[Dixielandjazz] Jazz Societies

[Dan Augustine]

DJMLites--
     Well, that's sad if the AFJS is no more, just when we need it.
     However, how hard could it be for various of the successful 
jazz-societies to share information among themselves (and with, or 
maybe through) us?
     Here in Austin, apparently the horse-latitudes of pre-1950 jazz, 
we'd like to find out from other jazz-societies around the country 
how to increase the attendance at our concerts, and also how to get 
new members.
     In a town like Austin (over a million in the whole area), 
modestly billing itself as "the live-music capital of the world" (per 
capita?  who knows what ichor coats the tongues of publicists?), it 
might seem that audiences are massive and willing, if we had but the 
wit to a) find them and b) figure out how to shove their collective 
noses up against sweet-smelling dixieland.
     So how about it?  Seems like other mailing-lists have started 
from similarly humble sharings (the Nero Wolfe list that i've been on 
since 1995 started with about ten folks exchanging email-messages).
     How do we get more attendees, members, concert-goers?  Publicize, 
naturally, but how, where, to whom, how often, etc.  There are a 
number of (more or less moribund) jazz-organizations in Austin, 
haughtily ignoring each other, plus jazz-groups in highschools and 
colleges.  Since we have no full-time dixieland-bands, we can't send 
bands to the schools to advertise us, so we're probably dependent on 
the usual organs of (dis)information, the newspapers, magazines, 
email, and the like.
     We ain't exactly sinking, but we ain't nowhere near swimming, either.

     Dan
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From: rahberry at comcast.net
>Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Jazz Society Marketing Consultant
>Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2004 20:41:43 +0000
>
>Dan,
>For what it's worth, while at Orange County I heard that the 
>American Federation of Jazz Societies met and voted itself out of 
>existence.  Anybody know more about this?
>Rae Ann
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  Folks--
>>       What do you think about a jazz-society hiring a
>>  marketing-consultant to help promote its concerts?  Is this a good
>>  idea?  How much should it cost?
>>       Would the American Federation of Jazz Societies have information
>>  or opinions about this?  If not, who would?
>>       Surely each jazz-society is not an island entire unto itself,
>>  reinventing the wheel each time in every town?  But what do you do if
>>  nobody in the management of the society has experience or expertise
>>  in this?
>>
>  >      Dan

-- 
**--------------------------------------------------------------------**
**  Dan Augustine    Austin, Texas   ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu     **
**    From the California Civil Code, "Maxims of Jurisprudence":      **
**              "#3537. Superfluity does not vitiate."                **
**--------------------------------------------------------------------**