MarimbaManiac

I would assume then that you are not the ideal audience for judging the demand for pop culture.

Yes, I think this is the crux of the situation. The financial realities are going to continue to get more complicated, and simply raising the price of tickets isn't going to fix that. Reimagining what the model looks like, and how content is delivered in a way that's worth the cost and accessible, is going to be the real focus. I have seen, or will see, Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service, Two Door Cinema Club, Metric, Kim Petras, Arcade Fire, Pink, Daði Freyr, Dirty Loops, Snarky Puppy, Camera Obscura, Jenny Lewis, and others all for less than $75 in the last year or so, even with Ticketmaster fees. Not to mention I can usually see the BSO for less than that depending on the seats. I'm seeing them play the Turangalila in April and I payed $52 for a front row balcony seat. For someone who sees a LOT of shows, that was a surprising amount.

I'm not arguing any of that, I'm simply arguing the cost/benefit analysis. There exists a financial tipping point where the benefit of seeing corps in person no longer provide a significant enough value to justify the cost, when you can watch the shows for free pretty ubiquitously at home. Again I'll use the cinema analogy...$20 tickets per person, $30 in concessions, parking costs and inconveniences to get to the theater, vs. an essentially free or very cheap experience at home with a lot of the same elements. It just becomes hard to justify. Since the show is somewhat close, I'll probably go watch some lots and then head home. Not exactly what they anticipate when putting something like this together.

Yes, I will be (for free on youtube), as will many other people. Just like we have been doing with movies since the pandemic when people realized watching at home on our large screens and nice sound systems was cheaper and just as good. Movie sales still haven't recovered from that prompting a change in how movies are delivered (more streaming releases). You can be flippant about that, but it just makes the business model less viable as time goes on and people are priced out of attending (or discouraged from attending after a hiatus).

At this particular show, $55 are the lowest tier.

I mean, sure. Everything is more expensive. It just seems like another indicator that the DCI business model isn't exactly working anymore. That cost is prohibitive.

Ok, so full disclosure I haven't been to a show since 2015, and haven't PAID for a show since 2003 in the pocket between when I marched and when I started teaching... ...but I had the urge to look into seeing a local show this summer, and was shocked that a show with 6 corps is $55-$75. HAS THIS BECOME NORMAL? I can see a popular band at Roadrunner or MGM in Boston for that amount. I paid only slightly more to see the Postal Service and Death Cab when they were here in the fall. I'm seeing a slough of shows this Spring with popular groups and NONE of them even are that amount. Needless to say, I'll catch the show online. Just kinda baffled at how crazy prices have become for a non-regional, small show.

Yeah agreed. Depends on the design process of the team. In corps I've been involved with we would try and have at least the opener for all sections during audition camp for them to read through, but some teams like to have the entire show sketched out before they move on to percussion. I'm not really sure how their particular team operates, but horn arrangements would usually be at least the minimum by December.

I believe it was December. Considering the time and energy it requires for music clearances, I would be shocked if they hadn't already decided on a concept, selected music, and sketched out horn arrangements. This is usually work that happens in the off season, and even if the music doesn't make it to the members until the spring camps it's likely been in the works since August. Yeah exactly...this is an early fall discussion. The first round of horn arrangements is likely done by the first camp.

There are like three active threads at a time here, it's off season. No one is following you around, it's not that serious. I just call out people who are peddling BS without any kind of rational support behind it. What's sad is that you're convinced people must have negative intentions to want to expose corruption and mismanagement of an organization they love and have devoted countless hours and energy to.

Got it, so you have no real answer. Believe it or not, most people have enough going on in their lives and aren't hanging on the details of an organization simply because they want to watch them burn, or for their own amusement. For everyone I've actually interacted with in good faith discussions, the only "mission" is to expose the dysfunction and behind the scenes toxic culture that has permeated in the organization for decades. It's because people actually care about the organization and want to see it fixed. I'm sorry that you have such a negative view of people that they only reason you can think of for people to put in the time and energy, and open themselves up to abuse and vitriol, is because they are narcissists, but I think that says more about you than anyone else.

