Faryl Smith, 13, the latest, creepily-photographed prepubescent invention of an increasingly merciless celebrity-industrial complex, has not only been anointed as the "next Charlotte Church"; but has some clear ideas about the nature of her business.
PS That British dude who invented "American Idol" is a fan.
She's right about senior citizens (but then, everybody's old for a 13-year-old) being the core audience of classical. Also, classical's numbers -- in terms of sales -- are notoriously quite sad. As Mr. Tommasini reminds us today in the New York Times, a monster box set of 38 cds priced at an helpful, recession-special deal of US $2.63 per disc (but you just wait for the 40% and 50% off inevitable discounts, post-Xmas), by the most famous conductor in the history of the recording business, might even sell, eventually, in a year or so, 35,000 copies.
Faryl's debut CD -- much, much cheaper than the Herbie box set, of course -- sold 20,000 copies in the first four days.