[atlantaprog] Re: Cheapness

i would advise not increasing the price.  i saw 3 couples turn away 
from the ticket area and leave the room upon hearing the price.
this is about exposure, right?  i'd play for free if it got more people 
in to hear me.  shoot, that's what i've been doing  since i started 
playing original music.  that's not to say the money is not important,
that's only to say that i'd rather make money selling my band's cds
and other merchandise to folks who already like us than to try and
get a few extra bucks from folks in the door.  

however, i admire wheat for bringing this topic up and recognizing
the general injustice of the situation. :-)
___________________
john turner

http://lordonly.net

"What is a poet? An unhappy person who 
conceals profound anguish in his heart but 
whose lips are so formed that as sighs and 
cries pass over them they sound like 
beautiful music." - Soren Kierkegaard

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wheat Williams" <wheat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <atlantaprog@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2003 3:41 PM
Subject: [atlantaprog] Cheapness


> Dear Ones:
> 
> I enjoyed the show at CJ's on Thursday. Permit me to rant a bit.
> 
> The ticket price for the show was $5.00. That is far too low. For a 
> show like this you should charge $10 or even $15. There is no way two 
> bands are going to make it worth their while at $5 a head from forty 
> members of the paying public. An extra $5 from each person isn't much 
> to ask.
> 
> Heck, I knew this was Buckhead. I paid $5.00 just to park a block down 
> the street. If I had parked in the lot outside CJ's I would have had to 
> pay $10.00. When I go to get entertained I expect to pay money and I'm 
> glad to do it.
> 
> In 1982 when I left high school, the cover charge for a show like yours 
> at a club like CJ's would be $5.00. Well, I've got news for you--$5 in 
> 1982 money would be about $12 in today's money. So why is the 
> unadjusted dollar price the same?
> 
> Why has inflation proceeded apace, yet the club-going public is 
> unwilling to pay bands what they are worth?
> 
> The definition of value in a capitalist society is "whatever the market 
> will bear". I think we should be willing to bear a bit more. Here's my 
> advice. If you are going to be in ARIA (band member or fan) and you are 
> going to commit to come to the shows, you should be willing to support 
> the scene with a little more of your hard-earned cash per ticket.
> 
> On October 12, 2003 the New York Times published an article giving a 
> historical perspective on the "reformation" of the music industry due 
> to the pressures exerted by Internet piracy.
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/12/arts/music/12HARM.html
> 
> They noted that many people who swap stolen music on the Internet argue 
> that they are somehow morally justified in doing so because CDs today 
> cost too much money. The New York Times blew that argument out of the 
> water with this chart:
> 
> Album: Frank Sinatra: Songs for Swingin' Lovers
> Year of Release: 1955
> Estimated original price: $3.50
> Price adjusted for inflation: $24
> Format: LP
> 
> Album: The Beatles, Revolver
> Year of Release: 1966
> Estimated original price: $4.50
> Price adjusted for inflation: $26
> Format: LP
> 
> Album: Eminem, The Eminem Show
> Year of Release: 2002
> Estimated original price: $15
> Price adjusted for inflation: $15.50 (or free via illegal download)
> Format: CD (or illegal mp3 download)
> 
> -----------------------
> Wheat Williams
> wheat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 
>

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