Cultural Marketing Strategies for Attracting Young Audiences to Classical Music and Visual Arts in the Digital Era: A Systematic Literature Review (2021–2025)

Abstract

The progressive decline in attendance at classical music concerts and visual arts institutions represents one of the main challenges for contemporary cultural management. Various studies have documented that, over recent decades, the traditional audiences of these disciplines have increasingly concentrated within older age groups, while younger generations display more diversified, fragmented patterns of cultural consumption that are strongly mediated by digital technologies. This phenomenon does not necessarily imply a loss of interest in artistic culture; rather, it reflects a profound transformation in the ways art is accessed, appropriated, and experienced within contemporary socio-technological contexts.

Within this scenario, cultural institutions such as symphony orchestras, museums, cultural centers, and universities face the challenge of redefining their communication, mediation, and cultural marketing strategies in order to connect with new audiences. Younger generations, particularly Millennials and Generation Z, tend to prioritize interactive, accessible, and socially relevant cultural experiences, as well as forms of cultural consumption linked to digital platforms, social media, and multimedia environments. This transformation requires a reconsideration of traditional models of cultural dissemination, which have historically relied on ritualized in-person formats and one-directional communication strategies.

Against this backdrop, the present article analyzes cultural marketing strategies aimed at the development of young audiences through a systematic review of recent scientific literature published between 2021 and 2025. To ensure methodological rigor, the PRISMA protocol (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) was applied, a framework widely used in interdisciplinary research for the identification, selection, and analysis of relevant studies in international academic databases. Through this process, 35 studies related to cultural marketing, digital cultural participation, innovation in cultural institutions, arts education, and audience development were examined.

The analysis of the literature identified four main strategic dimensions that are transforming cultural management practices in the fields of classical music and the visual arts. The first dimension corresponds to the digitalization of cultural marketing, including the use of streaming platforms, social media, short-form audiovisual content, and digital communication strategies to expand the reach of cultural institutions. The second dimension relates to the development of immersive experiences and the use of emerging technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and gamification, which enable new forms of interaction between audiences and artistic works. The third dimension focuses on active participation and co-creation with audiences, promoting models of cultural mediation in which spectators move from being passive recipients to active participants in cultural experiences. Finally, the fourth dimension identifies processes of interdisciplinary recontextualization of classical music and the visual arts through integration with other artistic disciplines, contemporary narratives, and digital technologies.

The findings of the review suggest that the digital transformation of cultural institutions, the democratization of access to artistic content, and the design of participatory cultural experiences constitute key factors for the sustainability of cultural organizations in the twenty-first century. Furthermore, the analyzed literature indicates that the development of young audiences does not depend solely on promotional or dissemination strategies, but rather on a structural transformation in cultural management models, which involves rethinking the ways art is produced, mediated, and circulated in increasingly digitalized societies.

Based on these results, the study proposes an integrative conceptual model for the development of young audiences in the fields of classical music and visual arts, which articulates strategies of digital innovation, cultural participation, and interdisciplinary mediation. This model aims to contribute to the academic debate on the transformation of cultural management policies and practices, as well as to provide strategic guidance for cultural institutions, universities, and organizations dedicated to the promotion of the arts in contemporary contexts.