HW: NEWS FLASH !!!!

[Craig Shipley]

>
> Andy Gilham writes:
>
> > Not (c) astute marketing. :)
> >
> > I'm probably enough of an old fart to be irritated by the way discussions of
> > popular music often get subverted into discussions of marketing.  I also find
> > it curious that discussions swing from dissing record companies, management,
> > etc because "they're only in it for the money", to dissing them for showing
> > insufficient business acumen!
> >
> > So someone underestimated demand for merchandise!  I would probably tend to a
> > low estimate myself, on the grounds that I'd rather sell out of everything
> > and lose a few sales, than be stuck with lots unsold.  A mistake in
> > hindsight, sure, but then again so was putting a fiver on England to beat
> > Switzerland 1-0 :(
> >
>
> Yeah - but I think the problem is that the band has said in the past
> that every time they tour the States they *lose* money and end up
> paying for the trip themselves which is why they don't (or didn't) do
> US tours.    A profitable marketing venture of some (any!) kind seems to
> be needed if they are going to make it pay and it seems a pity to pass
> up a good opportunity, especially if that leads to a loss of revenue.
>
> jill
>
>
>
> ===========================================================================
> J.D.Strobridge at ed.ac.uk                         eset08 at tattoo.ed.ac.uk
>                                                 ELIJSA at srv0.arts.ed.ac.uk
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
Well, as stealthy as some of the HW tours have been over here. I can see
where it would be hard to anticipate the turnout at a gig. Advance ticket
sales was probably not a good enough "tool" to anticipate the final turnout.
So, the band (DS?) took a SWAG and came up on the low side as far as the
goodies were concerned. So, they didn't have to leave for the Youkay with
5000 unsold tee's was probably seen as a good business move. Nobody wins;
the tour didn't make as much money as it could have, to the loss of the band
and to the perception that the US is a losing proposition. And the fans get
shafted, no T-shirt, no hard-to-find CD or tour poster/programme, unless you
were at the first gig or two...

As the band is becoming more and more Internet savvy, I would like to see them
offer a "tour package" for the faithful. A reservation is offered by the band,
where upon proper ID, a package is sold to the fans. This "package' can be
a goodie-bag of all the paraphanelia being sold, or a special T-shirt, or
something. No money exchanges hands until the day of the gig, where, if the
"package" isn't claimed, it is released to the general public. At least, that
way, I would know that I'd be bagging a T or whatever. Everyone wins, the band
makes money off of the souvinier sales (and has a rough idea of how much to
have made, etc.) and the faithful get their goodies.

(Damn, I think I'm hanging around the marketing guys too much...)

objCDROM drive: Final Doom (uh-oh, think I'm gonna be occupied for a while)

--
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