In a move that is only surprising because it hasn’t happened sooner, ticket sales for the November 13th K’Naan/Maroon 5 concert in Smitty Cent have been opened to all DC-area college students. While the GW Program Board twitter proclaims this move is due to “overwhelming demand,” the opposite is almost certainly true — underwhelming demand and lower-then-expected ticket sales forced GW’s hand.
I’d like to point out that this exact same thing happened for last year’s Program Board-sponsored Jason Mraz/Ben Folds double feature concert — while PB brought enough hype that people were lining up for tickets the day they went on sale in order to secure their spots, there was really no chance of a quickly selling out show at all (nearly half the tickets were unsold a week before the show). The renovated Smith Center increased seating capacity only makes a “sell-out show” even more difficult, and it took opening ticket sales to make the crowd an estimated “3,800″ out of 4,000 tickets, and that number only was reached the day of the show.
The Hatchet editorial board praised Program Board’s ability to pull in a big name artist, but to be honest, with their gargantuan budget & GW’s contract with TicketMaster, it shouldn’t be that difficult. And the big name groups they’ve gotten are specifically touring colleges — probably because those are shows that would normally guarantee sold-out tickets. I’ve been told that last year’s Jason Mraz/Ben Folds show definitely had a students-only stipulation in the contract for ticket-sales, and this show is a stop on Maroon 5’s “Back to School,” 11 university tour.
Artists who do these shows want to make money — and to do so, they have to sell tickets. If selling a reasonable amount of tickets to only GW students never ever works out, then maybe Program Board should re-examine its venue, artist, and contract decisions.
I understand Program Board’s urgent need to make sure GW students feel special, but if they want to keep these events monetarily viable, instead of a nerve-wracking exercise of whether or not enough tickets will sell, why not limit GW-only sales to a week, and then open them up? People don’t casually drop $30 to see a band they only feel lukewarm about, especially in an acoustically atrocious venue like Smith Center (though maybe that’s been fixed in the renovation?), so you give the hardcore fans a chance to buy their little hearts out, and then get the opportunity to make cash money. Plus, with only a week of exclusivity, you’ll snag even more early buyers then with simply pretending the show will sell out quickly.
One thing I will say though, props on fooling enough people into thinking this show would sell out: tickets have been on Craigslist for a few weeks now.
Also, props to Wes for achieving his own tag on the Hatchet Blog.
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What a surprise. Again PB is underwriting a big concert, again long lines formed on the first day, and again tickets have not sold out.
Kat, you’re absolutely right to call BS on Program Board’s claim that the Maroon 5 concert is subject to “overwhelming demand.” Having worked with PB last year, I can confirm that the Mraz/Folds concert was opened to other schools because PB failed to sell enough tickets to GW students. The same is happening this year.
As part of PB’s arrangement with SAC, Ticketmaster, and the band, they must sell a certain number of tickets to cover the cost of the event. They can’t blow their operating budget on the concert, since they are expected to have a spring concert and other events. They need to recoup costs with ticket sales. So what’s the cost? If I had to guess, I’d say PB is paying $80,000 for Maroon 5 and another $15k to rent lighting, sound, and stage equipment for the Smith Center.
Of course, you won’t hear those numbers from Program Board. Say what you will about SA transparency, at least they are trying with http://www.gwsafunds.com; Program Board is as closed as it can be. PB has an operating budget of about $250,000, most of which goes towards concerts and film screenings, and they should be held accountable for that money.
Am I the only one who doesn’t think a giant concert is the best use of funds? It’s impossible to please every GW student with any single event, concert or otherwise. And let’s not forget PB has seven other event planning committees besides Concerts, although you would hardly know it. You know what? I say ditch the big concerts altogether (keep Fall Fest and Spring Fling if we must). GW students have both the means ($$) and opportunity (living in DC) to attend plenty of concerts at the 9:30 Club or Wolf Trap or the Verizon Center. We don’t need one on campus. I’d rather see PB discount specific events in DC than underwrite a specific concert that, as you say, students only feel lukewarm about and is held in a less-than-ideal venue. PB could pay for a group trip to the Folger Theatre, to a Nationals game, to the 9:30 Club, to the DC Shorts Film Festival, or to Taste of the Nation. It would be a combination of SASS and the City + Groupon DC + Student Advantage + all of the great venues DC already houses.
And don’t be surprised if PB sponsors another Fountain Fling on the Vern this year. After spending their budget on a big Fall Fest and the Maroon 5 concert, it is likely that PB will again work with the Mt. Vernon Programming Council to host a joint “Fountain Fling” at the MVC. Combining their budgets allows them to get a bigger name artist.
[...] posted as a comment on the FoBoBlo as a response to Kat’s post on the issue.) Sharing [...]
Nice writing, Kat. I’m glad to see someone calling PB on the bullshit. I do have to say, the quotes of the PB people after the Kingston concert did warm my otherwise cold heart. “You ruined all the hard work I did! God people! I’m going to cry to daddy.”
Maybe your post will yield the same result. Godspeed FoBoBlo.