cixelsyd

I agree (twice).

You know, this is a serious and touchy topic. I hope that is not your sincere suggestion. Taken to its ultimate conclusion, with all corps following your advice and running band circuits engaging in cutthroat competition with one another, we would likely alienate some portion of the band community and the drum corps activity as a whole would lose out. Finding it hard to believe that while there is space at local HS venues, MetLife has no space for a single corps to set up a little recruiting booth. Or more accurately, they have just enough space to allow Cadets a recruiting booth, and nobody else. If there really are so many vendors demanding space in MetLife, then there should be no recruiting booths in the stadium. Also finding it hard to believe that the same discussion board that so vigorously defends the right of marchers to move from corps to corps (contrary to traditional release rules) is now opposed to allowing the corps an equal opportunity to recruit. Seriously, for an activity that has evolved so far in cooperative effort, that cooperative attitude must extend to recruiting practices too. Cadets2 are now a member corps in DCA. I do not think it is unreasonable to ask that they engage in fair recruiting practices with their fellow DCA member corps. Ties with band circuits should be used to increase your own recruiting potential, not to decrease that of other corps. I would not condone any corps using their ties with a band circuit to exclude all other corps from recruiting at major shows in that band circuit. I do not care whether it is Cadets/USBands, Buccaneers/Cavalcade, or Bushwackers in the new band circuit you suggest they create... they should all behave like the adults we claim to include in the all-age activity.

And if you add the kids whose school commitments conflict with corps season continuing until Labor Day weekend, what do you have then? Honestly, we have already seen TBT recruit successfully in both DCI (a dozen years ago) and DCA, so either could work.

Generally, no. But it is up to the arranger and the corps that hires him to stipulate what is "necessary". That can vary a great deal depending on who is expected to make mid-season adjustments, whether the arranger takes on any instructional role, and so forth.

There was no copyright infringement. The problem was that synch rights would have been prohibitively expensive.

For championships, sure. For other shows, that is debatable. Is there some indispensable service being performed "for the good of the activity" when MBI or CV appears at a regular season show in the Northeast? Not that I am aware of. They make those appearances because they are highly competitive DCA corps, seeking a level of competition that they are not exposed to in their own home region... and they have enough people willing to take on the additional commitment of one more long weekend trip, with the time off work and the added fundraising that entails. Northeastern corps have competition at all levels in their own region, and thus are not compelled to leave the area just to find other corps in their peer group. Rather than compel even more corps to travel out of region, I would rather see corps travel less. I would rather see Midwest corps like Kilties strengthen so that MBI has the option of staying home and still facing competitive challenges. I would rather see South corps like Carolina Gold, Alliance, etc., strengthen so that CV has the option of staying home and still facing competitive challenges. I would rather see growth to the point where not a single DCA corps is geographically isolated from competitive peers. Now, my understanding is that DCA has a free market model for booking corps into shows. If I have this correct, there is nothing stopping a Midwest or South show host from simply offering an Northeastern corps however much money it will take to entice them to travel out of region. Since that is not already happening, that tells me that people better informed than me have decided it is not worth the expense to bring Northeastern corps to Midwest or South shows. For that to change, those of you advocating for it need to change the math with some combination of increased marketing and/or financial support, such that it becomes feasible for a non-NE show host to attract a NE corps.

Why was this not an issue with Academy last year?

He has arranged for multiple corps in the past, but I doubt any of them were in such close competition with each other as Colts and Crossmen are likely to be in 2014. Then again, the 1st and 2nd place corps in 1972 had the same brass arranger...

Cute - but since prelims were in a different venue, the only previous performances in Olympic Stadium were those of Alliance and the Chatelaines.

Maybe I missed a post along the way. Did anyone explain how it is "for the good of the activity" to have corps travel more?

We sure did in 2004. Crown was the first to make entensive use of amplified voice, performing with amplified singers in one song, and staging an entire drum solo with beat poetry recited throughout. The hair-on-fire reactions I heard in person and online were right up there with "drum corps died in 1971". Today, in year 10 of amplified voice, it is pretty clearly here to stay, so complaints no longer reflect the hyperbolic desire to repeal the change. But the quantity of complaining remains in proportion to the extent of usage. Crown used a lot of amplified voice in 2013, and they received a lot of negative comments about it. Sorry, but he is dead wrong. Crown has never gotten "an instant pass on everything". Not in 2004. Not in 2007, when people jumped all over them the instant they added that racetrack commentary. And not in 2013. In your own words, Crown got hammered here this year. I rest my our case.

