IllianaLancerContra Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Just for the sake of doing some math, Correps.com lists 1,237 junior corps (since about 1925) If we assume that each corps averaged 55 members (arbitrary, I know that historically 128 members was only the top 20 or so corps since the mid 1960s) , then there are 68,035 corps alumni out there. Now, also figure that say, 25% have passed away (also an arbitrary guess) - that leaves 51,026 alumni. Not the 2 million kids in bands, but still a core group of fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 If everyone were like you, Mike, then they couldn't build stadiums big enough or schedule enough shows to meet audience demand. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I wish I was more like you. I really do. But the current product is significantly less appealing to me. I just believe that progress (change) could be, and could have been made without so much alienation of the legacy fans. Those 2 million kids are still out there, always will be. They do, in fact need to be a major target. But, I don't think the legacy fan should be relagated to a minor target, if one at all. Shows are attended by lots of legacy fans, despite the changes over time that people on the internet forums wring their hands over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevedci Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Here's another facet left out of your equation. All of those alumni have put effort, dedication and money into drum corps. Each and every one. How many of the band kids have done the same? Is it 200,000? is drum corps about those who marched or those who currently march? or what mix? your logic on this one is little off. if MTV followed your logic, it would still be playing Michael Jackson, DEVO and the B-52s. i guess it's surprising that folks perceive a problem in marking and focusing on the people most attracted to and able to buy what you sell -- more young people are going to shows, more students are auditioning, more corporate partners are signing on w/ the corps and dci, more people are attending shows, more people are watching on tV (1M+ for the main and rebroadcasts on ESPN2).... DCI's W990 shows a pretty steady growth of gross revenue and money send to corps..... would it be nice to have more corps? maybe.. maybe not. it would be nice to have more BETTER corps, but i suspect that no one really wants more corps any cost, given the failure rate of corps. all in all, to me, from the outside.....things look pretty good for DCI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 simple numbersalumni of DCI era corps -- <200,000 scholastic performing arts kids (aged 13-22) - 3,000,000+ renweing each year I love these McStats everyone is tossing out on this thread. Let me offer one of my own: Number of totally disinterested people in the U.S. - about 300,000,000. Let's make them the target audience! Seriously, 3 million is a major stretch, and most certainly includes some kids who are only peripherally associated with the activities that bear similarity to drum corps. Perhaps a more relevant figure would be the number of kids in competitive marching bands, which is somewhere around 200,000. But the bottom line is not the size of the target. What matters is not how many are in your target demographic, but how many buy your product, how often they buy it, and how much they spend on it. And the "classic audience of 1975" still gives you an impressive return on investment compared to any other group. As stated above, why not target the band kids, and keep the legacy fans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 would it be nice to have more corps? maybe.. maybe not. it would be nice to have more BETTER corps, but i suspect that no one really wants more corps any cost, given the failure rate of corps. DCI is already making them "better" corps. It is time for "more" of them, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsreps Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Just for the sake of doing some math, Correps.com lists 1,237 junior corps (since about 1925) If we assume that each corps averaged 55 members (arbitrary, I know that historically 128 members was only the top 20 or so corps since the mid 1960s) , then there are 68,035 corps alumni out there. Now, also figure that say, 25% have passed away (also an arbitrary guess) - that leaves 51,026 alumni. Not the 2 million kids in bands, but still a core group of fans. Some of those corps competed one year, others 60+ years. Some of the members were in more than one corps. Some marched multiple seasons. We have about 4200 junior "corps years" listed in the repertoire database - an indication that a corps had a repertoire or competed at DCI or VFW. We have about 6800 "corps years" listed in the score database. If we use your 55 and 25% values along with the guess that each person marched an average of 1.5 years we get 6800 x 55 x (1-.25) / 1.5 = 187,000. That would seem to support a number around 200,000 alumni as reasonable. Of course, we don't have every corps or every contest and there are a lot of assumptions in the above calculation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kusankusho Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Some of those corps competed one year, others 60+ years. Some of the members were in more than one corps. Some marched multiple seasons. We have about 4200 junior "corps years" listed in the repertoire database - an indication that a corps had a repertoire or competed at DCI or VFW. We have about 6800 "corps years" listed in the score database. If we use your 55 and 25% values along with the guess that each person marched an average of 1.5 years we get 6800 x 55 x (1-.25) / 1.5 = 187,000. That would seem to support a number around 200,000 alumni as reasonable. Of course, we don't have every corps or every contest and there are a lot of assumptions in the above calculation. Also - factor in all the senior corps alumni that would still go support a DCI show. I'd guess you are up over 300,000 at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 (edited) is drum corps about those who marched or those who currently march? or what mix? your logic on this one is little off. if MTV followed your logic, it would still be playing Michael Jackson, DEVO and the B-52s. i guess it's surprising that folks perceive a problem in marking and focusing on the people most attracted to and able to buy what you sell -- more young people are going to shows, more students are auditioning, more corporate partners are signing on w/ the corps and dci, more people are attending shows, more people are watching on tV (1M+ for the main and rebroadcasts on ESPN2).... DCI's W990 shows a pretty steady growth of gross revenue and money send to corps..... would it be nice to have more corps? maybe.. maybe not. it would be nice to have more BETTER corps, but i suspect that no one really wants more corps any cost, given the failure rate of corps. all in all, to me, from the outside.....things look pretty good for DCI. Time to blow up another fallacy Look at Poll Star for last year (its an industry booking site for rock band and acts), I think in the non-membership area you’ll be able to find the top concert grosses for last years…its geezer bands, rolling stones are on the top of the list…then a large chuck of the top 10 is more geezers bands – see, they kids don’t have the money to spend or they are not very loyal Look at actual CD sales then, you’ll notice the same trend…kids love their free down loads, file swapping and disposal pop songs – it’s not as top heavy with geezer acts but they are very well represented, more so then you’d expect unless you did the research Why I recall reading a music industry analysis that was commissioned and put together by a top consultant firm a few years ago when I was still in the music biz, pretty much predicted that trend. So, if you follow the money, you have to chase who is spending that money and it’s not the kids in pop/rock, it’s the legacy fans Odd you bring up the B-52’s, fun group, nice guys, put on a good show, seen them too many times to recall but their current business model is playing corporate parties or small clubs but with a high ticket price (last trip through town it was a face of $50) – that brings them in more profit, cuts over head is more to their personal liking (they also hate smoke in clubs BTW) and then sure, they did that stint in Lake Tahoe for a bit at a casino to haul in more bucks…so they are still making tons of bucks w/out the hassle and on their terms. Bully for them in being able to capture their market because the know their market...no such game as waiting for all these new fans that still have yet to show, will they ever show? Nope, it’s not what it always seems it should be unless you researched but then it wouldn’t seem that way at all then Edited January 9, 2007 by cowtown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 (edited) del -2x Edited January 9, 2007 by cowtown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tank Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 If anything, the HS kids know that woodwinds and electronics are gimmicky, and that drum corps is the legitimate deal. If it's all they know, how would kids find WWs (a critical part of any BAND) and especially electronics "gimmicky"? If high school kids are their goal, then what they are doing is probably the right way to go, whether we like it or not. But it does alienate SOME number of alumni/older fans. DCI is gambling that they attract high school kids to make for those lost alumni that would spend thousands of dollars a year in disposable income on being a Friend of DCI, going to several shows a year, buying DVDs, paying up to $75 a head for Finals tickets, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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