5 good reason the activity is destined to end

[Shadowtron]

Have we forgotten how much better drum corps is (talent-wise) now than back in the day?

I marched in a top 12 corps back in the Jurassic period. That corps would place dead LAST against any Open Class corps today. You marched in your neighborhood; you played on weekends (with rare E) in the summer.

Then:

• A way to spend the summer
  
• No auditions
  
• Out-of-tune horns
  
• Drummers ratamaceuing for 11 minutes
  
• That stupid color presentation
  
• Judges with zero musical training
  
• Start and finish lines
  
• The "concert"; nothing like a 3-minute standstill to liven up a show
  
• Inspections
  
• Corps members milling around on the track e other corps' shows
  
• Drinking; fights; racist corps
  
• Corps full of thugs
  
• Governed by veterans' groups
  

Now:

• A commitment
  
• Want to march in a batter corps? Buff up your skills.
  
• Judges with extensive resumes
  
• More discipline, more respect
  
• Brass and perc playing musically
  
• Eye-catching design
  
• Corps full of music majors
  
• Discipline; toughness
  
• Governed by itself
  
• ... and more
  

My pernt: With this excellence comes smaller numbers.

I am in favor of less travel, more local shows.

I think the meshing of band and corps has been a good thing.

I believe I have strategies to widen the audience, but I am a professional marketer, so I ain't giving it away.

Many good opinions in this thread, IMHO.

Good points

[md60]

Local Shows etc. Boston in california for 5 weeks. Is this necessary? why must all the big boys be together every weekend of tour in july. california at least has a group of corps to have local show. more talent less music and appearances. I am diehard fan but so depressed with the activity. say all you want there are very few screaming fans anymore and standing ovations are forced with a few exceptions.

[JimF-LowBari]

I have heard that a lot of these type of televised events actually pay ESPN to put them on. They are sort of like an infomercial. Poker is the same situation. Online poker sites pay ESPN to broadcast tournaments. DCI was probably in the same situation and decided it wasn't a good investment to pay to put the competitions on ESPN. I'm not sure I agree with that decision, but it makes some sense.

Yep, DCI paid to be on ESPN in the time slot starting at 10PM East Coast Time IIRC. After two years DCI looked at the cost vs the benefits they got got from the telecasts and decided it wasn't worth it. IMO, they decided the money could be put to better use.

[Ghost]

Have we forgotten how much better drum corps is (talent-wise) now than back in the day?

I marched in a top 12 corps back in the Jurassic period. That corps would place dead LAST against any Open Class corps today. You marched in your neighborhood; you played on weekends (with rare exceptions) in the summer.

Then:

• A way to spend the summer
  
• No auditions
  
• Out-of-tune horns
  
• Drummers ratamaceuing for 11 minutes
  
• That stupid color presentation
  
• Judges with zero musical training
  
• Start and finish lines
  
• The "concert"; nothing like a 3-minute standstill to liven up a show
  
• Inspections
  
• Corps members milling around on the track during other corps' shows
  
• Drinking; fights; racist corps
  
• Corps full of thugs
  
• Governed by veterans' groups
  

Now:

• A commitment
  
• Want to march in a batter corps? Buff up your skills.
  
• Judges with extensive resumes
  
• More discipline, more respect
  
• Brass and perc playing musically
  
• Eye-catching design
  
• Corps full of music majors
  
• Discipline; toughness
  
• Governed by itself
  
• ... and more
  

My pernt: With this excellence comes smaller numbers.

I am in favor of less travel, more local shows.

I think the meshing of band and corps has been a good thing.

I believe I have strategies to widen the audience, but I am a professional marketer, so I ain't giving it away.

Many good opinions in this thread, IMHO.

Forgot to mention, for the most part, that a high majority of marching members today have had a better life, live in nicer communities, more educated, and have parents/relatives with more expendable money. They enter a D&BC with less baggage.

[Stu]

Yep, DCI paid to be on ESPN in the time slot starting at 10PM East Coast Time IIRC. After two years DCI looked at the cost vs the benefits they got got from the telecasts and decided it wasn't worth it. IMO, they decided the money could be put to better use.

DCI was the responsible entity to get the broadcast time paid for; that is true. However, DCI did "not" and I repeat did "not" have to pay for that time. The marketing department, or marketing person, at DCI failed to secure enough sponsorship from corporations to purchase enough advertising time to pay for the broadcast time which caused DCI to pay for it. This points to a marketing department, or marketing person, within DCI who might really care about the activity in artistic terms but knows very little, or has little skill in, the realm of sales. I mean come on, the market share for the last DCI ESPN broadcast was a .58 with an average of 877,000 viewers on a single two-hour broadcast; and it was up 28% over the previous year (which is way above national average and quite good considering just the few years DCI was on the network)!!! A marketing intern who has business sales savvy, not music experience, should have been able to do wonders selling DCI to potential broadcast sponsors with that type of TV market share and percentage of viewer growth information.

[garfield]

DCI was the responsible entity to get the broadcast time paid for; that is true. However, DCI did "not" and I repeat did "not" have to pay for that time. The marketing department, or marketing person, at DCI failed to secure enough sponsorship from corporations to purchase enough advertising time to pay for the broadcast time which caused DCI to pay for it. This points to a marketing department, or marketing person, within DCI who might really care about the activity in artistic terms but knows very little, or has little skill in, the realm of sales. I mean come on, the market share for the last DCI ESPN broadcast was a .58 with an average of 877,000 viewers on a single two-hour broadcast; and it was up 28% over the previous year (which is way above national average and quite good considering just the few years DCI was on the network)!!! A marketing intern who has business sales savvy, not music experience, should have been able to do wonders selling DCI to potential broadcast sponsors with that type of TV market share and percentage of viewer growth information.

