Fred Windish Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) In 1974 I think we had 5 television channels ... and books ... to compete for time. Simply hanging out, with nothing in particular going on, was the most popular form of entertainment. Finding something out of the ordinary coming to town, like a drum corps show, was probably a lot more appealing. Forty years later, we actually have much better tools to get out the message that a show is coming to town, but an exponentially larger amount of entertainment options crowding out the perceived value of the show. With the options available these days (cable, movies on demand, every sport imaginable, etc.) people have to pick and choose WHICH entertainment they have time for and which will be sacrificed. Well stated! Unfortunately, drum corps show sponsors over the past two decades have responded to dwindling crowd counts and revenue by simply adding a few bucks to the ticket price the following year as compensation. Over time, that automatic response, seen by many as necessary, has slowly diminished the pool of potential new customers. As Grumpy accurately observes, it's seldom just the price per ticket, it's the total price per visit. How many curious first time neighbors in your town will shell out $50 and higher to try drum corps in this economy? Crowd size at many different live events is in decline, not just drum corps. There are too many less expensive and comfy ways to spend an evening. Particularly for the merely curious local resident. Besides . . . it could rain! DCA is heavily dependent on the live gate. Much more so than DCI. This is the fear Grandpa speaks to. Should DCA manage to lose 15-20 percent of its paying audience, for whatever reason, it's probably all over. Pretending all is well is not the answer. Edited December 30, 2014 by Fred Windish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Word was "discontent" not "disconnected"... Personally I felt boredom more than anything else and had some new things in my life going on (marriage, house, church council). 20+ years later still remember watching the mayflies kill themselves on the stadium lights and thinking "I have more important things to do with my life". So after the corps on the field was done I walked out without a regret. oops, sorry. was boredom out of not understanding or not familiar ? many older fans do go to shows I believe to enjoy what they may have had but see the new version of it and cant get past it. maybe i was right. disconnected..lol, who knows Ive been around many many decades and I see the opposite of many and Im glad for it I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Well stated! Unfortunately, drum corps show sponsors over the past two decades have responded to dwindling crowd counts and revenue by simply adding a few bucks to the ticket price the following year as compensation. Over time, that automatic response, seen by many as necessary, has slowly diminished the pool of potential new customers. As Grumpy accurately observes, it's seldom just the price per ticket, it's the total price per visit. How many curious first time neighbors in your town will shell out $50 and higher to try drum corps in this economy? Crowd size at many different live events is in decline, not just drum corps. There are too many less expensive and comfy ways to spend an evening. Particularly for the merely curious local resident. Besides . . . it could rain! DCA is heavily dependent on the live gate. Much more so than DCI. This is the fear Grandpa speaks to. Should DCA manage to lose 15-20 percent of its paying audience, for whatever reason, it's probably all over. Pretending all is well is not the answer. Probably depending on the live gate has always been a problem. I remember holding winter shows as far back as the 70s and NEVER depending on the gate. Concessions, ad books, raffle's , etc etc was the way to make money. Maybe DCA needs to look beyond gates for revenue. Blaming a gate on electronics or shows or just blaming period doesnt solve anything NOR ignoring the fact there are many more choices for people than there were back in the day to be entertained. Look what a broadway ticket cost in the 70s compared to now, Nothing is the same, doing the same and expecting the results from another era doesnt make much sense. You are very right , pretending all is well is not the answer. Creative ways to survive is. JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) oops, sorry. was boredom out of not understanding or not familiar ? many older fans do go to shows I believe to enjoy what they may have had but see the new version of it and cant get past it. maybe i was right. disconnected..lol, who knows Ive been around many many decades and I see the opposite of many and Im glad for it I guess Been a while but what I remember part probably was not knowing the music and part was a lot of the shows that I didn't like were unemotional. As History of DC stated it was a time of change in show design and not having the Internet to know what was coming it was a wth?. IMO it was going from grabbing the crowd with emotion to trying to impress with complexity. Probably would have stuck around until the end but "horn hit.. nothing...