Gaming Fans Could Save Symphonies

Classical orchestras face shrinking mainstream demand, but audiences formed around film and video‑game music (and the fandoms that go with them) represent a realistic growth path — if orchestras reorient repertoire, presentation, and marketing toward those communities. That pivot raises cultural and political questions about who orchestras are for and how public institutions balance broad accessibility with niche survival. — If public cultural institutions survive by courting niche platformized fandoms, that will reshape funding, programming, and diversity debates across museums, orchestras, and theatres.