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It is time for the business of the activity to evolve


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4 minutes ago, garfield said:

Wait, I thought MMs go to particular corps for their educational experience.

Wouldn't a non-competing year at BD still be better on a resume than a competing year at BAC, Cadets, Madison, or PC?  That's the claim anyway.

Maybe MM's aren't as clear (or forthcoming) about what they want out of a marching season.

 

In theory....

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2 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

Good thing DCI stages contests to create that competitive ladder that all this "market value" is predicated on, then.

DCI's product is the corps, not the other way around. The office in Indy recognizes as much as anyone that the most consistently competitive corps are the biggest draw, which is why their TOC compromise continues without much whimpering from anyone else. They don't complain because they need to find some way to keep those corps who could demand more from show sponsors ameliorated by the TOC payouts.

 

 

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17 minutes ago, Slingerland said:

DCI's product is the corps, not the other way around. The office in Indy recognizes as much as anyone that the most consistently competitive corps are the biggest draw, which is why their TOC compromise continues without much whimpering from anyone else. They don't complain because they need to find some way to keep those corps who could demand more from show sponsors ameliorated by the TOC payouts.

So many misconceptions, it is hard to decide where to begin.

Okay, let us start with "compromise".  There was no compromise.  The G7 rammed through a manifesto of demands, including the firing of Dan Acheson.  The other corps responded by rescinding that manifesto, throwing two G7 people off the executive BOD and reinstating Acheson.  

The G7 vowed to leave if their demands were rejected.  Well, they were rejected, and they did not leave.  Because they cannot leave.  And they know it.  And as of 2010, we know it too.

"Could demand more from show sponsors"?  No, that is not how DCI works.  That is how pre-DCI "worked" - or rather, was not working, so DCI was formed to create a stable model for corps fees and show sponsor costs.  If you want to see how it plays out when corps "demand more from show sponsors", go look at DCA.  (Better look quick - it will not be there much longer.)

As for "market value", "the draw", and all that - if you cannot grasp how the overall league/competitive structure is the oxygen they breathe, the very genesis of "top corps" status in the first place, that is your loss.  How many of us would be watching the Olympics if it was just an exclusive club of the seven top marathoners of 1896, never competing again with the rest of the world?

 

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2 hours ago, cybersnyder said:

I've been thinking about the topic of evolving the business model and I'm wondering if there really is much to cut on the expense side other than making tours shorter. And is there really a need to cut costs? There doesn't seem to be a shortage of people signing contracts for the season.  In my opinion, GoFundMe has made higher costs more palatable. You may not raise enough from family and friends to pay the entire year, but you can get enough to bring it back down to reasonable levels. So I was thinking that the evolution needs to happen on the fundraising side, but maybe, via GoFundMe, that evolution has already happened. The best way to raise money is to ask for it. I would be more willing to give Becky $100 who is going to Blue Devils than to send $100 directly to Blue Devils. 

you know one of the biggest spending issues?

 

a month of spring training. a full extra month of food and housing, insurance etc.

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1 hour ago, cixelsyd said:

So many misconceptions, it is hard to decide where to begin.

Okay, let us start with "compromise".  There was no compromise.  The G7 rammed through a manifesto of demands, including the firing of Dan Acheson.  The other corps responded by rescinding that manifesto, throwing two G7 people off the executive BOD and reinstating Acheson.  

The G7 vowed to leave if their demands were rejected.  Well, they were rejected, and they did not leave.  Because they cannot leave.  And they know it.  And as of 2010, we know it too.

"Could demand more from show sponsors"?  No, that is not how DCI works.  That is how pre-DCI "worked" - or rather, was not working, so DCI was formed to create a stable model for corps fees and show sponsor costs.  If you want to see how it plays out when corps "demand more from show sponsors", go look at DCA.  (Better look quick - it will not be there much longer.)

As for "market value", "the draw", and all that - if you cannot grasp how the overall league/competitive structure is the oxygen they breathe, the very genesis of "top corps" status in the first place, that is your loss.  How many of us would be watching the Olympics if it was just an exclusive club of the seven top marathoners of 1896, never competing again with the rest of the world?

 

there was a compromise...the TOC shows, which now often include members outside of the G& group, of which 2 aren't close to being top 7, one for a few years now.

 

however competitive status does affect attendance and ratings. Look at say the Yankees or Red Sox attendance, and compare it to tampa bay or Seattle. Look at Phillies attendance 2007-2011, and look at it 2012-2018. 

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9 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

you know one of the biggest spending issues?

 

a month of spring training. a full extra month of food and housing, insurance etc.

Turn it into at least a partial money making opportunity. Bring your high school marching band to train with the Cadets or whoever for a day. Hell, I'd probably pay $1000 to sit in the center of the BD warmup circle.

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1 hour ago, cybersnyder said:

Turn it into at least a partial money making opportunity. Bring your high school marching band to train with the Cadets or whoever for a day. Hell, I'd probably pay $1000 to sit in the center of the BD warmup circle.

not all corps train in areas with big BOA band budgets.

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2 hours ago, cybersnyder said:

Turn it into at least a partial money making opportunity. Bring your high school marching band to train with the Cadets or whoever for a day. Hell, I'd probably pay $1000 to sit in the center of the BD warmup circle.

 

1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:

not all corps train in areas with big BOA band budgets.

The whole "clinic" idea has been tried, and it barely pays off.  Frankly, most directors will side with their staff that corps rehearsal is more beneficial to the corps than is doing a clinic. 

And bands, at least in our area, are finicky.  They may have a clinic in their budget but not show tickets, or vice versa.  Or, as my very own local band director, the one teaching my own kids, in the same city where we ran the show, said to me personally when I asked him if he was going to send a busload to the show:  "Why would I take away from my own rehearsal to let my kids watch a drum corps clinic and show?".  I'm not kidding.

I can count on one hand the number of bands who sent their kids to both the clinic and the show.  By far, they did one or the other, and the clinic is not meant to be a money-maker as is a ticket sale.  Not hard to see why clinics were eventually die out.

The corps were great, as were the clinic environments and presentations.  It was always the band director who said "No" to a full day of drum corps.

You and I both might pay crazy-stupid amounts of money to sit in a horn circle or in front of a top drum line, but most HS kids won't.

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Ok, bad idea, but I think there is probably more opportunity to raise funds creatively than there is to cut costs - both should be evaluated. I'll continue brainstorming.

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14 hours ago, garfield said:

 

The whole "clinic" idea has been tried, and it barely pays off.  Frankly, most directors will side with their staff that corps rehearsal is more beneficial to the corps than is doing a clinic. 

And bands, at least in our area, are finicky.  They may have a clinic in their budget but not show tickets, or vice versa.  Or, as my very own local band director, the one teaching my own kids, in the same city where we ran the show, said to me personally when I asked him if he was going to send a busload to the show:  "Why would I take away from my own rehearsal to let my kids watch a drum corps clinic and show?".  I'm not kidding.

I can count on one hand the number of bands who sent their kids to both the clinic and the show.  By far, they did one or the other, and the clinic is not meant to be a money-maker as is a ticket sale.  Not hard to see why clinics were eventually die out.

The corps were great, as were the clinic environments and presentations.  It was always the band director who said "No" to a full day of drum corps.

You and I both might pay crazy-stupid amounts of money to sit in a horn circle or in front of a top drum line, but most HS kids won't.

Clinics were vitally important in breaking down barriers to recruiting circa 20 years ago, when nearly everyone had holes to fill.  Now that they accomplished that mission, and the clinic corps have to cut auditionees in all sections, it is not a priority.

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