ShortAndFast Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 to be true to the topic of things we think but never say:Just how stable are the corps....monies tight, donations down, corporate sponsorships will dry up next year as budgets have or will be shortly cut due to the economic turn down, remember most sponsorships were funded with budgets drawn up in 2008.... too many corps are carring debt that might get too burdensome But alas, we never want to hear that or talk about it as it always becomes a bashing contest if any corps is mentioned? I agree that there is real risk of some corps in serious money trouble in the next 12 months. Donations, corporate sponsorships and grants are down across the board in the arts, and it's hard to believe that the drum corps world is immune to this. If the estimate of 14K paid finals tickets is correct, then DCI itself likely has a sizable operating shortfall this year. A lot of the expenses of a world class corps are pretty fixed: food/transportation/housing for 150 members, 15K mile tours, salaries for large design and instructional staff, etc. It's not like you can opt out of those and still be a top 12 world class corps. This makes the finances of a corps fairly brittle, as there's no easy way for them to cut back to a lower-cost model for a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueorginal Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 I agree that there is real risk of some corps in serious money trouble in the next 12 months. Donations, corporate sponsorships and grants are down across the board in the arts, and it's hard to believe that the drum corps world is immune to this. If the estimate of 14K paid finals tickets is correct, then DCI itself likely has a sizable operating shortfall this year.A lot of the expenses of a world class corps are pretty fixed: food/transportation/housing for 150 members, 15K mile tours, salaries for large design and instructional staff, etc. It's not like you can opt out of those and still be a top 12 world class corps. This makes the finances of a corps fairly brittle, as there's no easy way for them to cut back to a lower-cost model for a few years. I agree, the only way that corps will be able to maintain is to find alternative revenue streams, now thats the tricky part, some of the obvious will be figuring the budget shortfall and passing the added cost to higher Corps Fee's and the other logical way is to increase the corps performance fees to the show promoters. Then the next level of budget they can control is to lower the amount of funds for flags, props, guard uniforms so we could see alot more basic off the rack guard wear as well as off the rack flags, Corps also could opt (if not already) charge the members additional for their show shoes. Then there will be staff cuts more so on travel/hotel expenses by not having the "big names" around that much more online meetings less in person, techs will be pushed back to working harder and asked to donate time in lieu of meals on the road etc. Food Services will be scaled back to basics and less "treats" of bbq's steaks etc.... Equipment will be nursed and used longer....alumnis will be approached for more donations.... but in the end if the promoters can't get sponsors, get free housing, low cost venues and people to buy the tickets the corps won't have anywhere to go...... so would that force DCI to have a summer of regionals with only the few strong independant promoters hosting shows inbetween them? There's going to be a ripple effect just wonder if it will be a pebble or a boulder making it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plan9 Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Run another musical or artistic competition and use "popularity" as a major criteria, and Britney Spears and the Jonas Brothers will win all the time. After all, they're more popular than almost anyone else.Crown didn't win because they weren't exhibiting the same excellence across the board as BD. Were they weaker in percussion? Yes. Weaker in visual execution? Yes. Weaker in guard design and execution? Yes. Horns, it's a toss up. So there's one category out of four in which they were on the same level as BD, and yet some seem to think they should have gotten extra credit because their Aunt Sally thought "that Tinkerbell thing was cute..." and "I didn't like some of that squawking music in Blue Devils show." It has nothing to do with what Aunt Sally thinks is cute or fun or endearing. It has to do with the ambition of the program and the execution of said program. I'd rather see excellence in thought and execution rewarded than lowest common denominator appeal. Doesn't mean the more populist shows aren't fun to watch, but I don't want to see them rewarded just because they're fun, especially if it means that others who are executing better get punished as a result. This! The following comment does not refer to this post: I would also like to suggest that the words "Everyone" or "No One" are quantifiable terms. So...if you say "Everyone thought they sucked" or "No one liked LOS" just to make your point, understand that those are impossible terms to quantify. A more believeable approach is "IMO, there were a lot of people that....." I'm not telling anyone how to respond, I'm simply suggesting that in Drum Corps (or any subjective competition) there are no absolutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 You know, I've enjoyed Crown's shows for almost this entire decade, but posts like this make me feel like the organization must be doing something terribly wrong to produce supporters with such attitudes. Did you notice at retreat how BD's horn line applauded when Crown won high brass? You might consider displaying a similar amount of graciousness towards a corps that had a lot of excellence this summer, regardless of whether you enjoyed their show or not. Yeeeaaaahhhhh, just like they did finals night '08... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plan9 Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Yeeeaaaahhhhh, just like they did finals night '08... That is not correct. It was discussed a year ago and it was not BD. You saying it, doesn't remotely make it so. Nice try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Getintoyourcolor Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Run another musical or artistic competition and use "popularity" as a major criteria, and Britney Spears and the Jonas Brothers will win all the time. After all, they're more popular than almost anyone else.Crown didn't win because they weren't exhibiting the same excellence across the board as BD. Were they weaker in percussion? Yes. Weaker in visual execution? Yes. Weaker in guard design and execution? Yes. Horns, it's a toss up. So there's one category out of four in which they were on the same level as BD, and yet some seem to think they should have gotten extra credit because their Aunt Sally thought "that Tinkerbell thing was cute..." and "I didn't like some of that squawking music in Blue Devils show." It has nothing to do with what Aunt Sally thinks is cute or fun or endearing. It has to do with the ambition of the program and the execution of said program. I'd rather see excellence in thought and execution rewarded than lowest common denominator appeal. Doesn't mean the more populist shows aren't fun to watch, but I don't want to see them rewarded just because they're fun, especially if it means that others who are executing better get punished as a result. And yet, the point is still... Why can't these very talented Program Coordinators create shows that are both excellent and popular. Is it really that hard? Or is just that somewhere along the line people decided that those two ideas could not coexist.... IMO, there is NOTHING wrong with making popularity a major factor in judging. The activity should be trying to bring more people in, not alienate folks because they could not understand what they saw on the field. Congrats to BD but lots of folks could not understand why they won this year. No bashing.... just didn't get it. No such problem with PR a year ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesjones0611 Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Man, I really wish people wouldn't trash on the members/organization of Crown for the things that a couple of idiotic fans say. Because ANYONE who has been around Crown knows that the kids and staff are among the classiest out there. Its sad to see their reputation tarnished by some overzealous fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 And yet, the point is still...Why can't these very talented Program Coordinators create shows that are both excellent and popular. Is it really that hard? Or is just that somewhere along the line people decided that those two ideas could not coexist.... IMO, there is NOTHING wrong with making popularity a major factor in judging. The activity should be trying to bring more people in, not alienate folks because they could not understand what they saw on the field. Congrats to BD but lots of folks could not understand why they won this year. No bashing.... just didn't get it. No such problem with PR a year ago. They do create shows that are excellent and popular. All the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 They do create shows that are excellent and popular. All the time. just not year after year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skewerz Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 1. BD was boring 2. Cavies were boring 3. Spirit of BOA...'nuff said 4. Phantom played the best jazz of the year 5. I want more synths..more mic's...more amps 6. Get rid of all the speakers... 7. LOS had more boom than RCA 8. Music is MORE important than drill that's enough for now 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.