[Dixielandjazz] Squirell Nut Zippers and Other High Priced? Headliners

[Steve barbone]

Sacramento presents a huge festival.

Generates lots of money, but gives jazz away by pricing TOO LOW.

So it can't hire REAL HEADLINERS.

What to do?

Relatively simple answer is to change or modify the format. For example.
Pick one or all, or a combination. Or think of some more on your own.

1) Raise the attendee price. Sold 50,000 passes in 04? Add a dollar per, for
05 and you get an additional 50 grand, to be used for a Headliner(s).

2) Price the HEADLINER programs individually at each venue.

3) Have other special, venues that are extra priced.

4) OR?  For goodness sake, think & market creatively.

Want Squirrel Nut? Or Preservation Hall, or Wynton Marsalis? Easy as pie.
Put them in a special venue. Set up a charge for that venue.

Have a 2 hour SNZ performance, priced at $10. Expect 500? That will bring
you $5000 extra, just for them. Use different marketing ideas, Can they draw
1000 at $10? Or 500 @ $20? Either will bring you $10,000.

Preservation Hall? Same deal.

Marsalis may draw even more. Might fill up your local concert hall @ $50 a
pop. Etc. He does that here, now, in Philly and Wilmington. Hire Herbie
Hancock to play with the Sacramento Symphony, etc., etc. etc and charge $50
a pop. Why not? Others do it quite successfully.

Run the numbers, promote it as an "Extra". And MARKET it

Another solution is to fire the worst 10 bands there, and hire Squirrel Nut,
or a similar Headliner in their place. Yeah it will piss off the garage
bands, but then, that's what survival of the fittest is all about. Make the
Jubilee a festival of GREAT BANDS, not just one with a lot of bands.

Bottom line, stop thinking up reasons why it can't be done. To any of us who
survived and/or prospered in the business world, that is just so much BS.
Most of us spent our lives doing what others said can't be done, and we
fired the nay sayers relatively early in our careers. They are a drag both
emotionally and profit-wise.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone