How much is a concert ticket? No less than thirty bucks, oftentimes a hundred? Then why the fuck do we have to eat HOT DOGS???
Make no mistake. People go for the music. Book U2 anywhere and they're going to sell out. But how about the marginal acts. How about the over-the-hill acts. How about the developing acts. How do we get more fans, even tire-kickers, to take a chance. To sit in their living room and say, I THINK I'LL GO TO THE GIG???
I grew up with Tanglewood. My parents waxed rhapsodic about going to Tanglewood. My mother STILL goes to Tanglewood. And it's two hours away.
Ever been on the lawn at Tanglewood?? You can see maybe if you're in the very first row and standing, maybe the second, after that there are NO sightlines. And then the lawn SLOPES AWAY! But, the venue is in a cool setting, it's an event, and the talent is first rate, so my mother goes a couple of times a summer.
Can you imagine sitting at home and saying you want the SHED experience? Ever been to the "shed" in Glen Helen, California? It resembles a moonscape. From some sub-"Star Wars" pic. With all the dust and crud of "Star Wars" but none of the charisma. The venue was built for one thing and one thing only... TO MAKE MONEY!
Now if you're appealing to people with no money... People on food stamps. Then I can see offering sub-McDonald's fare. But, do you really think all these people laying out all these bucks, paying ten dollars for PARKING, are dying to eat Pizza Hut and KETTLE CORN??
Used to be ski areas were known for overpriced burgers with limp lettuce. And charging a fortune therefor. But, Charlie Gillett had a vision. He knew how much people spent to come to Vail, investing THOUSANDS, maybe they'd pay a bit more for a BETTER EXPERIENCE!
If your ski area has fixed grip chairlifts today you're going out of business. The public won't stand for it. The ticket's just TOO EXPENSIVE to stand in line. They came to ski, they want to ski MORE!
Charlie Gillett ripped out all the old chairlifts and replaced them with high speed quads. And then he changed the fare. Every lodge on the mountain sold different food. Oh, you could buy a burger or hot dog here and there, but you could also get barbecue, sushi, Chinese, there was even a SKI UP pizza kiosk. But the slices didn't resemble what's sold by Domino's, rather they were more akin to Wolfgang Puck. People now LOOKED FORWARD to lunch. It ENHANCED the experience. They didn't bitch about prices, for just a little more it was like GOING OUT instead of being RIPPED OFF!
And Vail is the most successful ski area in the United States. It gets the most skier visits.
Not that Vail is a free-standing corporation. The parent company owns Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly...
And its main competitor is Intrawest. Which owns Whistler, Copper, Stratton... Consolidation has HELPED skiers, BEEN GOOD for skiers. Why in the hell has consolidation not been good for MUSIC FANS??
There's no roof over the Hollywood Bowl. Parking is hell. But book almost anything there and people will come. For the EXPERIENCE!
Which the venue tries to make better.
There are park and ride buses. You can park FOR FREE and ride on a bus to the venue FOR FREE! And, to ascend to the higher reaches of the venue there are ESCALATORS! And the food...down by the expensive seats it's by PATINA! One of L.A.'s premier restaurant establishments. Eight bucks for a turkey sandwich? That's a bargain from Patina. And you know it will be edible. And IT IS!
The Fillmore East never served high quality food, but it presented a high quality experience. You got a PROGRAM! FOR FREE! Can you envision one of TODAY'S concert promoters giving anything away for free?
The Hollywood Bowl gives you a program. It's a SOUVENIR! Makes you want to come back, to collect MORE memorabilia.
The record companies ignored the fan and business tanked. The movie business ignored the fan and business tanked. The concert business has ignored the fan and business has tanked. Everybody's just lamenting that it's not the way it used to be. Well, the only way things are going to turn around is if you put the customer first. If you spend a little to make a lot. Maybe not reaping rewards today, but tomorrow.
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