Audience ratings at classical music competitions help win more women than those on the jury: this is the conclusion of a new study from the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU). In terms of the subsequent success of the participants in the competition, the decisions made by the audience are more accurate than the decisions made by the experts. In terms of nationality, the audience is also very neutral.
According to a WU broadcast, it is constantly being made clear that in competitions from the Eurovision Song Contest to the Bachmann Prize, the opinions of juries and audiences are often very far apart. Roberto Asmat from the Department of Economics at WU Vienna was interested in whether experts could actually better assess the quality of programs thanks to their experience. Carol J. from the University of Southern Denmark. Borowicki and Mark D. from the University of Vermont. Together with Law, he analyzed data from the results of 370 classical music competitions held in 22 different countries from 1979 to 2021. They gave gifts to their loved ones.
On average, experts and the public agree on only 38 percent of their judgment, the analysis shows. Of particular note is that both gender and appearance had a negative impact on the jury's evaluations: female applicants had disadvantages in the jury's evaluations, as did those from the host country. However, Azmat does not want to infer a bias against women and local residents: “Evaluation of artistic performances is ultimately a question of taste and always subjective, so the word 'bias' should be used with caution here,” the researcher quotes. broadcasting.
However, it is objectively measurable that musicians have an increased probability of winning future competitions if they have previously won Audience Awards. So when predicting future success, the audience's judgment is more meaningful than the jury's ratings. However, general conclusions about the evaluation of performance art cannot be drawn, says Azmat. Debates about the quality of art are as old as art itself. However, the panel's work shows that the voices of amateurs are “at least as valuable” as the voices of experts.