Not trying to judge. He should do what is right for him. The same applies to each of us. The only reason I posted was in reaction to one part of his post where it seemed like he expects the rest of us to be supportive of drum corps regardless of our feelings and circumstances. I probably read too much into that sentence. Frankly, the vibe I get from Keith a couple of posts later is that he feels conflicted primarily from reading negative opinions here on DCP. Sounds like he still has some interest. Maybe he should try the Fan Network or YouTube for that occasional drum corps "fix" rather than a discussion group with a wide, discordant spectrum of opinions.

The fall meeting does not address rule changes - those only happen at the Janual.

As it would be a different product, it would require a separate license. Licensing cost is the killer for a short run product. If the quantity is too small, sales revenue might not even cover the minimum licensing fee.

No, the BOA list also takes synch rights into account. BOA films and sells video for every single one of their events; that service is part of their revenue equation.

Where have you been? From 2004 to 2013, they have gotten their fair share of negative feedback for vocals, in proportion to their usage. We just had a thread created post-season to bash the spoken parts in the ballad. They get no "pass" here.

Well, yes. You tell the rest of us to support modern drum corps regardless of our own personal feelings, but you cannot even follow your own advice?

Yes, but they should be working with DCI to avoid music with known rights problems. DCI should have a no-play list like BOA does, so that corps are notified in advance not to use songs that will cause such issues. And this raises another point. Corps who select troublesome music should lose their cut of DCI sales for products on which they could not be included as a result. I will bet corps would pay more attention to mech/synch rights if this policy was in place.

That is odd. Apparently, the problem must be confined to top 12 corps. Products like the OC and WC volume 2 DVDs are not limited to US customers.

Since it would better suit your semantics, change my quote to "The individual corps is not first and foremost a business... ". The point is that creation of revenue is not the raison d'etre for a drum corps. Looking for ways to create revenue is certainly one of numerous businesslike practices that we would agree are wise for a drum corps to do. But while a drum corps can be run like a business, business is not the primary reason or cause for which it exists.

Because you must decide for yourself whether it is "worth it". Even while one corps in Nashville decided "no", 40 other groups of people all over the country must think it is worthwhile, as they are still running DCI corps. All this talk of drum corps business tactics tends to cause us to lose sight of a basic characteristic of drum corps. The individual corps is not really a business - it is essentially a team competing in an amateur sport. Like any other amateur team (and honestly, even some pro teams), their venture is not inherently profitable. The only reason the team (corps) survives is because the competition attracts people to donate their time, effort, and money to the quest for competitive achievement. It has been that way since drum corps competition began, and it is not going to change. It helps to consider certain business ideas and practices in running a corps. But no amount of business sense will transform the individual drum corps into a profit center. Even in the event of an improved business scenario (lower fuel prices, larger crowds, etc.), corps would use all that money, and still solicit more from donors and supporters to get an edge over their rivals. That is the nature of the competitive beast. One thing your 990 analysis demonstrated was that no matter what kind of "business model" an individual corps has, they all have one thing in common - they all solicit donations. Charitable giving (and often, charitable gaming) are staples of drum corps funding. That is why 501c3 status is a standard part of the drum corps organizational model. History shows that many corps have gotten caught up in the drive for competitive success for a time, expended massive effort and funds, had great experiences, and at some point failed to keep coming back year after year. Meanwhile, there are others that are still here. That is not surprising. For some, the competitive aspect is the dealmaker, and they stay as long as they have a goal to pursue. Others enjoy the process, and they will return regardless of competitive outcomes or outlooks. The longevity of a corps hinges on how many of their people have an enduring interest in performing the work that a drum corps entails.

I would suggest you append the OC information to what you have already compiled on the WC corps. For one thing, it is an essential comparison. And of course, keeping it separate will get the thread moved to the OC forum, which no one reads outside of the first two weeks in August.

I see you left Carolina Crown out of that list.

From what I remember, the rain started in the second half of the Freelancers show, and continued as Sky Ryders came on next. I think it stopped before the next corps (SCV). The Valley Fever uniform from 1983 on was a white top and grey pants. Maroon trim might disappear on low resolution video and leave them looking as you describe. They did wear tan/brown shirts in earlier years.

So we have shifted marketing focus from corps participants to the much larger pool of marching band kids, yet attendance has slipped lower? Must be some other factor(s) in play, then.