With no real qualification to say otherwise I agree with all of these thoughts, Stu.

But we have to remember that the activity was being led, at the time, by a group that believe that DCI's responsibilities for marketing the tour should reside with the corps who market themselves the best. Obviously this generally means the bigger corps with bigger budgets, which leads one to what's now fondly called the G7.

In recent years a "director of Marketing" has had responsibility to market the activity. That seems to indicate that they now have a qualified person in that position so, the question is, what's the collective willingness to follow that person's suggestions for improvement? Is there a Develpment director at DCI? One who would secure support from corporations for the marketing department to spend?

There has to be the will by the BOD directors to pay for a development director and a marketing director and all the other positions required to run a $10-million business. If Dan's initiatives to run the tour are not supported by the BOD (including hiring qualifed staff) and/or the department director's views are ignored by Dan and not shared with the board, there is a serious flaw in the business decision making process that DCI devotes to these issues.

If the decision-makers spent more time on the business side of the activity instead of the game of the performance, perhaps they would have the infrastructure in place to prevent the ESPN-type of ineptitude from happening in the first place. It takes will and commitment to the business to make possible the long-term viability of the activity.

I question whether that commitment is discussed at all these days.

Perhaps discussing the business instead of the tour is a reason to bring the factions back together to begin talking "over the fence" again. It would seem that directing that discussion would take a strong leader.

(sarcasm) I wonder who that might be? (/sarcasm)

[Stu]

With no real qualification to say otherwise I agree with all of these thoughts, Stu.

But we have to remember that the activity was being led, at the time, by a group that believe that DCI's responsibilities for marketing the tour should reside with the corps who market themselves the best. Obviously this generally means the bigger corps with bigger budgets, which leads one to what's now fondly called the G7.

In recent years a "director of Marketing" has had responsibility to market the activity. That seems to indicate that they now have a qualified person in that position so, the question is, what's the collective willingness to follow that person's suggestions for improvement? Is there a Develpment director at DCI? One who would secure support from corporations for the marketing department to spend?

There has to be the will by the BOD directors to pay for a development director and a marketing director and all the other positions required to run a $10-million business. If Dan's initiatives to run the tour are not supported by the BOD (including hiring qualifed staff) and/or the department director's views are ignored by Dan and not shared with the board, there is a serious flaw in the business decision making process that DCI devotes to these issues.

If the decision-makers spent more time on the business side of the activity instead of the game of the performance, perhaps they would have the infrastructure in place to prevent the ESPN-type of ineptitude from happening in the first place. It takes will and commitment to the business to make possible the long-term viability of the activity.

I question whether that commitment is discussed at all these days.

Perhaps discussing the business instead of the tour is a reason to bring the factions back together to begin talking "over the fence" again. It would seem that directing that discussion would take a strong leader.

(sarcasm) I wonder who that might be? (/sarcasm)

Thanks for the kind comment; and I agree with everything you stated above with one slight exception: You wrote, "In recent years a director of Marketing has had responsibility to market the activity. That seems to indicate that they now have a qualified person in that position..." While it indicates they do have a person in that position, it does not indicate that the person is actually "qualified". While DCI may have great people involved, a "qualified" Director of Marketing is one who's expertise is in shear sales and marketing not in the artistic or administrative side of directing a drum corps. A "qualified" Director of Marketing does not even have to be aware of, prior to hire, the details of drum corps but must have the skill sets necessary to sell the proverbial ice to Eskimos.

[MarimbasaurusRex]

there really isnt a different set of people..the cross over has been going on for years

Well, there was for me and I'd have to say most people. unless you just happened to be with a corps who's director was your band director. I had my school band directors, and then corps directors and instructors. Yes, some of those were band directors too, but from different schools. It's the difference between getting one point of view or several. It was a broader music education which I still benefit from today.

[GUARDLING]

Well, there was for me and I'd have to say most people. unless you just happened to be with a corps who's director was your band director. I had my school band directors, and then corps directors and instructors. Yes, some of those were band directors too, but from different schools. It's the difference between getting one point of view or several. It was a broader music education which I still benefit from today.

DCI instructors have flooded the band world as band directors teaching and judging did in DCI...this isnt new at all.....it may be different people but same world

Edited July 14, 2012 by GUARDLING

[garfield]

Thanks for the kind comment; and I agree with everything you stated above with one slight exception: You wrote, "In recent years a director of Marketing has had responsibility to market the activity. That seems to indicate that they now have a qualified person in that position..." While it indicates they do have a person in that position, it does not indicate that the person is actually "qualified". While DCI may have great people involved, a "qualified" Director of Marketing is one who's expertise is in shear sales and marketing not in the artistic or administrative side of directing a drum corps. A "qualified" Director of Marketing does not even have to be aware of, prior to hire, the details of drum corps but must have the skill sets necessary to sell the proverbial ice to Eskimos.

I get your point, Stu, and I suppose its debatable whether the owner of www.artdepartment.com is qualified to act as Director of Marketing of DCI, but I would suspect you'd agree that such a person has marketing qualifications that would rank as more valuable to the activity than the interns efforts of the past. I surely get that there should be uninterested board members with little knowledge of the activity to guide it but, in the marketing position, I wonder if that characteristic is worthwhile. After all, the design and implementation of drum corps marketing would be better served, IMO, by someone who has a familiarity with the activity.

Presuming you're right, however, would reinforce my contention that it represents serious flaws in the business management of the activity.