mad_scotty Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 All businesses (drum corps or not) should always review (as one area) payroll/compensation/related paid personnel perks, etc., as the first "fat cutting" area. First priority should always be to take care of the membership's basic needs; sound and safe travel, good food, etc.,.......everything else is secondary. The members should always come first. clearly you've never run a business. you don't screw your own people over as the first cost cutting exercise. not if you want to be around 5 years from now. should making sure the members are well fed and taken care of on tour be the first concern? absolutely, but your staff are your family too, you need to take care of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kekkles Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 If your neighbor loses their job, it's a recession. If you lose your job, it's a depression. Perception is reality. And right now, the perception is that we are in a recession. In a market economy, markets are driven by fear (down) or greed (up). Right now, we are in a overall fear mode, caused by the greed (speculation) in the oil markets. lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygwm Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 (edited) Well, there had been a push to increase membreship to something like 150, which requied another bus. Maybe get back to fewer members? How about fewer staff? Boy, I marched in the 80's and we managed with a few section heads and didn't have multiple staff for each section. There are more visual staff now than all staff combined back in the day!Directors are now traveling in mobile home-type vehicles, and flying back-and-forth. What happened to the staff bus? The activity is for the kids, right? Maybe more regional tours the first half of the summer, a shorter season, and then finals? The crunch is for those corps a real didtance from Indianapolis. Bottom line? There are so many ways to cut costs. Drum corps will manage! I disagree. Yes, there is some fat to cut for some corps. However, I'm not sure eliminating the staff RV is going to make the difference between a corps making it or not. And as for the multiple staff for each section? As opposed to design staff, most techs aren't paid particularly well to begin with. They're there for the experience, not the money. And dramatic staff cuts will affect the educational experience. Ultimately, if the price of fuel stays where it is, we WILL lose corps in the upcoming couple years. The only unknown is which ones. Expenses are way up and revenues (i.e. ticket sales) are off substantially. Shows have been cut. Traditional fundraising (i.e. bingo) is hurting. It simply isn't a sustainable business model. Would a return to regional tours work? Well, it would dramatically cut the number of performance opportunities (thus impacting the quality of the experience for members) and wouldn't particularly help corps outside the geographic clusters. Corps like Troopers, Crossmen etc are going to be burning tons of fuel regardless. Sorry for my "half empty" outlook but unless there are some improvements to the general economy (fuel costs, consumer confidence, etc.) this situation isn't going to get better and will dramatically change, if not kill, this activity. Edited July 13, 2008 by Phillygwm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick Stack Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 (edited) If your neighbor loses their job, it's a recession. If you lose your job, it's a depression. Perception is reality. And right now, the perception is that we are in a recession. In a market economy, markets are driven by fear (down) or greed (up). Right now, we are in a overall fear mode, caused by the greed (speculation) in the oil markets. I disagree that perception equals reality. For example, someone who is anorexic often has the perception that they are fat, therefore they eat less and less, when, in actuality, they may already be well underweight. Their fear drives them to make unhealthy decisions. Their perception is seriously skewed with reality. I do agree that the common perception is that we are in a recession. And, unfortunately, unlike my example, this is probably either closer to the truth or soon to become very similar with reality for everyone. I just hope that THIS fear does not drive people to make poor decisions. Does anyone know the specifics on how this is affecting corps as it is and what they are doing currently to offset the costs? Edited July 13, 2008 by Stick Stack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Drum corps is in serious trouble. More than you think , way more than those that just sit on the internet and whine think. Having been away the past two weeks and attending four East coast shows in that time, I will tell you: Attendane is down in a big way. Fuel and food costs are major concerns. Many also feel the entertainment value is NOT worth the effort. Many who know about electronics next year wont be attending shows. Again, sales for Allentown as of Friday are very "worrisome" as someone on the commitee who I have known for years said. Many good ideas and statements in this thread. Its true, some corps staff are larger than some small corps. How many folks on staff on the 82 Blue Devils ?? Raising membership to 150 ? Totally absurd from any point of view. From Design to economic, not a good idea at all. Big trouble ahead. Geoffrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffe77 Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 I have to agree that the short term solution, at least for next season will be for a regional format. Have the West Coast Corps, Eastern, etc just tour in their respective regions. Then towards the end of July make the trek towards Indy with Regionals and smaller comps on the way. Out here in SoCal we only get to see BD, SCV, etc 2-3 times early in the season. It would be nice to see them towards the middle of the season when their shows are a little more complete. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medeabrass Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Not just Drum Corps. Look at what is happening to the entire country. Can you say depression? No, because the economy is still growing albeit at a much slower rate than we're used to. I'd wait for a textbook recession before I'd even think about chicken little statements like that. Feel free to bump this thread and call me an idiot once a true depression occurs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medeabrass Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Raising membership to 150 ? Totally absurd from any point of view. From Design to economic, not a good idea at all. Big trouble ahead. Geoffrey I agree with most of your post accept the above statement. The increase to 150 is BECAUSE of economics. If the coaches are going to be hauled around with empty seats on them, that's a lost opportunity for revenue from dues. I would think the initial costs of instrumentation/equipment for these members would be offset over time. I'm also assuming that these 15 extra kids aren't going to be able to eat their way through their $2500 in dues. The additional $30,000-$45,000 from dues revenue isn't going to offset increased fuel costs completely, but I think they're trying to find as many different avenues to make money as possible. Who knows, maybe DCs will start having a fire sale on microphones and electronic equipment to raise funds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newseditor44 Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Like Ryan, I hate to be the one to yell "the sky is falling", but it is. Unless we see a dramatic turn on fuel and food prices (which we won't, even if the bubble bursts), this could (and probably will) be one of our last good years of drum corps. I would say there will be no less than three corps that will go inactive next season, and that's probably a low estimate. If the economy continues to struggle, the activity itself will be forced to go on hiatus in the next five years. The money isn't there, and things are going to get much worse before they can get better. DCI is going to be put into a position where they will need to do what's best for the individual organizations before they break the bank for a costly national tour. If they put the activity on hiatus for a year it might help curb some of the problems. Yes it's drastic, but these are drastic times. Folks, this isn't going to be an ordinary or light recession. It's about to get really bad... to the likes of which we haven't seen in 80 years. We are all about to learn that there are more important things than drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newseditor44 Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 (edited) No, because the economy is still growing albeit at a much slower rate than we're used to. I'd wait for a textbook recession before I'd even think about chicken little statements like that. Feel free to bump this thread and call me an idiot once a true depression occurs. Really? You're kidding right? Award winning economists are screaming (and have been for quite sometime) that despite the growth (which is minimal), we are in a full blown recession. I don't need a textbook to tell me that my savings account is lighter, that my investments and 401k are hurting, that the dollar is about as worthless as the paper it's printed on, the government is bailing out Freddy and Fanny, banks are failing, and that moving trucks are frequenting my neighborhood because family after family is being foreclosed on. I don't know that we will get to a depression, but for the first time in my life I am truly scared for myself and my family. I don't need a textbook to tell me that we are in a recession, but feel free to wait for that chapter to be printed. While you're waiting, I'll go ahed and call it... We're in a recession! Edited July 14, 2008 by Newseditor44 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.