Lesson Learned From America's Got Talent

[Jeff Ream]

the key is to get more invested in the local community. you get more folks to the local shows, and with some luck, and entertaining product, you get some diehards.

[Jeff Ream]

the key is to get more invested in the local community. you get more folks to the local shows, and with some luck, and entertaining product, you get some diehards.

[HappyDad]

I've never watched a single AGT show. The previews are enough to turn my stomach. Can't you tell you're being played? Maybe that's OK with most people. I'm not sure what this adds to the conversation, or what it says about me, but if DCI changes its behavior based on "reality TV viewership," I'm gone.

I'm old enough to remember when we had our first television...black and white in the 1950s. My dad was a radio guy. He didn't like television because he said that you didn't need any imagination. I can remember him listening to ball games on the radio while my mother watched "her stories."

What I learned early on was the television was designed to sell stuff. There wasn't commercial free stations like HBO or PBS back then. Commercials bought and paid for the programs. Many of the programs used to be sponsored by cigarette companies and my mother's "stories" were sponsored by soap companies, that is why they were called soap operas. Anyway, if something is not a commercial success, it most likely won't make it on tv.

Also, when I watch the videos of drum corps, it is not the same as being there. Television does not portray a drum corps show very well in my opinion. A drum corps show is not built to be constrained into that box.

[WOOHOO]

Actually, this year's World Cup TV ratings were up over 50%. If a barbershop quartet can get 1,000,000 YouTube views, someone can figure out how to make drum corps cool to people outside the activity. Hint: The answer isn't to add freakin' woodwinds.

I agree with what you are saying, except that to newbies, instrumentation is not a deciding point, at least for the ones I've taken. Taking my physical therapy student girlfriend who knows nothing of music to Atlanta, she didn't even notice it was all brass, but it didn't matter. She had a great time and enjoyed many corps.

Edited September 28, 2010 by WOOHOO

[tommytimp]

And the World Cup and drumcorps is a huge false equivalency. I don't think white Americans make up the large portion of viewers gained by ABC in the last World Cup, it's the large immigrant population that major networks are finally acknowledging, much like it took until the 70s to encounter palatable depictions of African-Americans and another generation before gays were depicted positively. None of that applies to drum corps, which is never going to be seen on TV again, barring a major overhaul in communication delivery in this country.

[atlvalet]

How many YouTube hits equal the price of one ticket for a drum corps show? For that matter, how many YouTube hits equal "popularity" for barbershop?

Hits aren't necessarily indicative of popularity. And TV ratings for a quadrenniel global event don't necessarily translate to local fans in local seats.

Popularity is a trailing indicator. By the time we recognize what's popular, popular may well have moved on. Drum corps needs a higher standard.

HH

Well, show me a YouTube video with 1,000,000 views that involves DCI. I don't think there is one. And there should be. I think DCI is WAY more interesting than barbershop quartets. Tell you what, if you start creating content that generates interest, popularity will increase. It's pretty simple, although you seem intent on making it seem difficult.

Were you even awake during the World Cup? Did you not go to local bars and see the interest? It's not my fault your eyes aren't open.

And for some reason you're operating on the premise that popularity is fleeting. And you're excluding the loyalty factor. Popularity is acquisition. Loyalty is retention.

[atlvalet]

And the World Cup and drumcorps is a huge false equivalency. I don't think white Americans make up the large portion of viewers gained by ABC in the last World Cup, it's the large immigrant population that major networks are finally acknowledging, much like it took until the 70s to encounter palatable depictions of African-Americans and another generation before gays were depicted positively. None of that applies to drum corps, which is never going to be seen on TV again, barring a major overhaul in communication delivery in this country.

I wasn't trying to equate drum corps to the worlds most popular sport. I was attempting to point out that soccer, which has lagged horribly fan-wise in this country, has started to reach an audience. Someone mentioned that pro soccer wasn't popular, and I was pointing out that things can change. Are people this pedantic on DCP? Oh wait, I already know that answer...

[WOOHOO]

And the World Cup and drumcorps is a huge false equivalency. I don't think white Americans make up the large portion of viewers gained by ABC in the last World Cup, it's the large immigrant population that major networks are finally acknowledging, much like it took until the 70s to encounter palatable depictions of African-Americans and another generation before gays were depicted positively. None of that applies to drum corps, which is never going to be seen on TV again, barring a major overhaul in communication delivery in this country.

While that may be true, there was much more interest in the World Cup from Americans than I have ever seen. I could be that America was actually exciting this year, but there was much more interest this time around for sure.

[tommytimp]

I wouldn't deny that AYSO has made inroads on the sport in the USA, where it supposedly is played by more young people than any other sport (it IS cheap to play), but my point was not simply that soccer is popular and drum corps isn't.

[Jeff Ream]

while the World Cup gets ratings, what does soccer do in between WC years?

to me, that shows how soccer is viewed.

I wasn't trying to equate drum corps to the worlds most popular sport. I was attempting to point out that soccer, which has lagged horribly fan-wise in this country, has started to reach an audience. Someone mentioned that pro soccer wasn't popular, and I was pointing out that things can change. Are people this pedantic on DCP? Oh wait, I already know that answer...