Marching Music Downloads, RIP

[ranintothedoor]

13 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

Speaking of heavy-handed... DCI should partner with Tresona.  

Oooo, I just got all tingly inside! 😄

 

[Jeff Ream]

14 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

As the history is rewritten over time, the baby boom is a popular excuse given for drum corps declining in numbers as the peak of the baby boom subsided.  But the math does not add up there.  The baby boom was not even a factor of two, while drum corps has suffered a tenfold decline in number of corps.

Of course, that whole line of reasoning ignores the youth activities that grew while the baby boom tailed off.  One of them was competitive high-school marching band.

Like they say, that was merely a failure to "develop new revenue sources".

There was a major recession in the 1930s, and drum corps surged through it as if it never even happened.

Okay, now you found part of what I meant with my "pee in the ocean" remark.

We should first recall what this activity is supposed to be.  It developed as an activity of friendly, sporting competition among peer groups in over a dozen different service organizations, VFW and AL being two prominent ones.  Back in the day, these groups understood that it was difficult enough to muster enough people, equip them, rehearse routines, and travel to events where other such corps would gather - so they gratefully welcomed and supported every additional corps that came along, win or lose.  (Well, most of them understood this.)  To that end, they established common-sense standards of fair play, one of which was to refrain from recruiting marchers from their competition.

When the touring flavor of drum corps became a thing, some of those corps developed a sense of entitlement.  Certain corps of that ilk felt entitled to attract recruits directly from the ranks of "local corps".  They felt that because they were touring corps, they were now a different species; the local corps were no longer their peers, and therefore release rules should not apply.  Evidently, common sense should no longer apply either, because an activity that cannibalizes their own is not on a path to growth and success.  But it seemed like an ocean of corps at the time... what could go wrong?

Speaking of heavy-handed... DCI should partner with Tresona.  

well DCi did give Tresona a high 6 figure check. however the failure to create new revenue sources isn't always as easy as it seems. sure some states had bongo that could work, others had laws on the books that made it not so easy. even now we see everyone say how BD is the bingo model, but a birdie told me their recent 990's don't look all that amazing either. finding new ways to generate revenue isn't something you'll get people doing for free these days. it's a time eating hog, and these days people don't have or want to give that time, especially for free. 

 

it's easy to point fingers solely at DCI. they play a part in this yes. but other reasons listed are just as valid. it's not something that can be blamed on the big bad mothership alone. many pieces of the puzzle came together to get where we are...the rise of high school bands, the decline of participation from veterans or community groups like CYO or PAL, rising costs, the lack of people willing to invest the time, and other things...got us here. And there is no magic fix.

[cixelsyd]

6 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

it's easy to point fingers solely at DCI. 

Evidently, you can only see one of my fingers.

It takes all ten fingers and some finger-wagging to cover everyone involved.  You know where the first finger points?  Toward the instrument/equipment suppliers.  They have written the entire 100-year script of this drama we call the drum corps activity.  Many of the other pointing fingers are for why everyone else let the equipment industrial complex steer the composition, evolution and rules of drum corps for all this time.  They let the salesmen write the checks.

You are right about one thing, though - it is easy to point a finger at DCI in this regard.  Bear in mind that the founding purpose of DCI was to claim a greater share of contest revenue in order to make annual touring financially feasible.  Why, then, would you simultaneously enact change after change after change that added to the expense of equipping corps?  At least the VFW and AL (moreso AL) offered friction that slowed the process, for a time.  It is worth noting that the end of that time came in the 1970s.

[Jeff Ream]

32 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:

Evidently, you can only see one of my fingers.

It takes all ten fingers and some finger-wagging to cover everyone involved.  You know where the first finger points?  Toward the instrument/equipment suppliers.  They have written the entire 100-year script of this drama we call the drum corps activity.  Many of the other pointing fingers are for why everyone else let the equipment industrial complex steer the composition, evolution and rules of drum corps for all this time.  They let the salesmen write the checks.

You are right about one thing, though - it is easy to point a finger at DCI in this regard.  Bear in mind that the founding purpose of DCI was to claim a greater share of contest revenue in order to make annual touring financially feasible.  Why, then, would you simultaneously enact change after change after change that added to the expense of equipping corps?  At least the VFW and AL (moreso AL) offered friction that slowed the process, for a time.  It is worth noting that the end of that time came in the 1970s.

i never said you were aiming all 10. i used your post as a launch pad to say what i wanted to say.

the first finger pointed should be at the adults in charges of all phases of the activity. actually the first hand. and while yes, DCI was formed to generate more revenue, that revenue only went to some corps, not all. still better than what the VFW and AL gave.

[perc2100]

On 1/3/2026 at 7:43 AM, combia1 said:

In the past, each corps was responsible for securing the Permission to Arrange and PERFORM the music. This does not give permission to record and distribute. DCI would secure those recording and distribution licenses. Now, if each corps wants to be able to distribute an AV recording of their show on physical or streaming media, they can secure those synch rights to do so. 

