Jeff Ream Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 2009 was the 4th most profitable finals ever for DCI (from their own reporting) - I don't see how that's hurt business. If 250,000 summer tickets are sold and the individual events are profitable, does it really matter if it's backloaded on the end of the season or distributed evenly throughout?Mike well......more local shows, more options to reach out to more people than just the every weekend super regional that happens now every week starting in July. I mean even this year, because of San Antonio, you took a 10-15k crowd, and maybe got the same 7,000 people both days. that had to hurt. But....I wonder what total attendance was before super regionals, and with far more local shows options. I know many people that began the caravan from Allentown to wherever every year, and now more and more people are staying away from Indy. So it's possible people who used to buy tickets to several shows are now seeing their super regional, and not following the tour afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetman1287 Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 (edited) Very tough to determine where the activity is at without raw numbers. Lots of people say "It was much bigger back in the day" but is that a perception? Where are the financials to support it? "Oh, there were at least 40K when I marched finals"....not enough evidence IMO. There are less corps, but that's because the traditional 18 y/o kid is marching in a HS group, not a drum corps. Edited September 2, 2010 by jetman1287 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmboy Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Forgive a rookie question, but I'm curious about the fall-off in popularity over time. Take a show like Allentown, which I gather has been going on continuously for many, many years. What was the attendance 30 years ago? 20 years ago? 10 years ago? What were the ticket prices in those years? The crowds to me, as a newcomer, look impressive, but I have no idea what they were back in the day. Or is it the number of shows, rather than attendance at the ones still going, that has dropped off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmboy Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 sorry for the repetition--didn't see that the same question had just been asked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Forgive a rookie question, but I'm curious about the fall-off in popularity over time. Take a show like Allentown, which I gather has been going on continuously for many, many years. What was the attendance 30 years ago? 20 years ago? 10 years ago? What were the ticket prices in those years? The crowds to me, as a newcomer, look impressive, but I have no idea what they were back in the day. Or is it the number of shows, rather than attendance at the ones still going, that has dropped off? prices period were lower, like for everything in life. I do remember some Allentown crowds stretching well down past the end zones, and even people sitting on the hills. But...you also had a lot more corps, from which came a lot more alumni that stayed as fans. as more corps died, you had fewer alums to bring back as fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Here's the thing about art. Often, it is only appealing or even interesting to the artist and a few like minded people. In drum corps, if you want to get butts in the seats, it's best to stick with the visceral entertainment that will get the average fan off their duff and throwing babies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmFlag61 Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 (edited) "...people outside the activity..."? Once upon a time, there were LOTS of them at shows. They came to be entertained (I know that's a Politically Incorrect word these days) at a fairly affordable price (Corps budgets were much less). I remember shows where stands on both sides of the Field were packed! These "outsiders" want to enjoy themselves, not to be musically challenged, unlike we "insiders" who have watched this activity grow into something we could have never imagined. IMO, local/regional shows could be a good way of bringing them in. Edited September 2, 2010 by AmFlag61 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyDad Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Well, I'm sure to offend some of you with this, so let me say I'm sorry right up front for this rant: I'm sorry, but here we go with yet another Hopkins tome. Long winded and incomprehensible. Is George REALLY looking for input? Really? Or is this just another setup for yet another of his ideas that he wants? I do not get the impression that Hop takes input or internalizes feedback. So, this comes off as disingenuous to me. What's the big mystery? Why can't we attact "outside" people? Are you seriously stumped? How about....lets stop trying to impress each other....stop pandering to the music majors and see how many minor 7th - major 7th and blah blah that Wayne can write into a show....stop turning up our noses at the "1-3-5" pop music chords (oh the boredom).. You want to appeal to more people, do things that are accessible to more people. Not really a difficult concept. Stop having males wearing dresses (oh...how dare I suggest that). Lighten up a notch or 30 on the emoting. Play music with a melody. That's right....dumb it down. A well executed company front once in awhile, for example. So we lose some music majors because this is beneath them. As so many have said before....c'ya. And adjust the scoring system to align with this new direction. Stick to the brand. Stick to the uniqueness of drum corps....that's what got butts in the seats in the first place. No woodwinds. Repeal electronics and amplification. Back to the basics, Hop. And if you can't see that, move on. IMO of course. BTW there's a zero percent chance any of this will ever happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywhopper Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I remember shows where stands on both sides of the Field were packed! There are still shows like that. Salem, VA sells out the concert side weeks ahead of time and manages to fill endzone berms and quite a bit of the far side with last-minute $5 tickets. They generally get Crown and one or two other big names along with four or five OC, non-finals WC corps. Great show, great venue, great crowd, and getting bigger every year. They're doing something right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredJedi Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 Stick to the brand. Stick to the uniqueness of drum corps....that's what got butts in the seats in the first place. No woodwinds. Repeal electronics and amplification. Back to the basics, Hop. And if you can't see that, move on. I was thinking the same thing. Mr. Hopkins has lamented the financial future of DCI and I will offer the following example: Lee Iacocca designed the Mustang. It is now an icon. He also designed the Pinto. We all know that was a POS. DCI has had it's Pinto moment and needs to get back to providing a redesigned icon. Just like the new Mustang. It's simple economics. If the consumer isn't provided with what they want... they don't spend the money. Get it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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