Fred Windish Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Well said, UNCGQ! Much of marketing is about meeting current demand. Everything is sold differently, as needed. Many are moving away from live attendance. They key will be tapping into people still interested in what we're doing, but now "buying" us in some other way. We purchased our current home to be close to Lehigh University athletics. We had been longtime season ticket holders for football and basketball. But, no more. We're older, less tolerant of standard aspects of live attendance. We bought All-Access Sports subscriptions, beam everything to our big-screen TV, etc. Quite happy! This, despite living right across the street from the stadium and arena! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 My use of the terms Video on Demand was not adequate to convey what I meant. I also believe a paid live-streaming opportunity is needed. It's one way to overcome a smaller stadium. Like Jim said, more and more legacy fans drop out each year for economic, health, and other reasons. It's always better to get $35-50 from living rooms if that money wasn't going to show up at the gate anyway. agreed,..........the only problem is you pay the same money to sit by yourself in front of your computer, or invite a houseful of friends and watch is on the big screen,..............there's just no way to control that,........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Good point, Gary! I don't know how to prevent that at this point. Maybe special "magic glasses?" One pair per subscription. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 (edited) We purchased our current home to be close to Lehigh University athletics. We had been longtime season ticket holders for football and basketball. But, no more. We're older, less tolerant of standard aspects of live attendance. We bought All-Access Sports subscriptions, beam everything to our big-screen TV, etc. Quite happy! This, despite living right across the street from the stadium and arena! Never heard of the place... :tongue:/> Uncle went there and if anything is missing from the 50s it might be in his basement. Seriously I read an article about Penn State and declining attendance over the last few years at the football games. Yes.. started pre you know what.... More noticable that the 100K or so place ain't as full as years back. Lot of guesses given including people seem less inclined to invest the money and time to plan/drive/attend one event. Seems a growing part of the population want to be more fluid in their leisure activites. Edited December 14, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyboo Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 AND . . . as much as people bemoan attendance figures, its a symptom of a larger issue (or trend, depending on which side of the revenue you're on). Attendance at events is down. Not just 'drum corps events'. Events. Pro and college sports, concerts, etc. Simply going to see something live is rapidly being replaced by being able to watch it from the comfort of your home on a huge TV and great sound system, or on your phone, or when its convenient for you at a later time. NFL attendance? Lowest per game average in almost 15 years. Is it because nobody watches the NFL? No. It's because the product and experience at home is better than being there. This is a trend that will only continue. Gone are the days that the only way to see something was to go to where it was happening. Every football game is available on my TV, why would I ever miss seeing all of the Sunday games to attend 'one Sunday game'? Tailgating and the social aspect is still a large factor, but this the prime example of a bigger shift in the culture. College football and other sports are in the same boat; great product, declining attendance. The university I went to recently added a 'luxury box-type option' (traditional seats with access to an enclosed concourse, alcohol sales, multiple TV feeds, etc.). The result? Great sales of those seats, at premium prices, but nobody actually sat in the seats and stayed in the box area (making the section look empty) because given the option, I'd rather be in a temp controlled environment and able to move about as I please with a drink in my hand versus sitting on a metal bench against some sweaty slob and his fourteen kids in 95 degree heat. The sooner that people in charge of things recognize that they can't simply throw up their hands and bemoan low attendance and try to find simple solutions, they should take a step back. It's likely not the product that has the problem, it's how they're 'delivering' it. Navy Marine Corps Stadium isn't the product, its the venue. Drum Corps is the product. Do not put up road blocks to those who might view the product to save 'attendance and dvd sales'. That's a dying, close-minded view of the world we live in. How many parents and friends of members might one day attend Finals. How many would pay $20 (pick whatever number you want) to view it? I guarantee this number, when fully promoted and utilized, is more than 3x the number of folks who are spending the 'big money' on DVDs a tickets. While I agree with your statements (and I might even watch prelims online rather than go to Rochester again), it is sad for that activity since I believe the majority of the marching members are on the field because they get a thrill out of performing to a live audience. Hard to keep your corps membership up when you are playing to a crowd of 2000 on finals night even though there might be thousands more watching at home. It just isn't the same from the performers perspective. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donincardona Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 While I agree with your statements (and I might even watch prelims online rather than go to Rochester again), it is sad for that activity since I believe the majority of the marching members are on the field because they get a thrill out of performing to a live audience. Hard to keep your corps membership up when you are playing to a crowd of 2000 on finals night even though there might be thousands more watching at home. It just isn't the same from the performers perspective. i agree but that is probably where we're heading. don't know how that's going to affect the activity. but that's my point. it dosen't look good. a lot of pro drum corps people i know are talking like they can see the end coming. so sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Another Sop Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 This thread is already so long I could only get a few pages into it. I will say that I do nto mind using amps on the acoustic instruments but I do have a few concerns about this. 1)I hope this is not a stepping stone to electronic instruments or micing horns as in DCi; and 2)I hope that if the pit overbalances like many in DCi, their score reflects that; and 3)I hope this doen not lead to having the pit be the show with a few impacts and chords out of the hornline. Not to start an argument, but discussion would be nice. The only thing that bothers me with this is how it gets stated over and over, even in the first few pages of this thread, that the modern arranging of the pit books demand that the pit play so hard to be heard and they end up abusing the instruments. The thought I have over and over is why can't the arrangers look at the score and determine where the pit could be heard to add timbre to the sound and write accordingly rather than writting over the entire book and then complain they can't be heard? I know it is a done deal at this point and that is fine with me. Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bariman50 Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Anybody that has seen anything live versus on tv, knows there is a great difference, nothing like being in the crowd, having fun with your friends, enjoying the afterparty etc. Money is usually the determining factor, distance and time traveled, location sometimes, but there are also many personal reasons people would rather watch an event at home versus being there. I'm sure as the media gets better and better and the price gets higher and higher options will be taken. I do think that people will always go to shows, maybe not as many but especially drum corps or any music event is so much better live. One can only hope that enough fans will attend that the participants will still feel as though they are being appreciated. Without fans people that do this activity, virtually paying to do so, will dwindle. Let's hope this doesn't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donincardona Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Anybody that has seen anything live versus on tv, knows there is a great difference, nothing like being in the crowd, having fun with your friends, enjoying the afterparty etc. Money is usually the determining factor, distance and time traveled, location sometimes, but there are also many personal reasons people would rather watch an event at home versus being there. I'm sure as the media gets better and better and the price gets higher and higher options will be taken. I do think that people will always go to shows, maybe not as many but especially drum corps or any music event is so much better live. One can only hope that enough fans will attend that the participants will still feel as though they are being appreciated. Without fans people that do this activity, virtually paying to do so, will dwindle. Let's hope this doesn't happen. i agree with you about drum corps. watching it on tv or a computer is not at all the same. it is something that needs to be seen and heard live. but this is where it is going. like i said i don't know how that's going to turn out. as for sports. i would rather watch a football game on tv then live. base ball not so much. golf i'm fine with it on tv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 The corps as a whole enjoyed the Rochester DCA experience; great venue for I & E, nice rehearsal sites, excellent accommodations. As a sidenote, it is 100 miles closer than Annapolis, which equates to 4 less hours combined traveling to and fro; obviously that is a factor as well, but not a huge one. that helps I'm sure. and I am sure the stadium in Annapolis has a tenant that may have wanted to play at home one of those years. However, remember, finals weekend is all about getting money to the corps. I am sure stadium rental is less, which helps get more $$ back. I'd love to look at the bids...I have heard rumors of how various places package things. I'm just ###### my drive went from 2 to 5 hours :tongue:/> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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