New DCP Owner Announced

Drum Corps Planet announced its new owner today with an open letter to the membership from John Donovan. John took the opportunity to introduce himself and answer a number of questions that have been posed during the 60 transition period since the sale of DCP and its family of sites was announced, shortly after Thanksgiving.

TO: The DrumCorpsPlanet / ColorGuardPlanet / MarchingBandPlanet Community

I’d like to take this opportunity to finally introduce myself as the new owner of Drum Corps Planet and the DCP family of sites. I’ve been a fan of the drum corps and pageantry activities for quite some time, a parent of two sons that participated in a DCI Div III corps then aged-out of DCI Div I, a trumpet soloist in a championship high school program taught by a legendary music teacher, and an active performing arts supporter. I’ve been an entrepreneur and successful businessman, primarily in the telecom technology industry, and worked with clients and partners around the world. In the past couple of years, I decided to slow things down professionally and was looking for something more-fulfilling to put my time and energy into. The DCP opportunity came along at the right time.

Over the past few years, I had the honor of serving as a member, then eventually President of the Board of Directors of BD Performing Arts – the organization behind The Blue Devils. It was an incredible experience and it gave me a unique insight into the activity, the dedication of the people involved, and the difficult challenges that the corps and guard (large and small) around the country face. One of the reasons for the delay in making the announcement about the ownership change was that I felt it was necessary to remove any potential conflict-of-interest concerns that could exist with my involvement with both DCP and the Blue Devils. To that end, I removed my name from consideration for another term on the board at the recent annual meeting, completed my Board duties, and can now serve the drum corps community in a new and exciting way.

Each and every one of us have our personal favorites and allegiances … and I’m still a Blue Devils fan. However, I must emphasize that beyond that – I’m MORE a fan of the great activities, people, and history the DCP family of sites support and the ways these activities positively influence young peoples’ lives year-after-year. My attention has now broadened to the activity as a whole and supporting and improving the DCP community.

I’ve put together answers to some of the questions that have been raised since the sale was announced. Hopefully, you’ll find the answers you’re looking for and be as excited about the future of the DCP community as my team and I are.

Q: What is going to change?
A: Our first priority is to ensure that the community is on a sound technical and financial foundation – which are some of the core skills and resources that we bring to the table. As we better understand the needs of the entire DCP membership and community, we’ll be adding services, features, and more content to the sites. Our first step will be to develop a new and improved look-n-feel for the sites – which will help provide the foundation for improvements over the coming months. Our goal is to grow and enhance what are already the premier information and community / discussion sites in the drum corps, marching band, and color guard activities.

Q. Are we going to be asked to ‘donate’ to the site to keep the doors open?
A: I’m fully committed to making these sites self-sustaining in the next year and prepared to fund the operations for the time that it takes to get there. We’ve done our due diligence and are satisfied that we understand the commitment that is required to sustain the sites’ operations. Just so there’s no misunderstanding – DCP and its related sites are NOT non-profit or membership-owned and funded organizations. We’ll be working with people in the activity and related businesses to build a base of sponsorship to fund the sites’ activities and growth.

Q. What about the confidentiality of my personal information – including name, email address, other contact info, etc.?
A. We will continue the Drum Corps Planet Privacy Policy and the terms as described on the site’s “Privacy Policy” page. To review the published Policy, please read the privacy page on DCP: . Should any changes to this Privacy Policy be required for some reason in the future (legislation, for instance), our members will be notified well in-advance of the Policy change.

Q. Will the new owners take an active part in the day-to-day activities of the site?
A. There are many talented people filling the roles of editors and forum support team members and we hope many of them continue their roles and support of DCP. My intention is not to be the news editor or administrator of the site’s news features and forums – but rather to set high standards for professionalism and conduct. Initially, we’ll be focused on ensuring the sites’ growth and finding ways to improve the features, services, and benefits of the community. Partnerships with others in the various activities we support will be explored and considered, in the hopes of finding new sources of information and content for the sites. New channels and methods for collecting, presenting, and delivering that information will also be explored and expanded. Sponsors and advertisers from within the activities we support will be sought to help fund the operation and growth of the sites. There’s plenty of work to do for everyone.

Q: Ok – so what about in the future?
A: We’re excited about many of the positive things that are happening in the DCP community and want to explore new ideas and ways to make the sites even more accessible to a wider audience, while offering our members and guests more information about the activities that we’re all passionate about. As members of this site, we don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize what we already enjoy. There will be changes made as we go along, always with an objective for improvement. We hope you’ll support these improvements that are implemented over time and our efforts to improve the site’s focus and dedication to the activities we support. Input from our members will certainly be considered as we make our decisions.

Q. And what about George – will he continue to be involved?
A. I have a great deal of respect for the contribution that George Dixon has made to this community. Without his investment of time and money over the past 4 years, DCP would not exist as it does today. Going forward, George has graciously agreed to assist with on-going technical support, but only if so-requested. We see this plan as the best way of ensuring that there are no technical issues with the sites as the transition continues and that things continue to run smoothly. I’d like to thank George for his vision, his commitment, and his concern for the well-being and preservation of the community …and appreciate the trust he’s put in us to take the DCP vision to the next level.

Thank you, in-advance, for your continued support of and participation in this community. We look forward to working with the entire DCP/CGP/MBP community to make this THE premier site in the activity – the one you’ll look-to regularly for the latest news and information, the source for up-to-the-minute statistics, polls, and reviews from around the country, the place to go to engage in lively, engaging discussion about the activity, and one that sponsors will be proud to support.

I’m excited to be a part of this vibrant community and helping it grow …

Let’s get the show on the road!

John M Donovan
DCP Partners, LLC
Managing Partner and Publisher