The FEAR of Change

[barigirl78]

2016 starts out exactly where 2015 left off.

1 - 4, same. 5-10, same. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, EXACTLY the same.

After 9 months of staff changes and hard work - nobody moves. Nobody gets better. Everybody stays the same.

It's a Drum Corps Miracle!

Firstly, I share your dismay. But, I'm not ready to come to this conclusion about it after just two days of competition. If the rankings are the same as last year when we get to mid-July, I'll be getting pretty gloomy, too. From a competitive ranking standpoint, change happens almost imperceptibly in this activity. But, it does happen. One example is the slow rise of Blue Knights from bottom five to top seven, while BAC has been slowly declining.

In 2010 and 2011, the Crossmen came in 17th. Since then, they've been a finalist (12th) three out of the last four years. That is change. As a fan of that corps, I would like to see them end up higher than 12th this year. But, I haven't thrown in the towel yet that it's not going to happen. The season is young.

[Cappybara]

Compared with the 70's and 80's, these DCI Corps are much larger. Their staffs are much larger. Marcher talent is much higher. Tryout camps now have several hundred auditioneers available to staffs... much higher than ever before Corps have more resources. Previously restricted musical instrumentation rules have been dropped... so staffs have more creative freedoms now. And on and on.

So why is there less people attending DCI shows this decade, than in the 70's and 80's ( and the loss of TV exposure ) ? Anybody want to take a stab at what an explanation for this might be ?

I'll take a stab.

1. Not only is it much harder to get exposure to DCI (copyright issues), TV culture as a whole is declining. The traditional TV is being replaced by on-demand streaming

2. A culture change. Back then there were no smartphones and computers to keep people occupied in their free time. Now that they have that, why would people want to spend their time at a silly marching band competition?

3. Band programs are declining across the country as school systems have started cutting funds towards music education. Less students taking up an interest at an early age increases the likeliness of less kids wanting to march.

4. The economy isn't very strong, and the job market is much more competitive. Kids are better off taking up jobs over the summer to help pay for their ever rising tuition costs than to participate in an expensive activity. This results in smaller audiences.

5. There are simply less corps. After so many corps have folded due to being financially inviable, the audience numbers will decrease.

6. The huge changes made in drum corps have alienated old fans but created many new younger fans. However, I think that just like in elections, the older folk are more likely to turn out to these events than the younger ones are. Hopefully DCI can find a way to change that.

[GUARDLING]

Compared with the 70's and 80's, these DCI Corps are much larger. Their staffs are much larger. Marcher talent is much higher. Tryout camps now have several hundred auditioneers available to staffs... much higher than ever before Corps have more resources. Previously restricted musical instrumentation rules have been dropped... so staffs have more creative freedoms now. And on and on.

So why is there less people attending DCI shows this decade, than in the 70's and 80's ( and the loss of TV exposure ) ? Anybody want to take a stab at what an explanation for this might be ?

All true statements you listed above. I really dont get into much debate recently , often discussion or opinion turns into debate but I'll give it a shot imo.

Less community involvement ( members )

many more choices than the past

Cost to attend ( especially for families )

Diverse members ( locals verses members from everywhere but where a corps comes from ) even back in the day I remember a few non locals and their families rarely were a fixture like local familes were.

Often as I remember pre DCI legions and VFWs were also attendees ( not now ) I also remember locals with no involvement went to local shows

( a Saturday night out.

The member is much different now and for the most part doesnt spend many many years in a corps

Die hard's are far less, could be because of all the things I said above.

Many more local shows to attend, now for distance and money one has to plan what they will or wont attend.

Well there's a few IMO

[goodmello]

We also need to see Troopers and Academy against Crossmen and Blue Stars to see if they are just scoring lower or if they will be fighting for a 12th place spot.

That being said, I do not think that the placements have much to do with fear of change. If corps produce the same quality of shows, and each makes similar improvements, placement won't change all that much, and while placements may seem to be stagnant compared with years ago, we also have fewer corps in the mix.

I'm sorry, are the Colts chopped liver? .3 behind Troop last night and beating them in music? Also a contender for finals the previous two seasons.

Yes Academy has greatly improved and they are quiet possibly a contender, but until they move west, scores are not the most comparable.

[GUARDLING]

2016 starts out exactly where 2015 left off.

1 - 4, same. 5-10, same. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, EXACTLY the same.

After 9 months of staff changes and hard work - nobody moves. Nobody gets better. Everybody stays the same.

It's a Drum Corps Miracle!

You assume that not all corps improve, as I think they have, With that an improved corps could move up, stay the same as well as drop. That's competition. For one to improve in placement it also takes a corps dropping. Corps do everything possible to maintain and improve and sometimes except for a corps falling or at very least opening a door it stays the same. Corps opening a door can suffer quite a bit and take years to claw their way back for all the reasons I just mentioned.

