danielray Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Please - we hear enough baseless fearmongering from the political class these days. It already is subsidized by outside revenues. It always has been, and it always will be. Did you just come to this realization this week? No wonder you are in a panic! The same was said a few years ago. But look - DCI is still here! I saw DCI's financials (not 990's). All I know is that many companies have fired management teams for less... and I was pretty shocked. Hiding behind a non-profit cause-driven excuse is weak. Business is business and fundamentals are fundamentals. Cause cannot justify any deviation from fundamentals, as it is not sustainable, and nullifies the cause-driven argument (if you are cause driven, you are in it for the long haul... you might have to adjust the scale of delivery... but goal is sustainable delivery). Also, using arbitrary valuations for in-kind donations to inflate figures on books is amateur and intentionally misleading. Real men book these at zero.... as that is the actual cash impact. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 danielray, unless you provide many more SPECIFICS, I can't buy the view Dan A. represents a problem for DCI. Until YOU, sir, can describe exactly what problem Dan presents, AND offer a better solution, you are nothing more than a "hit and run" artist, in my mind . DCI represents a problem for DCI. That is my point. I fundamentally believe that the DCI brand has a better future (and mostly likely only future) disconnected with the current DCI organization. Let's just back up and ask a simple question.... DCI turns over almost $10M a year. How much cash on hand do they have at ANY moment? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 danielray, I have no idea. I am upset when you, or anyone else, claims Dan A. is wrong for DCI without providing specific examples to prove your assertion. So far, you have not done this. Till then, you are just another blowhard. OK, a blowhard just like me! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 DanRay posted a link to this story in the DLB and SS thread. It's a good parallel to the issues we face in drum corps. Equally interesting are the comments at the end of the article, which also parallel nicely with the range of comments in The Planet. Like this one: “Classical music” is art music. Even discussing it in terms of popular music is ridiculous. Core problem: music education. The idea that “interactive” elements are missing or helpful is merely another instance of wanting to accommodate the lazy habits prevalent in 21st century “leisure time.” Having a conversation with a neighbor at a rock concert, above and beyond the acoustical considerations (amplified music not disturbed by other sounds), is possible – or possibly even necessary – because much, if not most. popular music is built out of extremely primitive musical elements (simple harmonies, repetitive rhythms, unchanging volume etc.). A symphony, or a movement in a symphony, by Beethoven, makes rather different demands on the hearer; and one of those demands is, be quiet, open your ears, and enjoy the narrative, the drama, the rich landscape of color and expression. And, I might add, the thorough enjoyment of such music, by a silent and educated audience, is deeply communal and cannot be replaced by canned music. But if young people are not offered the chance to find out whether this art form moves them – if music is not taught at schools – if support for culture is forever tied to the stockmarket – then things look pretty bleak. And, of course, the discussion will be carried on, focusing (yet again) on such silly details as “dress code” and “forbidding architecture.” Yes, art music written between, say, 1600 to 1950 is in some senses a museum; if you don’t like it, fine. But don’t demean it by trying to turn it into another “quick gratification, no pre-requisite knowledge needed, I’m ok you’re ok” arcade attraction. That will not help. Only music education – begun at a very early age, I’d recommend pre school as the right place to start – can open up the possibilities of a large, appreciative audience of the future; and if that doesn’t happen, how very sad for the many human beings who will never know what they are missing." I asked again, "Is DCI in the kid business or in the maximize profit business?" To which Mike Boo replied: To remain in the kid business, DCI has to explore the money business as the kid business is more and more expensive and is going to need additional means of support. To which I replied: I'll push back here, Michael. The artsy-fartsy design and execution side of drum corps is getting more and more expensive. That's not the same as the kid business getting more expensive. Witness DLB and SS. Kids banging on turned-over 5 gallon pails and blowing horns their parents bought them in the 7th grade. Getting kids interested in growing the activity is not expensive. Putting on a drum corps show with all the bells and whistles is getting more expensive. We already have proof that spending more on drum corps shows doesn't put any more BITS. And we already have proof that growing interest in the activity can be pretty cheap (DLB and SS). So again, what business is DCI in? Growing the interest in (and resulting business of) drum corps, or growing the funding for expensive drum corps shows? I think the question is appropriate for the discussion going on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Also, using arbitrary valuations for in-kind donations to inflate figures on books is amateur and intentionally misleading. Real men book these at zero.... as that is the actual cash impact. This is a strong accusation, Dan, for which I hope you have proof you'll share, and about which I think the IRS would be a good arbiter for the quality of your claim. Do you have the conviction of your claim to alert the IRS, or AG of the state of Indiana? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 DCI represents a problem for DCI. That is my point. I fundamentally believe that the DCI brand has a better future (and mostly likely only future) disconnected with the current DCI organization. Let's just back up and ask a simple question.... DCI turns over almost $10M a year. How much cash on hand do they have at ANY moment? Let me ask another couple of questions: How much of that $10mm did DCI return to the corps? How much additional return would you, or the 7, constitutes a responsible number relative to the annual budgets of the top corps? How much cash on hand do corps like Crown and Phantom have on hand at ANY moment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 This is a strong accusation, Dan, for which I hope you have proof you'll share, and about which I think the IRS would be a good arbiter for the quality of your claim. Do you have the conviction of your claim to alert the IRS, or AG of the state of Indiana? Not saying anyone has done anything illegal... just done stuff that doesn't exactly reflect reality. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 danielray, danielray! You are pointing out someone's finger is bleeding profusely. You are responding "You really should stop that bleeding." Well, OK then . . . what shall I do, exactly? Lay out those steps in detail, please. Otherwise, you are not helping. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 danielray, danielray! You are pointing out someone's finger is bleeding profusely. You are responding "You really should stop that bleeding." Well, OK then . . . what shall I do, exactly? Lay out those steps in detail, please. Otherwise, you are not helping. I've laid out what I believe is the path forward, several times and in great detail. The issue here is that people are too emotionally attached and too married to the way things have always been done to do anything different than what has always been done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Let me ask another couple of questions: How much of that $10mm did DCI return to the corps? How much additional return would you, or the 7, constitutes a responsible number relative to the annual budgets of the top corps? How much cash on hand do corps like Crown and Phantom have on hand at ANY moment? You need to hang on to cash. Look, I am not saying that top corps are doing any better than others in terms of cash management. They need to do better. I am suggesting that all do better at this.... live below their means and radically diversify revenues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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