s no way to prove that question one way or another—either you believe that art has an intrinsic value regardless of the size of its audience, or you don’t.
Rudolf Serkin, infamously, once played the entirety of Bach’s Goldberg Variations as an encore. “When I finished,” he remembered, “there were only four people left in the hall—Adolph Busch, Artur Schnabel, Alfred Einstein and myself.” Did the value of Serkin’s recital dwindle along with the number listening? Hardly. My sanguine view of the survival of classical music is reflected in that illustrious trio staying in their seats. There will always be an audience whose demand for the music will remain purely functional, immune to fads, buzz, trends, what have you. Will it be smaller than the audience for this month’s pop sensation? Probably. Does that matter? Nope.
In this post I'm not concerned with the intrinsic value of art - although I emphatically believe that there is an intrinsic value - but rather with extending the writer's point to Christian work. Many Christians erroneously believe that the value of an activity - some would even say the presence of God - can be determined by the popularity of that activity. I have written before about popularity and true success, but the article about classical music - a particular love of mine - once again reminded me of the importance of the point.
It is a simple fact that Orthodox media - be it print or electronic publishing, terrestrial or Internet radio, etc. - is never going to be as widespread as that generated by evangelical Protestants, and far less than secular media. It is a simple question of demographics: there are an estimated six million Orthodox Christians in the United States, compared to an estimated 100 million evangelical Protestants. The demographic difference is even greater when it comes to secular media, since people of most demographic groups - including Orthodox Christians - consume secular media, whereas only a percentage of committed Orthodox Christians - and a small number of non-Orthodox who are interested in Orthodoxy - consume the small amount of Orthodox media currently available.
By American cultural standards, the relatively small target audience for Orthodox media would seem to be indicative of the media's irrelevance: since there are few Orthodox consumers, the argument would assert, there is little need or support for Orthodox media. In contrast to this argument, however, I maintain something close to what the classical music writer quoted above states: "There will always be an audience whose demand for [Christian media] will remain purely functional, immune to fads, buzz, trends, what have you. Will it be smaller than the audience for this month’s pop sensation? Probably. Does that matter? Nope."
Orthodox Christians do not create Bible studies, write and perform music, create podcasts, etc. because we hope for popularity or significant financial profit; we create this media because we are called to provide these materials and resources to glorify God and serve His people. We did not choose these works to build up ourselves; we were chosen by God to build up others. THAT is the impetus for why I create my materials, why the Orthodox Christian Network and Department of Youth Ministry - as well as all the other Orthodox ministry departments and media outlets - exist, and it is where our true concern is to be found. We want to make our work available to as many people as possible, and there are times when the needs and interests of our target demographic - be it increased or decreased - can result in a shift in which specific projects receive time and money, but we will never allow the relatively small size of our audience determine whether we engage in ministry. Each Christian is inestimably valuable in him- or herself, and we are called to serve each person, and thank God for that opportunity.
At the same time, this calling is precisely why Orthodox ministries always strive for growth. We are called to offer our work to as many people as possible, in order to benefit as many people as possible. We believe Orthodox Christianity is a pearl of great value (Matthew 13:45-46), and we give our all in order to share it with others. The point is that we are not to become discouraged, or give up, when we see the fewer number of people who use and respond to our media compared to those who use and respond to other media. Our call is to engage in this work for the benefit of, as the Athanasian Creed says, "Whosoever will be saved," and to thank God for the privilege of serving these people.
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