Comments on: Why College Programming Conferences such as APCA and NACA Matter

By: Chuck Steele

Chuck Steele — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:59:51 +0000

There seems to be two issues being discussed here. One, are online sites an effective way of booking talent. And two, are programming conferences worth it.
Regarding online sites, we investigated Sonicbids a number of years ago. We chose not to use it, but I don’t remember why. It could be that it wasn’t populated very well at the time. We do use MySpace for booking local bands, and that has worked very well for us. We also have run ads and posted flyers locally for coffee house acts (which could be argued is like a low-tech sonicbids). I think booking off promo material is fine (w/ some reference-checking). I booked comedy and music clubs in the Chicago area for years and never attended showcases and rarely met agents face-to-face. It worked fine. Not to be too snarky, but I think even Nancy would agree that online sites are at least worth investigating as an effective first step for establishing contact w/ talent (http://www.sonicbids.com/Opportunity/Opportunit...).
As for programming conferences, for years we have had discussions at my school regarding if they’re worth it, and we continue to do so. We haven’t stopped going, so I guess I’d say they are. I am a fan of my students networking w/ other students and attending ed sessions and the marketplace. I think the showcases are generally hit-or-miss. Regardless of the selection committee's experience, the problem with having anyone filter your choices is that your criteria might not match with theirs. But my biggest problem w/ the conferences though is the co-op process. We do not participate in it. It totally sidesteps what I think is one of the most important parts of the booking process. Negotiation. It's a valuable life skill, and booking college entertainment is an excellent way to develop the skill. Plus it teaches the students to be good consumers. Over the years, we’ve saved much more money by not participating in the co-op than we ever would have by participating in it.

By: Chuck Steele

Chuck Steele — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:59:51 +0000

There seems to be two issues being discussed here. One, are online sites an effective way of booking talent. And two, are programming conferences worth it.
Regarding online sites, we investigated Sonicbids a number of years ago. We chose not to use it, but I don’t remember why. It could be that it wasn’t populated very well at the time. We do use MySpace for booking local bands, and that has worked very well for us. We also have run ads and posted flyers locally for coffee house acts (which could be argued is like a low-tech sonicbids). I think booking off promo material is fine (w/ some reference-checking). I booked comedy and music clubs in the Chicago area for years and never attended showcases and rarely met agents face-to-face. It worked fine. Not to be too snarky, but I think even Nancy would agree that online sites are at least worth investigating as an effective first step for establishing contact w/ talent (http://www.sonicbids.com/Opportunity/OpportunityView.aspx?opportunity_id=10655).
As for programming conferences, for years we have had discussions at my school regarding if they’re worth it, and we continue to do so. We haven’t stopped going, so I guess I’d say they are. I am a fan of my students networking w/ other students and attending ed sessions and the marketplace. I think the showcases are generally hit-or-miss. Regardless of the selection committee’s experience, the problem with having anyone filter your choices is that your criteria might not match with theirs. But my biggest problem w/ the conferences though is the co-op process. We do not participate in it. It totally sidesteps what I think is one of the most important parts of the booking process. Negotiation. It’s a valuable life skill, and booking college entertainment is an excellent way to develop the skill. Plus it teaches the students to be good consumers. Over the years, we’ve saved much more money by not participating in the co-op than we ever would have by participating in it.

By: Andy Flijec

Andy Flijec — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 02:52:44 +0000

Well said – but doesn't this keep us stuck in the same way this market has been run forever?

By: Andy Flijec

Andy Flijec — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:52:44 +0000

Well said – but doesn’t this keep us stuck in the same way this market has been run forever?