[MikeRapp]

Attendance at all live events has declined with the rise of on demand Internet access. Even and especially the NFL. If DCI wants to expand, they have to embrace this trend and not try to fight it. The fact that you cannot watch a show on demand, even after paying a subscription, is anathema to today's younger social media driven crowds. It doesn't help that the commentators for shows are old enough to be the marchers' grandparents (as might I be, btw).

The music business destroyed itself by fighting against life streaming. Had they embraced it, no telling where that industry might be today. If you expose people to the shows and empower them to share them, you will inevitably get a lot more people coming to shows that aren't former age outs and parents.

Honest question, because I really don't have much clue.

If DCI does move to more of a props- and GE-driven idiom, how many corps have the finances to put a show like that on the road? I can only imagine what it costs to create and move trampolines, ramps, horse carriages and whatever else I am not remembering.

And this doesn't even touch what has to be astronomical uniform/costume expenses. Maybe the uniform companies are, or will, subsidize this for exposure, but I remember when I was in band what a massive expense new uniforms were. Like, once in a generation expense.

Edited June 26, 2016 by MikeRapp

[Northern Thunder]

So why is there less people attending DCI shows this decade, than in the 70's and 80's ( and the loss of TV exposure ) ? Anybody want to take a stab at what an explanation for this might be ?

A lot of it has to do with the fact that (as an example) 40 years ago, in the 1976 season, we had exactly 100 junior contests by June 25.

The activity was much larger back than. By 1986 that number had dropped to 30 contests by this date, but it's still many times more than the number we've had so far in 2016.

[GUARDLING]

Attendance at all live events has declined with the rise of on demand Internet access. Even and especially the NFL.

Honest question, because I really don't have much clue.

If DCI does move to more of a props- and GE-driven idiom, how many corps have the finances to put a show like that on the road? I can only imagine what it costs to create and move trampolines, ramps, horse carriages and whatever else I am not remembering.

And this doesn't even touch what has to be astronomical uniform/costume expenses. Maybe the uniform companies are, or will, subsidize this for exposure, but I remember when I was in band what a massive expense new uniforms were. Like, once in a generation expense

.This is very true also. Many in the past have also asked why people leave before scores or the encore . Some actually believe it's because people dont care about scores or didnt like the show. I believe its more about there's no need to stay, Many shows are week nights now verses weekends so people work the next day and you can get the scores just as fast on your phone and beat the traffic.

So as many examples have been given "Culture Change " can be said for alot of it.

Edited June 26, 2016 by GUARDLING

[BRASSO]

I'll take a stab.

1. Not only is it much harder to get exposure to DCI (copyright issues), TV culture as a whole is declining. The traditional TV is being replaced by on-demand streaming

2. A culture change. Back then there were no smartphones and computers to keep people occupied in their free time. Now that they have that, why would people want to spend their time at a silly marching band competition?

3. Band programs are declining across the country as school systems have started cutting funds towards music education. Less students taking up an interest at an early age increases the likeliness of less kids wanting to march.

4. The economy isn't very strong, and the job market is much more competitive. Kids are better off taking up jobs over the summer to help pay for their ever rising tuition costs than to participate in an expensive activity. This results in smaller audiences.

5. There are simply less corps. After so many corps have folded due to being financially inviable, the audience numbers will decrease.

6. The huge changes made in drum corps have alienated old fans but created many new younger fans. However, I think that just like in elections, the older folk are more likely to turn out to these events than the younger ones are. Hopefully DCI can find a way to change that.

Some good feedback here from you regarding your belief for the reasons for the loss of attendance from earlier DCI decades with that of today. Sports, like soccer, have increased in attendance exponentially since the 70's here in the US. The demograhics change in the US can partly explain it, of course. But soccer has grown, despite " the economy ", poor wages, use of computers, culture changes, etc. Soccer, fundamentally, is still the same sport in terms of its instrument of competition too. Soccer, like most growth sports here in this decade, are most noted for their absence of change from the 70's to today, not for its wholesale changes as DCI units have undergone. DCI has never really replaced its lost fans, even though its brought in newer fans over the years.

Edited June 26, 2016 by BRASSO

[BRASSO]

I can see that DCI shows are increasingly trending toward broadway, ballet, etc productions, more so than patriotic, americana based themes, stylistic offerings, musical selections, etc. Is that a good model to follow long range however ?. All the attendance figures data show a dramatic drop off over the years in ballet attendance, opera attendance, broadway attendance. They are hemorrhaging attendance left and right. Many have closed down altogether. Just asking, thats all, as I'm pretty sure we all here wish we had far more people going to these shows than currently are.

Edited June 26, 2016 by BRASSO