When it comes to audio recordings, standard practice, I thought, was $0.09.1 per CD ONE THINKS would sell (so, like, if Bluecoats think they'll sell 1000 copies of a recording that's $91).  I wonder what the case would be for drum corps to individually at least sell recordings of their shows: or if that's even how it works with arrangements that would essentially be mashups of multiple different rights holders' music.  If it's as simple at the .091 cents per, with Boston Crusaders having 9 different shows that's 82 cents per recording sold for just BAC's fees.

1) would people actually want audio recordings ONLY of corps shows?

2) would people who want audio only recordings pay, say, $5 per corps' show?

Do modern shows stand on their own as audio recordings like they used to, or is the music/soundscape so enjoined with the visual component audio recordings wouldn't be good enough for modern fans?

Obviously I don't know the legalities of selling audio recordings for stuff like this (though as a pro musician BITD I'm intimately aware of the legalities of recording/selling cover songs; also as a HS band teacher I'm well aware of the costs of getting rights cleared to arrange/perform but we don't sell recordings of marching band shows & I've never dealt with that), so maybe there's a bigger component/financial obligation I don't know about.  But I'd think selling just audio recordings would be much easier to accomplish than full videos nowadays.

[perc2100]

On 1/8/2026 at 7:48 AM, Jeff Ream said:

well DCi did give Tresona a high 6 figure check. however the failure to create new revenue sources isn't always as easy as it seems. sure some states had bongo that could work, others had laws on the books that made it not so easy. even now we see everyone say how BD is the bingo model, but a birdie told me their recent 990's don't look all that amazing either. finding new ways to generate revenue isn't something you'll get people doing for free these days. it's a time eating hog, and these days people don't have or want to give that time, especially for free. 

 

it's easy to point fingers solely at DCI. they play a part in this yes. but other reasons listed are just as valid. it's not something that can be blamed on the big bad mothership alone. many pieces of the puzzle came together to get where we are...the rise of high school bands, the decline of participation from veterans or community groups like CYO or PAL, rising costs, the lack of people willing to invest the time, and other things...got us here. And there is no magic fix.

I feel like if we're being honest, the fact that DCI and most of its member corps continue to exist post-COVID feels like a minor miracle; the fact that we've had 50 years of DCI feels like a substantial miracle.  A lot of the problems you mention above are not brand new to 2026, or 2020, or 2010, or even 2000 but DCI and most have still found ways to sustain, one way or another.  It's hard to run a business, and my mom who spent a large part of her career in business banking working with businesses both large and small (and even a drum corps for a short time) will tell you that most businesses fail sooner than later; roughly 50% of businesses fail by year 5, with only about 35% of businesses surviving past the 10th year!  Corps like Madison Scouts, Cavaliers, SCV and all of the others that have been around over 50 years seems incredible in that regard

[Jeff Ream]

On 1/9/2026 at 5:01 PM, perc2100 said:

I feel like if we're being honest, the fact that DCI and most of its member corps continue to exist post-COVID feels like a minor miracle; the fact that we've had 50 years of DCI feels like a substantial miracle.  A lot of the problems you mention above are not brand new to 2026, or 2020, or 2010, or even 2000 but DCI and most have still found ways to sustain, one way or another.  It's hard to run a business, and my mom who spent a large part of her career in business banking working with businesses both large and small (and even a drum corps for a short time) will tell you that most businesses fail sooner than later; roughly 50% of businesses fail by year 5, with only about 35% of businesses surviving past the 10th year!  Corps like Madison Scouts, Cavaliers, SCV and all of the others that have been around over 50 years seems incredible in that regard

i do think there needs to be some type of online way of providing archives given the way media is consumed now, but again cost is an issue...both licensing and storage space. I remember some top WGI names saying retaining all that archived footage chewed up terabytes or whatever the biggest space is...and that wasn't cheap

[ranintothedoor]

All this to say that the value of live performances is going to go up.  If there's no record of the show other than our memories, more people are going to want to sacrifice to see it live. 

My wife and I might be going to finals for the first time since the 2000s for me and ever for her.  We love Flo and often go to Allentown, but it's just not the same as experiencing Championships live.   

[ohbaby]

WIth DCI - it is better Live... however with some reocrdings and also based on the audio equipment... there have been times where I have heard things that I do not recall hearing live. For example if you sit on the 15 yard line or upper deck.. no way you hear details that HQ recordings pick up. 

The Bluray of 87 Garfield is a perfect example ... you hear the soprano at the end, doubt anyone heard that in person at Camp Randall 

[copyright]

33 minutes ago, ohbaby said:

WIth DCI - it is better Live... however with some reocrdings and also based on the audio equipment... there have been times where I have heard things that I do not recall hearing live. For example if you sit on the 15 yard line or upper deck.. no way you hear details that HQ recordings pick up. 

The Bluray of 87 Garfield is a perfect example ... you hear the soprano at the end, doubt anyone heard that in person at Camp Randall 

It makes you really appreciate all that the DCI staff and Blair’s team did to deliver the highest quality product (as close as you could get without being there).
I remember being around both teams when the DVDs were rolling out in the mid 2000’s. An incredible attention to detail and an immense sense of pride. Bravo to all those involved!