ForteConductor2012 Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I'm marching Forte Drum and Bugle Corps this year as Conductor. It is $2800 in fees for 15 shows. Quite expensive if you ask me! I know there are a lot of factors that go into it, but it's really tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splooie99 Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I think it's fair to price tuition at the following rate. Number of performances in front of paying crowds X $100. So, if your corps performs 30 shows including up to semifinals (finals is not a given for all but a select few) then tuition should be $3000. If you perform 25 shows, it should be $2500. If you perform 10 shows, it should be $1000. I guess that is an interesting way of looking at it. If you remove camp fees and uniform fees....... Then, this number could be somewhat interesting. However, it cost a lot more to travel from different parts of the country. Say the Distance between Portland OR, Santa Clara... is farther then some others to Indy, so basing the cost on the number of shows is a little off when you compare one corps from the miswest vs. the west coast. Although, It is somewhat reasonable in some ways. Also, considering that Open class corps do not get to attend as many shows is a huge disadvantage. In shows with only Open Class corps, the corps do not get paid like in mixed shows. So does that figure into the equation? Just trying to shed more light onto the difficulties of the Open class corps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryM Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 (edited) I'm marching Forte Drum and Bugle Corps this year as Conductor. It is $2800 in fees for 15 shows. Quite expensive if you ask me! I know there are a lot of factors that go into it, but it's really tough. Marching Drum Corps was never meant to be easy. Where as $2800 might seem high in cost, (and in theory the tuition is only $2,500 provided that it is paid by May 2012) We have many opportunities for all of our members to raise those funds. I must agree that the tuition rate is high....It never was that high when I was a participating Member, however there are new associated cost factors that dictate what has to be spent. Forte is traveling 6,000 miles this summer (a small trip in the eyes of the larger corps) and with getting only 9 miles a gall on average, ONE bus will use almost 700 gallons of fuel. That will bring the fuel cost for ONE vehicle to (using average of $4.50 gas/gal) $3,150.... Multiply that by 4... $12,600 in fuel. That doesn't even TOUCH the rental of the busses (costing roughly $25,000 for busses and $10,000 for the semis). So you can see that That cost alone, topped with the cost of food for approx 100 people (roughly $27,000) Brings you to the total of a tune of approx.........$74,600. Now don't forget there are other costs such as Uniforms, Insurance, DCI Fees, Music License fees.... And the list goes on! But when you march an average of 60-75 members You are looking at $1,200-$1,600 to cover the BASICS, not to mention you still wouldn't have equipment to play on. Topic of Corps dues is a VERY touchy subject. It is HARD to know exactly how much is too much, and how much is not enough. But I will state that $2,500 for 4 weeks of spring training and almost 6 weeks worth of touring, including 6 months of camps totals approx: 80 days with the corps...... That brings the cost PER day of membership to: $31.25. Not too bad for 4 meals, and an incredible load of memories! Edited December 15, 2011 by LarryM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Drum Corps is an expensive venture and always has been. One time I was browsing around on a Corps website and they had one of those interactive FAQ sections. Anyway, someone wrote in and asked the age old question "What does it take to start a Drum and Bugle Corps?" I swear every kid to the last responded and said MONEY! Now we're not talking about bank presidents or Wall Street execs. They were just a bunch of 18 year old kids who bought the T-shirt and they knew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Some great points made here. It certainly comes into play the number of performance opportunities and World Class corps have far more performance opportunities...30+ in many cases than Open Class corps have. And I appreciate some of the member/student comments. I think the hard part of the marketing to potential marching members is when World Class Corps A is 200 miles away from Open Class corps B and the two have practically the same tuition and fees, why wouldn't a member be auditioning for both and hoping to catch on with the corps who is getting 20+ more performing opportunities. Because that's the most important aspect for the performer...those nights in front of the crowd. That's the payoff for all the hard work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsOnTheField Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Some great points made here. It certainly comes into play the number of performance opportunities and World Class corps have far more performance opportunities...30+ in many cases than Open Class corps have. And I appreciate some of the member/student comments. I think the hard part of the marketing to potential marching members is when World Class Corps A is 200 miles away from Open Class corps B and the two have practically the same tuition and fees, why wouldn't a member be auditioning for both and hoping to catch on with the corps who is getting 20+ more performing opportunities. Because