A Hunch; A Question

[Jeff Ream]

I am still not convinced that the G7 goal is to have traditional competitions.

they wuill have some form of competition. short of fan voting, which could be varied based on laction, someone will always be last

[MikeD]

they wuill have some form of competition. short of fan voting, which could be varied based on laction, someone will always be last

I'm just not convinced at this point that we know enough to say that there 'will' be a competition if the G7 go off into their own world of marching/music performance...maybe they are looking at something completely different. Maybe not...I don't think we know yet.

[garfield]

I'm just not convinced at this point that we know enough to say that there 'will' be a competition if the G7 go off into their own world of marching/music performance...maybe they are looking at something completely different. Maybe not...I don't think we know yet.

Correct, we don't know yet. In fact, I'd guess THEY don't know yet, which is part of the problem with selling their ideas to the other members.

So far, all we've gotten is "we're better, we score higher, and we attract more fans", with emphasis on those corps which perenially languish at the bottom of the competitive scale.

But if their idea is performance alone, without competition, it pretty much blows up their "we score higher" argument. Performance is subjective where competition is more defined. Without scores the only thing left is "Did you enjoy the show?", and I think many fans would answer yes to corps outside of the seven.

And for how long have we heard that kids want to compete? And kids in lower corps should compete against their class? If performance is the hallmark of the seven, why so much rationalization on the kid's enjoyment coming from competing within their own level?

I think the 7 will have competition, I just don't think they'll ever split off of DCI.

[Fred Windish]

I'm just not convinced at this point that we know enough to say that there 'will' be a competition if the G7 go off into their own world of marching/music performance...maybe they are looking at something completely different. Maybe not...I don't think we know yet.

Mike, I don't know if we will see something completely different either. However, I do think so, I hope so, and don't see the point of resisting it. Further, I can easily see something huge happen indoors with judging results based upon audience voting by text message.

[MikeD]

I think the 7 will have competition, I just don't think they'll ever split off of DCI.

Which is why earlier I asked what would be the point to just create a different competition setting by leaving...I agree on this.

If they want to do something totally different...great, like Cirque de Soleil sort of redefined what a 'circus' is to modern audiences.

[charlie1223]

Correct, we don't know yet. In fact, I'd guess THEY don't know yet, which is part of the problem with selling their ideas to the other members.

So far, all we've gotten is "we're better, we score higher, and we attract more fans", with emphasis on those corps which perenially languish at the bottom of the competitive scale.

But if their idea is performance alone, without competition, it pretty much blows up their "we score higher" argument. Performance is subjective where competition is more defined. Without scores the only thing left is "Did you enjoy the show?", and I think many fans would answer yes to corps outside of the seven.

And for how long have we heard that kids want to compete? And kids in lower corps should compete against their class? If performance is the hallmark of the seven, why so much rationalization on the kid's enjoyment coming from competing within their own level?

I think the 7 will have competition, I just don't think they'll ever split off of DCI.

I just want to say that attracting fans is pretty much the end game for DCI. Do the G7 objectively attract the most fans to get butts in the seat? Are the programs they present and the quality they present responsible for attracting DCI revenue? Are the top corps investing more into DCI than lower corps? I'd say that objectively yes.

You even say yourself that corps budgets are a concern. But as long as Blue Devils are a part of DCI an investment in their corps is an investment in DCI. DCI benefits from the corps spending money on great shows and high quality that attract paying members and fans. I don't think DCI would be upset about how much investment corps have made into their product especially if that product is selling.

As sorry this really had nothing to do what you were responding to but... oh well.

Edited February 26, 2013 by charlie1223

[jjeffeory]

No they didn't. Those circuits just could not survive on their own, so they folded. That is one thing I am afraid of if the G7 split away....that DCI will be the DCM of the future.

That's not exactly how I heard DCM went under. DCM wasn't viable one day and then suddenly not viable the next day. It folded because certain top corps decided not to go there after a couple of decades of going there for first tour... There's a whole thread on this one somewhere. DCM used to handle first tour. The top World class Corps wanted DCI to handle everything, so that they could get a bigger piece of the pie; so THEY killed DCM, sort of like this whole G7 thing really now that I think about it.

The other circuits were not as organized or as historic as DCM ( DCW, DCE, DCS). So saying that those circuits could not survive on their own, while technically accurate, is a little dishonest. No "circuit" can survive on its own without corps. The same thing would happen to DCI if any of the MiM/G7 corps/rumor stuff would happen.

Edited February 26, 2013 by jjeffeory

[MikeD]

That's not exactly how I heard DCM went under. DCM wasn't viable one day and then suddenly not viable the next day. It folded because certain top corps decided not to go there after a couple of decades of going there for first tour... There's a whole thread on this one somewhere. DCM used to handle first tour. The top World class Corps wanted DCI to handle everything, so that they could get a bigger piece of the pie; so THEY killed DCM, sort of like this whole G7 thing really now that I think about it.

The corps that left DCM did so for reasons other than the above, from what I recall reading. They did not "kill DCM"; they left DCM. They were, as the G7 say, the "draw"; DCM could not survive with what was left, so it folded. Kind of goes against the argument some make here that the G7 are not the main draw and attract the main part of the audience.

[HockeyDad]

If they want to do something totally different...great, like Cirque de Soleil sort of redefined what a 'circus' is to modern audiences.

Yes. They can become Bands de la Geeks

[Stu]

I just want to say that attracting fans is pretty much the end game for DCI. Do the G7 objectively attract the most fans to get butts in the seat? Are the programs they present and the quality they present responsible for attracting DCI revenue? Are the top corps investing more into DCI than lower corps? I'd say that objectively yes.

I contend that attempting to create a larger drum corps fan base by shrinking the competitive unit pool is extremely counterproductive no matter how high caliber the few corps are. Why? Because I also contend that the fan base for DCI is 'primarily' and 'overwhelmingly' Family and Friends of current performers, Age-Outs and their immediate Families, and those who are Youth Wanna-Bes mainly bused in by Band Directors. If an actual demographic breakdown was conducted at all the marching arts shows around the nation, including DCI, WGI, BOA, TOB, et al I'd bet my house that a very small percentage, and I mean a very, very small percentage of fans in the stands are outside the aforementioned subsets.

Edited February 27, 2013 by Stu