Spring Break
Abstract:
Hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco played a packed M.A.C. Center last night.
WATCH a video from the M.A.C. Center and 
LISTEN TO the podcast.
...
Originally posted byTrey
Double checking your facts is always a good idea. Speaking purely objectively, while one may admit a stunning performance (whether a fan of Lupe Fiasco or not), the MAC center was FAR from being "packed" as so stated by Mr. Mellyn. If all of the concert patrons on the MAC floor during the concert last night would have been pushed as close to the stage as possible, the floor would have been half full, max. Let's do a little bit of math.
Lupe Fiasco was brought to Kent for the modest amount of $45,000 (http://media.www.kentnewsnet.com/media/storage/paper867/news/2008/10/03/News/Lupe-Fiasco.Tickets.On.Sale.Through.Tuesday-3468096.shtml). The staging setup that USG rents typically runs anywhere between $8,000 - $10,000. Having Winslow as an opening act ran roughly around $1,000. Let's round security and other random expenses off to say $2,000 leaving the total cost of the show between $55,000 and $60,000 respectively.
Now, the seating capacity of the MAC center is just over 6,000 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_Golden_Flashes_men%27s_basketball) and can fit another 3,000 - 4,000 on the floor leaving us with a total capacity of right around 10,000. Now, using my best judgment I'd modestly estimate that there were anywhere between 800 and 900 concert patrons on the floor at any given time during the show yesterday evening with another 200 to 300 in the stands, leaving us with around 1,100 tickets sold, roughly.
IF we could assume that each ticket sold was a non-student (which we most certainly cannot) at $20 per ticket that would give us $22,000 in ticket sales. That's a net loss of ~ $35,000 at best.
Here's my 'estimated' (and conservative) breakdown in percentages of the types of tickets sold.
5% (55 at $0) - Comped (Including ushers, employees, special guests, etc)
5% (55 at $20) - Non-Student
90% (990 at $15) - Student
Ticket Sales - $15,950
Net Loss ~ $41,050
Is this honestly how we want OUR tuition dollars being spent? It's a tragedy because we are a university hosting a concert and record labels and acts alike automatically raise the price per performance simply because they know colleges have the money to spend on acts.
Whether the 1,100 in attendance enjoyed the show or not, that still leaves another 20,000+ students who couldn't give a damn about an artist whom of which they have only heard one single.
Kent State and USG alike need to consider title sponsorships (brought to you by 'Company X' as opposed to USG) to help bring BILLBOARD acts to our campus so a greater number of students can enjoy the hard work put behind shows such as this.
Unfortunately personal biases and red tape consume the backbone of Kent State and hurt the possibilities of that ever happening.
Originally posted byTrey
Double checking your facts is always a good idea. Speaking purely objectively, while one may admit a stunning performance (whether a fan of Lupe Fiasco or not), the MAC center was FAR from being "packed" as so stated by Mr. Mellyn. If all of the concert patrons on the MAC floor during the concert last night would have been pushed as close to the stage as possible, the floor would have been half full, max. Let's do a little bit of math.
Lupe Fiasco was brought to Kent for the modest amount of $45,000 (http://media.www.kentnewsnet.com/media/storage/paper867/news/2008/10/03/News/Lupe-Fiasco.Tickets.On.Sale.Through.Tuesday-3468096.shtml). The staging setup that USG rents typically runs anywhere between $8,000 - $10,000. Having Winslow as an opening act ran roughly around $1,000. Let's round security and other random expenses off to say $2,000 leaving the total cost of the show between $55,000 and $60,000 respectively.
Now, the seating capacity of the MAC center is just over 6,000 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_Golden_Flashes_men%27s_basketball) and can fit another 3,000 - 4,000 on the floor leaving us with a total capacity of right around 10,000. Now, using my best judgment I'd modestly estimate that there were anywhere between 800 and 900 concert patrons on the floor at any given time during the show yesterday evening with another 200 to 300 in the stands, leaving us with around 1,100 tickets sold, roughly.
IF we could assume that each ticket sold was a non-student (which we most certainly cannot) at $20 per ticket that would give us $22,000 in ticket sales. That's a net loss of ~ $35,000 at best.
Here's my 'estimated' (and conservative) breakdown in percentages of the types of tickets sold.
5% (55 at $0) - Comped (Including ushers, employees, special guests, etc)
5% (55 at $20) - Non-Student
90% (990 at $15) - Student
Ticket Sales - $15,950
Net Loss ~ $41,050
Is this honestly how we want OUR tuition dollars being spent? It's a tragedy because we are a university hosting a concert and record labels and acts alike automatically raise the price per performance simply because they know colleges have the money to spend on acts.
Whether the 1,100 in attendance enjoyed the show or not, that still leaves another 20,000+ students who couldn't give a damn about an artist whom of which they have only heard one single.
Kent State and USG alike need to consider title sponsorships (brought to you by 'Company X' as opposed to USG) to help bring BILLBOARD acts to our campus so a greater number of students can enjoy the hard work put behind shows such as this.
Unfortunately personal biases and red tape consume the backbone of Kent State and hurt the possibilities of that ever happening.
Trey
posted 10/08/08 @ 7:31 PM EST
Lupe Fiasco was brought to Kent for the modest amount of $45,000 (http://media.www.kentnewsnet.com/media/storage/paper867/news/2008/10/03/News/Lupe-Fiasco.Tickets.On.Sale.Through.Tuesday-3468096.shtml). The staging setup that USG rents typically runs anywhere between $8,000 - $10,000. Having Winslow as an opening act ran roughly around $1,000. Let's round security and other random expenses off to say $2,000 leaving the total cost of the show between $55,000 and $60,000 respectively.
Now, the seating capacity of the MAC center is just over 6,000 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_Golden_Flashes_men%27s_basketball) and can fit another 3,000 - 4,000 on the floor leaving us with a total capacity of right around 10,000. Now, using my best judgment I'd modestly estimate that there were anywhere between 800 and 900 concert patrons on the floor at any given time during the show yesterday evening with another 200 to 300 in the stands, leaving us with around 1,100 tickets sold, roughly.
IF we could assume that each ticket sold was a non-student (which we most certainly cannot) at $20 per ticket that would give us $22,000 in ticket sales. That's a net loss of ~ $35,000 at best.
Here's my 'estimated' (and conservative) breakdown in percentages of the types of tickets sold.
5% (55 at $0) - Comped (Including ushers, employees, special guests, etc)
5% (55 at $20) - Non-Student
90% (990 at $15) - Student
Ticket Sales - $15,950
Net Loss ~ $41,050
Is this honestly how we want OUR tuition dollars being spent? It's a tragedy because we are a university hosting a concert and record labels and acts alike automatically raise the price per performance simply because they know colleges have the money to spend on acts.
Whether the 1,100 in attendance enjoyed the show or not, that still leaves another 20,000+ students who couldn't give a damn about an artist whom of which they have only heard one single.
Kent State and USG alike need to consider title sponsorships (brought to you by 'Company X' as opposed to USG) to help bring BILLBOARD acts to our campus so a greater number of students can enjoy the hard work put behind shows such as this.
Unfortunately personal biases and red tape consume the backbone of Kent State and hurt the possibilities of that ever happening.