A Cost-Cutting Proposal

[IllianaLancerContra]

8 minutes ago, ContraFart said:

How do you do that by limiting to 2 busses?

Number of marching members in DCI is same.  They are spread out over all Corps.  Many of Open class have same number of members as World class.  

[ContraFart]

36 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Number of marching members in DCI is same.  They are spread out over all Corps.  Many of Open class have same number of members as World class.  

I am still not understanding. By limiting to 2 busses, you limit the membership of any corps to about 110-115. That is 50 fewer than the current number. Are you saying that the 50 people who cannot be in the corps they want will spread to other corps? 

[IllianaLancerContra]

11 minutes ago, ContraFart said:

I am still not understanding. By limiting to 2 busses, you limit the membership of any corps to about 110-115. That is 50 fewer than the current number. Are you saying that the 50 people who cannot be in the corps they want will spread to other corps? 

Yes, they have the opportunity to move to other Corps.    Might be an opportunity to increase competitive parity as well. 

[ContraFart]

4 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Yes, they have the opportunity to move to other Corps.    Might be an opportunity to increase competitive parity as well. 

Through everything Marching Members are the customer, forcing them out of the corps of their choice is not a good move. 

[Land_Surfer]

Stop trying to be all things to all people.  It costs too much and results in compromise… becoming ordinary, just another commodity.  Drum corps is a niche, the last great bastion of precision marching brass and percussion that never once got old or ordinary… always been a crowd favorite!  
 

Leadership has led drum corps to the positions they are in today, as they endeavor to one up the competition with spending power over creativity.  

[RiverCityAndTroopersFan]

On 10/14/2023 at 8:16 AM, IllianaLancerContra said:

Here is a proposal to cut costs in Drum Corps.  
 

1.  Establish 4 DCI regional divisions, with Corps assigned as follows:

Pacific - BD, Mandarins, PC, Academy, SCV, Gold, Cascades, and other Corps from CA, WA, OR, AZ

West - Troopers, BK, Crossmen, Genesis, Guardians, Battalion, and other Corps from that area. 
 

Midwest - Phantom, Cavaliers, Colts, BS, Madison, MC, and other Corps from that area 

East - Bloo, BAC, Crown, SoA, Surf, and other Corps from that area

First 2-3 weeks Corps only compete within division. Each Corps hosts a show.  
 

Pacific and West meet first time in San Antonio.  Midwest and East meet first time in Atlanta.   Then both tours head to Indy over 2-week period. Indy is where all Corps meet for the first time.  
 

Second part is limit size of convoy.  3 member busses, 1 staff bus.  2 Semis.  One food truck.  2 vans, one of which pulls souvenir trailer.  This will cut down vehicle rental costs, fuel costs, and insurance costs.  Designers, design what you want but it has to fit In the convoy.   Ten-point penalty for each excess vehicle. 
 

I realize that this will #### off various constituencies, but something has got to give.  

Also limit (or outright ban) props. 

[cixelsyd]

Perhaps ContraFart is correct and the Cadets were wise to call off 2024.  Maybe that is actually the solution.

The best way to make a dent in operating costs is to stop operating.  Granted, this also makes a dent in revenue with no member fees coming in... but as has been pointed out, member fees only cover 50% of costs, so that is a net win, right?

The other revenue ideas about resale of equipment, props, etc., can be fully executed since they are not being used.

Even the member experience benefits, as the goal of zero abuse complaints will be achieved in 2024.

This is a win/win/win!

[2muchcoffeeman]

17 hours ago, rmurrey74 said:

 Over 1,000 kids auditioned for them last year. That’s a huge profit center based on the audition fee and audition materials purchased.  
 

It's a revenue source, not a "profit center." Revenue is not the same as profit. Profit is what's left after you've paid expenses.

152 members paying $4,000 each for the summer is $608,000 in revenue.

Is that a lot? Sure. But the annual budget of a finalist corps is north of $1.5, $1.6, $1.7 million, and undoubtedly higher for some corps.

The tuition revenue covers only about a third of the annual budget.

Put another way: It costs [$1.7M / 152 =] $11,184.21 per marching member to run a finalist corps from one season to the next. The members pay only a third of that amount. The corps has to find the rest through Bingo, fundraising, souvies, etc.

Camp revenue, meanwhile, is only a fraction of tuition revenue. A thousand auditionees paying $150 for a camp is $150K, which is nothing to sneeze at, but once you subtract the food, the facility rentals and the staff transportation costs for the camp season, what's left isn't going to put much of a dent in that $1.7M annual bill.

Edited October 15, 2023 by 2muchcoffeeman

[IllianaLancerContra]

10 minutes ago, RiverCityAndTroopersFan said:

Also limit (or outright ban) props. 

Not necessarily- if it fits in the allowed logistical footprint you can use it.  Let the designers make the choice- do we go w/ 2each marimbas & vibes and 10 tubas to open up truck space for the prop?  Or do we go no prop & max out size of musical ensemble?   Lets the creators be creative.   

[Old Guy]

2 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:

Perhaps ContraFart is correct and the Cadets were wise to call off 2024.  Maybe that is actually the solution.

The best way to make a dent in operating costs is to stop operating.  Granted, this also makes a dent in revenue with no member fees coming in... but as has been pointed out, member fees only cover 50% of costs, so that is a net win, right?

The other revenue ideas about resale of equipment, props, etc., can be fully executed since they are not being used.

Even the member experience benefits, as the goal of zero abuse complaints will be achieved in 2024.

This is a win/win/win!

Finally reaching the perfect solution. 🤪