Writing at a college newspaper, you’re not quite sure if people react to what you write. Feb. 16 I wrote “Where’s The Rock?” wondering why this campus does not have more major rock concerts. Country is good, but there’s only so much you can take.
One student shared with me his attempt to get an act to come to Ball State University through University Program Board and another group showed up to the meeting he said, and both were shot down. I can’t help the layers and processes that block them from their attempts because UPB has good intentions. However, I’m satisfied to see that people tried and people do care about what they see come to campus. Keep pushing and communicating with these organizations about how you can do a better job presenting your proposal and understanding how it works.
In today’s paper I see that Emens Auditorium will bring indie rocker Ben Folds minus him folding five April 21. Is this the result of students’ efforts or at least the issue The Daily News brought to light about concerts? I didn’t speak to Emens Director Robert Myers about that announcement, but I like my dillusionment to remain. Granted, Ben Folds is not for everyone. However, if you don’t show up and support the concert and what Emens is trying to do, what is the chance that Dave Matthews, Bright Eyes or Red Hot Chili Peppers would come to Ball State University? Little. If convincing you that attending this concert is important isn’t enough from what I wrote, I got a potential consequence that comes in three words: Big and Rich.
Spare us from them coming to our city and saving a horse for the sake of a cowboy.
Submitted by: Charles Schelle –Features
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April 4th, 2006 at 8:12 am
I was wondering if anybody else was noticing there has been zero rock concerts at the arena since a very long time ago. Nine Inch Nails was the last concert that could be considered anything close to rock. There is no good reason why a good rock(metal would be better) band couldn’t be convinced to come to Muncie. You have to book them first for them to come. There sits an arena that could be used for a whole lot more, especially concerts that people will actually go to. Having only concerts with country singers is horrid. Money from the concert migth even be able to help with building of a new stadium. Or it could make it so season ticket holders don’t have to pay an extra priice at basketball games. Selling t-shirts, hats, other apparel at the concert along with concessions should bring in a nice amount of money.
April 6th, 2006 at 1:23 am
Sorry, Mak, but concerts don’t make enough money at this level to “build a new stadium” or to make season tickets cheaper. Sales from merchandise go to the band and to the merchandiser, not to the person who books a show. And the problem with booking rock bands that are popular enough to pack Emens is just how much they start charging. 72 Hours wanted to bring Clap Your Hands Say Yeah this year, a band that originally was willing to play for $4,000. They appeared on SNL and suddenly wanted $20,000+. When you consider that Emens holds 3,000 people, a concert would have to cost students $10 or more per ticket at that cost to break even (after additional venue costs). To book a major band, for (say) $250,000 at Worthen Arena (12,000 seats) would need to cost $20 a ticket. And that’s a low end cost for a band of major name status.
I joined UPB after this article by Charles was printed. They’ve helped sponsor the upcoming Margaret Cho performance since I joined — which, by the way, is supposed to be FREE for students at Emens April 24 … and that cost the campus in total $20,000 (funded by a large group of organizations). But because the concert had to be on a Monday, the week before finals week, all these groups agreed to front the money with no hope of making it back. Having the concert be free was the only way to assure college students would attend.
THAT is the problem. We all want big bands to come here, but are we willing to PAY for them? Are we willing to give up our “student discount” tickets and pay a fair $30 for a ticket to a legitimate major-name rock concert? If so — if 3,000 people were wlling to pay $30 for a show at Emens, or 12,000 for a show at Worthen, then maybe BSU could put on these big name concerts.
But wait … they do! It just appears that people are willing to put out $30 a ticket to see Kenny Chesney, or $20 to see Third Day. So that’s what comes here. I suspect if Ben’s show sells out (and at $23 for students, it’s a freakin’ bargain!) more shows like this could happen.
But even then, it’s still more cost than a group like UPB can absorb while still paying for other events. If UPB books a major act, and then students decide not to put their money where their mouth is, the show flops and the group loses a year worth of funding. Plus, UPB is a campus activities board, not a concert promoter. So those are all things to be considered.
April 15th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
A lot of information was cut from “Where’s the Rock.” If I had to do it over again, I would have made a committment to add more information in fact boxes on DN|Online. This suffices.
One part talked about what type of venue people preferred to see a show at. I polled about 50 Ball State students and they said arenas, clubs and open-air all came ahead of theaters or concert halls (like Emens). Rock concerts are tailored for people to move around, and standing up at your seats, you’re limited to what you can do. Emens does not have the ability to remove seats. Even if it did, it wouldn’t be fun to move around because of the incline of the floor.
So, back to Worthen Arena. It has to be a concert that will draw pretty much the entire campus plus Muncie and people from other schools (even though Emens people say they’re goal is to entertain the local area, we know how many of our friends from IU and surrounding schools come to visit when a good concert comes i.e. Muse). Also, the cost of production is enormous. Emens already has a set stage. You have to hire people to transport the stage and equipment, pay for them to construct and deconstruct the stage, lights and speakers. I really would like to see Worthen Arena double as an ice arena, but that’s not revelant and I wasn’t here when they built it. The $20 for a $250,000 band Jonathan gave is off base. The tickets wil cost more because of the production and you cannot sell $20 for every single seat in the arena. You must charge more for the floor and seats near the stage or else you’re break-even point will be ridiculously high.
Many concerts that come to Worthen are booked by concert promoters that approach Emens. The promoters retain most or all of the profit. Would you really blame Emens for not taking these ventures if they can’t make a guaranteed profit? I don’t.
I’m glad to see Ben Folds was a success as a near sell-out. I don’t have any confirm numbers on it, but when you see people in the balcony, you know that place is near capacity. I saw his show and I’m glad it went. Folds said he like Emens because of the sound quality (”it’s better than a gymnasium,” he said). And with Folds, he’s not a mosh inducing artist, but he does get you out of your seat. Now that students packed Emens and Folds liked the sound quality and played for about two hours, hopefully he will come back for future students to enjoy. Or at least tell fellow artists about rocking in Muncie. One other question I asked people was what day they prefer to see a show. Most said weekends. Ben Folds played on a Wednesday and it was a good turn out.
So far, so good. But let’s not declare success on one event.