(repeat bunch of times)" would have come across as boring even if I knew the music. Wish I could remember the other show that bored the crap outta me but been too long and might get it wrong. As for being older I was around 34 years old.... Edit: As far as not knowing the music. Have the 1975 DCI legacy DVD and love to listen to the Blue Devils show. Didn't know any of that music either (discovered Mangione from that show) so I disagree that not knowing the music is a major stumbling block. Lot of times have heard "I like that song.... what is it?" followed by the program being fluipped thru. Edited December 30, 2014 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Been a while but what I remember part probably was not knowing the music and part was a lot of the shows that I didn't like were unemotional. As History of DC stated it was a time of change in show design and not having the Internet to know what was coming it was a wth?. IMO it was going from grabbing the crowd with emotion to trying to impress with complexity. Probably would have stuck around until the end but "horn hit.. nothing...(repeat bunch of times)" would have come across as boring even if I knew the music. Wish I could remember the other show that bored the crap outta me but been too long and might get it wrong. As for being older I was around 34 years old.... I get ya and YES it is a bit different BUT for me the quality and design qualities are so outstanding , I guess it's just a different excitement. I dont think one cancels out the other or makes one better, just different. For me I guess I choose to see the best of it. Maybe it's because I stayed very involved through many transitions of the activity and have welcomed most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) I get ya and YES it is a bit different BUT for me the quality and design qualities are so outstanding , I guess it's just a different excitement. I dont think one cancels out the other or makes one better, just different. For me I guess I choose to see the best of it. Maybe it's because I stayed very involved through many transitions of the activity and have welcomed most. Understood and I am a bit different (in other ways as well ) as I put my over worked brain on hold at corps shows and just watch without trying to go for any deep meanings. And having started in a rebuilding corps I get a lot out of watching the lesser corps try to do the best they can do with the handicaps they may have (low talent level, unbalanced lines, etc). I'm one of the people who hits start of Prelims and leaves before the end since I'll see those corps at Finals anyway. If I hadn't just been married, bought a fixer upper house and got my butt stuck on council (who was smoking what on that idea) I might have stuck around longer. But still remember thinking "Well been 15-20 years guess DC has left me behind. Time to worry about grown up stuff." Eveything else I used to do or watch when I was 16 (when I joined a corps) had fallen by the wayside so it was time IMO. Edited December 30, 2014 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Still blaming "more options"? I do not see the NFL, soccer, or even the other pageantry arts sitting around moaning about how growth is impossible amid other options competing for our attention. By the way, there were other entertainment options BITD too. Bowling, bridge parties... the NFL. Before TV, there was radio. Before Facebook, there was face time. Also worth noting that there were less people BITD. Population has grown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) By the way, there were other entertainment options BITD too. Bowling, bridge parties... the NFL. Before TV, there was radio. Before Facebook, there was face time. Well bowling and bridge ain't taking away the spare time like they used to...... Or in my area Little League either..... And the NFL found growth by having their own network and going to Thursday night..... Edited December 30, 2014 by JimF-LowBari 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegalEagle50 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 If you don't see more entertainment options available as an outlet for both participation and observation, you are hiding under the proverbial rock. Seriously - you cannot think that what was available BITD even comes close to comparing to today. And while I have heard of the family gathering around the radio for FDR's fireside chats, I guaranty you that kids were dying to get to drum corps rehearsal to get away from what they viewed as lame, or whatever the term was back then. Now, they can go up to their room, to watch their tv, play on their laptop, IPad, tablet and phone, all at the same time. There is no need to sit in the same room with mom and dad for entertainment. There is no need to have to leave your home for entertainment. And that right there is the huge issue that you are choosing not to see. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Article on today's Breitbart website begins this way . . . . Despite a 16% increase in the American population between 1995 and 2014, film admissions in 2014 hit their lowest level since 1995. With 50 million additional American customers, Hollywood wasn’t able to put any more butts in seats. The article deals with declining interest in simply going to the neighborhood movies. Clearly, the American entertainment initiative is changing. Doesn't really matter why. Many reasons are valid. The question for movie theaters (and drum corps events) becomes, So, now what? Honestly, I don't think much of anything can be done. Advances in technology have made it less important to even leave one's home. Consider the effect technology has had on shopping anywhere in person, inside bricks and mortar. Even shopping malls are closing. Another example is college football bowl games (I'm watching one now). ESPN owns about 13 of those events. ESPN is actually not too interested in how many fans are in the stands. They (ESPN) are doing just fine if only a few hundred show up. It's about selling television ads! That's technology. LIVE attendance is becoming less relevant. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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