A Modest Proposal

[Keith Hall]

So it dawned on me....... We were calling for change 20 years ago (maybe longer)! Now with all the turmoil in our country the past 2 years, we see the rise of costs for everything. This won't be just Santa Clara Vanguard. It will be other corps and especially from California. Finances and people that can't keep their hands off of the kids. Okay, they do "background checks" whatever is their resources. Not the FBI or PD's probably. A few calls here and there maybe? An in. sane amount of staff? Crazy. Titles for staff members that, you would think, resemble TV shows or Broadway musicals. Lets see what happens with the remainder of the corps between now and May. How many will go inactive or close up the store? After drum corps dies then the marching band world will be next. I have a hard enough time getting my choral students to pay $150. What is the rate for High School BOA Marching band these days?

[Keith Hall]

7 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said:

Here’s what I’ve figured out the last few days… everyone wants drum corps to survive but no one wants anything to change.

This is the game they all chose to play.   They’re the only ones that change it.

Raising the number of members per corps was never a good idea.  They were/are hurting the lower placing corps. I don’t know if it was deliberately.  But I understand that they’re completely self-serving so no surprise there. 

Agree!!!! 

The smaller corps will not be able to afford touring nor a huge staff. the top directors for the longest time probably could care less about the bottom corps. Corps like SCV, BD, Cadets, CC and Bluecoats are in it for them and stood on the mountain top pushing them off. King of the mountain!

[bkbass98]

16 hours ago, OldSnareDrummer said:

Casinos. It worked for Marty Byrde. 

 

Did it, though?  😁

[scheherazadesghost]

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Edited June 13, 2023 by scheherazadesghost

[C.Holland]

you wanna save drum corps? Let's be real.

first you have to reward show operators.  You have to incentivize someone to front $30k, more than "you'll make money selling concessions".   And second you need to cut corps costs.  One will lead to the other.  The more show sponsors you have providing housing, the less corps will spend on it. 

For show operators - make all corps operate like Open Class.  no more payouts. They're not enough to fill two of your gas tanks, so you won't miss those much. However,  You run a show? get to use it as a fundraiser for your org full out.  You keep what you make.  Not just on concessions.  Sell tix, make your gross, corps get a place to play, housing provided and fields, and whatever they make selling merch. Sorry kids. you wanna "be more local" you need to incentivize local show operators so you have shows to be local.  That alone will help bring costs down.  More shows sponsoring housing means less housing a corps has to pay for.

 

[MikeN]

17 hours ago, wjt4 said:

Scale back things.  Go back to 128 marchers, maybe only one tour, demand uniforms that corps have to keep for a minimum of 5 years, no props, no amplification, no friggin' Sousaphones, saxophones, violins, cellos, and trombones on the field.  Just talking off the top of my head.  Shorter shows?  Maybe expenditure caps to create more parity?  Time practice caps?  Staffing caps?  How about requiring a concert number where there is NO drill.

These suggestions keep coming up, but I have to ask, how do these onfield changes save money?  Charter companies are using 55 seat busses - unless you drop to 110, at 128 you're leaving empty seats on busses, which actually will cost the corps more per person.  Digital uniforms are generally either heavily discounted by manufacturers or passed on to members, and even on a three year cycle are cheaper than the old wool and/or FJM stuff.  Most of the "one off" instruments aren't even owned by the corps - they're begged and borrowed.  Almost every high school corps-style band in America uses a sound system these days; it's just part of what a halftime is.

At the end of the day, the tour itself is what is the problem.  Too many days on the road, too many vehicles chugging gas, too many days of food and nights of housing needed, and event management eats up virtually all of DCI the Show Promoter's revenue. 

I don't even know if there is a workable solution long term, but off the top of my head, I'd propose a redesign of the tour where the unpaid-by-DCI, local tours culminate in regionals that determine a champion and only a certain number of qualifiers move on to the national tour "playoffs," with *that* travel subsidized by DCI, maybe with corps travelling and housing together.  

Mike

[ContraFart]

There is nothing wrong with the current product on the field. There are not too many kids, or too many props, or too much electronics, or new uniforms every year. There are 2 major problems 1. Housing costs and 2. Revenue streams. Making the tour shorter or more regional are not going to fix those problems. 

[ContraFart]

7 hours ago, Keith Hall said:

Agree!!!! 

The smaller corps will not be able to afford touring nor a huge staff. the top directors for the longest time probably could care less about the bottom corps. Corps like SCV, BD, Cadets, CC and Bluecoats are in it for them and stood on the mountain top pushing them off. King of the mountain!

Music City has 83 on staff.

[Sutasaurus]

9 minutes ago, ContraFart said:

Music City has 83 on staff.

But how many of those 83 are paid? Many corps have staff that volunteer.

[C.Holland]

13 minutes ago, ContraFart said:

Music City has 83 on staff.

its the only way you can guarantee coverage for all captions, while your staff has to deal with band concerts, summer band camps, development workshops, orientations, etc etc etc.   That doesnt account for the staff who ARENT band directors.  Who are using their own vacation time to be on tour.    

You're not increasing the budget for staff.  Youre spreading that budget out amongst more people so you always have someone teching on the field.   Not everyone is on the road at once.  Not everyone goes to finals.  Some will only work the camps, some will come in during a period when the rest all have a band camp at the same time.  

Edited December 14, 2022 by C.Holland