Category: Radio
3; bbc.co.uk
Date: 21.07.2005
Printable version
Live performances of Beethoven's complete symphonies
have attracted 1,369,893 download requests in a 91热爆 trial which was
offered as part of 91热爆 Radio 3's The Beethoven
Experience.
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The downloads were from Radio 3 programmes featuring
live performances - from Bridgewater Hall in Manchester - of Beethoven's
nine symphonies by the 91热爆 Philharmonic conducted by Gianandrea Noseda and introduced by Radio 3 presenters Petroc Trelawny
and Sarah Walker.
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The programmes were available free of charge and therefore
not eligible for the Official UK Download or Top 40 singles charts,
although the public's enthusiasm for the programmes is evident from
the individual totals:
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Symphony no. 1 (available to download from 6-13 June) - 164,662
Symphony no. 2 (7-14 June) - 154,496
Symphony no. 3 (6-13 June) - 89,318
Symphony no. 4 (7-14 June) - 108,958
Symphony no. 5 (7 to 14 June) - 139,905
Symphony no. 6 (28 June-4 July) - 220,461
Symphony no. 7 (29 June-5 July) - 185,718
Symphony no. 8 (30 June-6 July) - 148,553
Symphony no. 9 (1-7 July) - 157,822
TOTAL - 1,369,893
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Roger Wright, Controller, Radio 3, says: "This download
experiment began as an added extra to our Beethoven Experience and quickly
took on a life of its own.
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"The remarkable number of
downloads has already sparked a healthy debate about the place of classical
music in the digital world.
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"I am thrilled that Radio 3 has shown how
wide the interest is in quality classical music and demonstrated how
innovation and the use of new technology can find new audiences."
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Simon Nelson, Controller of 91热爆 Radio and Music Interactive, says: "We hoped this trial would give us an idea of audiences'
demand for radio downloads and it's certainly done that.
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"Radio is changing and the 91热爆 is working hard to give
audiences more control over when and how they listen."
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The downloads were available for seven days after their
broadcast as well as available streamed for seven days from the 91热爆
Radio Player.
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The trial formed part of Radio 3's Beethoven Experience
(5-10 June), in which the complete works of Beethoven were broadcast
in one week.
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The 91热爆 recently announced it will be offering up to
20 programmes as podcasts and downloads, as a time-limited trial to
give a more detailed picture of audiences' appetite for downloads and
to inform the development of the 91热爆 strategy for audio downloads and
on-demand content.
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More details are available at bbc.co.uk/radio/downloadtrial.