that's the most important aspect for the performer...those nights in front of the crowd. That's the payoff for all the hard work. While the number of performances can have some effect, the over all experience is really a bigger factor. Who really cares how many shows you have when you are part of an organization that doesn't treat or feed the member very well? Too many times I've come across this type of scenario with certain corps. Classification does not = the overall experience. The number of performances might be one perk...but maybe not worth it in some cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 While the number of performances can have some effect, the over all experience is really a bigger factor. Who really cares how many shows you have when you are part of an organization that doesn't treat or feed the member very well? Too many times I've come across this type of scenario with certain corps. Classification does not = the overall experience. The number of performances might be one perk...but maybe not worth it in some cases. I am trying to follow your point. The overall experience cannot be judged by a performer before the season. The number of performances can be. One is qualitative, the other, quantitative. I don't believe they are related. No two corps treat their members the same...and no two members are the same. What may be considered a negative overall experience by one corps member may have the opposite impact and reaction from others. But, the number of performances...the 17 minute block to be on stage for the evening...in front of a crowd, I talk to many members who list this as the best part of each day. So, I take from this...the number of performances each summer has significant value to the marching members. Perhaps if you described better...the "overall experience" part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dir_en_X Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 But, the number of performances...the 17 minute block to be on stage for the evening...in front of a crowd, I talk to many members who list this as the best part of each day. So, I take from this...the number of performances each summer has significant value to the marching members. Perhaps if you described better...the "overall experience" part. But let's compare a World corps to an Open corps again. Assuming both corps treat and feed their members well, the World corps will average about 20 to 30 more performances than the Open corps. I agree that many members value the performances as their favorite part of the season, but if the Open corps has only 10-15 the whole season, do the members value them more than their World counterparts? When you look at an average World tour, it's 35ish shows over 60 days, compared to an Open tour of 12ish shows over 20ish days. As a member of an Open corps, I'd value my limited number of performances than if I was in a World corps. I think the 'overall experience' we keep referring to is the process of 150 individuals coming together with a single goal in mind, and also the personal transformation one goes through mentally and physically during one season of drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelloHorn13 Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 But let's compare a World corps to an Open corps again. Assuming both corps treat and feed their members well, the World corps will average about 20 to 30 more performances than the Open corps. I agree that many members value the performances as their favorite part of the season, but if the Open corps has only 10-15 the whole season, do the members value them more than their World counterparts? When you look at an average World tour, it's 35ish shows over 60 days, compared to an Open tour of 12ish shows over 20ish days. As a member of an Open corps, I'd value my limited number of performances than if I was in a World corps. I think the 'overall experience' we keep referring to is the process of 150 individuals coming together with a single goal in mind, and also the personal transformation one goes through mentally and physically during one season of drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 But let's compare a World corps to an Open corps again. Assuming both corps treat and feed their members well, the World corps will average about 20 to 30 more performances than the Open corps. I agree that many members value the performances as their favorite part of the season, but if the Open corps has only 10-15 the whole season, do the members value them more than their World counterparts? When you look at an average World tour, it's 35ish shows over 60 days, compared to an Open tour of 12ish shows over 20ish days. As a member of an Open corps, I'd value my limited number of performances than if I was in a World corps. I think the 'overall experience' we keep referring to is the process of 150 individuals coming together with a single goal in mind, and also the personal transformation one goes through mentally and physically during one season of drum corps. I would think if a potential member could march a WC corps for about the same money, they would march there simply because they would get more performance opportunities. Now, that means...for instance...if they lived in Texas and had a choice between Crossmen and any of the OC corps...again, if they could make Crossmen for $3K or march an OC corps for $2.5K, the difference of $500 makes the decision pretty easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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