Yeah, again, you haven't been able to adequately state what "mission" people have that would motivate them to speak out against SCV. You just throw out these ill informed comments and then refuse to engage when people question what you're saying. Not a ton of probative value in that, IMHO of course.

...and they frequently have SCV staff and members playing. It's not a set cast, they individually cast each gig and MANY of the gigs use SCV affiliated players.

I mean, Blue Devils have been able to figure that out. I remember being at rehearsals in Santa Clara where the staff were recruiting people to play for Blue Devils entertainment at 49ers games, or Warriors games, or television commercials, or corporate events, or educational clinics, all things that brought BD money while employing SCV staff and members. That's money that could have been going in the VMAPA coffers if they stopped myopically focusing on bingo and tried to diversify. There is money out there to be made for people who are willing to do the leg work.

Great, just passing along the info. No one going that path is ever going to be rich so taking on a ton of debt isn't a good idea. I was lucky enough to get a free masters and PhD but still carried debt from my bachelors and it's not fun!

This is off topic, but just some advice from someone in higher-ed music and has a musically focused Ph.D., keep it cheap. Don't let them go into debt for a Bachelor's degree in music. If they decide to get a Masters, find a program that will cover tuition. There are plenty in the Midwest that have fully supported graduate degrees in the arts.

So basically, their records are such a mess that they can't verify a lot of what they claimed, but they also can't find proof of it NOT being what they claimed either? Weaponized incompetence at its best.

So unless you're marching a top 6 program with tons of resources, your experience will be similar to the performers. You may or may not have your own bus. You might just ride in the front of the member busses or in a van. You will likely have a staff room or area within the housing site, like a band room or cafeteria while the students are in the gym. You will also have communal showers, though at different times than the students, usually during rehearsal. You may or may not have other supervisory duties, though most corps have volunteers or "tour admins" for that. It's highly unlikely that you will have a high-end tour bus unless you're in a massive corps, and you won't be staying in hotels or dorms except in very special circumstances. I would plan on it being pretty much on level with the student experience, except with some more freedom for leaving the housing site, or free time within your schedule. This is all corps dependent, I would ask your admin or caption head.

Exactly...an honest congratulations for getting over the finish line, but there is a big difference between dealing with the actual issues, and limping from one crisis to the next.

Genuinely positive news, and I'm very happy to see it. However, I feel like the organization still struggles with a lack of transparency and accountability that they never dealt with. This outcome, while objectively positive, seems like it happened in spite of the locked down messaging and murky operational procedures that led to this mess in the first place not being fixed. My concern is that without the foundational changes to address this, that they will continue to see issues in the member safety, staff accountability, theft, and financial stability spaces. I genuinely hope that's not the case, but it's something that a lot of people will be watching out for in the future as it's completely possible to successfully alleviate a symptom of dysfunction, without actually addressing the organizational issues that led to that symptom.

Oh yeah I agree. Sustainability applies to more than just financial stability. There are many aspects to it. There is sustainability of culture (a toxic culture will die out and not perpetuate), sustainability of operational processes (poor processes lead to issues that will sink the ship), sustainability of ideology (an ideology/mission statement that is too narrow to resonate with subsequent cohorts will not attract talent). It's not just talking about finances.

If they didn't have millions of dollars of Bingo income, I'd probably agree. However that's a BIG FISH for regulatory officials, so I'd put it at very likely they will pull the plug if VMAPA doesn't follow their requests to the letter.

If SCV folds it will be for utter incompetence from organizational management...

Thanks, you beat me to it. Omitting anyone out of the top 12 is likely indicative of the problem here.

Not surprising when something like 50% of Americans are one missed paycheck, or one major emergency away from homelessness.