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When will drum corps be popular enough? How would we know?


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4 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Gotcha. Drum corps needs elephants.

It has already been done — 1987 Star of Indiana: The Circus Show.

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Never.  Nothing makes it different than brass marching bands (with less accessible shows) and we've had that for a long time now.

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36 minutes ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

It has already been done — 1987 Star of Indiana: The Circus Show.

Blue Rock Baby Elephant Walk way back when

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It's an apt comparison made by @N.E. Brigand, baseball to drum corps.  Two points stand out:

  1. the need to change to widen appeal, and
  2. the big disparity in budget that both baseball teams and drum corps have between competing units. 

Baseball is considering changes.  Drum corps has had many.  It was a seismic shift for drum corps to phase to b-flat instruments.  Another big shift was adjusting the summer schedule to not interfere (as much) with school band seasons.  Doing both made it much easier for students to participate and raised the average talent level in the activity.  Drum corps seems to be in a new hey-day.  There may be fewer attendees at shows, but more are watching online and in theaters.  Maintaining a given number of fans requires that adjustments be made to increase appeal.  Existing fans don't live forever.  

Much like baseball teams, vastly different budgets/resources between drum corps has a big impact on competitive viability.  Football has a more level playing field in this regard and it enjoys more uniform popularity (and success) across different regions of the country than baseball... not perfect, but better.  Success fuels interest and fans.  Not advocating for anything, just observing.  

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13 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

DCI is never going to be mainstream. Sure those Legion and VFW days had super crowds, but a lot of those folks were there because of the Legion or VFW not the corps specifically.

 

Outside of a few major college bands that seeing the show is a tradition, when halftime comes, the stands empty. The HBCU big show does big crowds, but several smaller events dont draw.

 

we are band to the general population. We're never going to sell 60,000 seats or be a huge draw on major TV networks. Wanna know why the HBCU show gets huge ratings and sponsors? Reaching a demographic the advertisers want to reach. 

I think there is a lot of wisdom in Jeff’s thoughts here. 

I do think the chance of breaking through the glass ceiling called Band is possibly here with shows like the ones Bluecoats designs. It’s less band and more Broadway or Vegas. Is Blue Man Group a musical act or a dramatic act? 

Still, the members are kids who are paying for the experience, not being paid. As such the core will continue to be band and those connnected with family. Iow, I am the rare exception to the rule:

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58 minutes ago, seen-it-all said:

I feel the same way about soccer. 

 

I can assure you that almost no one in Nashville gave a rats ### about hockey 20 years ago. Now there is no doubt that the Predators are more popular than the Titans.

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Just now, seen-it-all said:

Until the Titans start winning again. 

True but I don’t think it will impact the popularity of the Predators.

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