The Future of ProgPower USA

[AngraRULES]

I would disagree with part of this. ProgPower is a unique, fantastic experience that I look forward to every year (this will be my 8th PP since IV), but the line-up certainly matters. If I lived close to Atlanta I would probably attend every year regardless of the bands, but I live 3000 miles away on the west coast. It takes major resources to get me over there, and with 2 kids in day-care I don't have a lot of extra money these days. There have been years when I had to sit it out because I simply couldn't justify to myself taking that much money away from my family to fly across the country for a concert, no matter how awesome the experience is as a whole. This year I'll be down there for all 4 nights. The line-up doesn't truely reflect the whole experience, but it matters.

Fair enough. I completely understand your situation given that you're so far from Atlanta. I live in the East Coast (Connecticut) and it does take some money to make it to Atlanta indeed (especially now with a baby). However, to me (and lots of my friends who attend the festival), the people and the festival itself are worth the trip. Glenn could book Freedom Call as a double-night headliner, and I'd still attend.

I try to put a little bit of money aside from every pay check. Even if I have to put aside as low as $20, I will. I try not to eat out/buy lunch for work (my biggest problem). I avoid making lots of stupid purchases. I choose not to go to certain places so that I can save in gas. These little things may sound dumb, but it makes a huge difference at the end of the year. You'd be surprised how many people feel the need to buy a cup of coffee every day, or every other day. Those $8, $10/week can add up!

 

[General Zod]

I would disagree with part of this. ProgPower is a unique, fantastic experience that I look forward to every year (this will be my 8th PP since IV), but the line-up certainly matters. If I lived close to Atlanta I would probably attend every year regardless of the bands, but I live 3000 miles away on the west coast. It takes major resources to get me over there, and with 2 kids in day-care I don't have a lot of extra money these days. There have been years when I had to sit it out because I simply couldn't justify to myself taking that much money away from my family to fly across the country for a concert, no matter how awesome the experience is as a whole. This year I'll be down there for all 4 nights. The line-up doesn't truely reflect the whole experience, but it matters.

Everyone's situation is different. It's dependent on proximity, resources, and the perceived value of the "experience", and the bands. That said, many of us use to buy our Gold Badges (blind) before a single band was announced. For me, the bands are secondary.

 

[Formerly known as Chris F5]

The short term answer is "no." However, I do realize there are still four months to go before the festival and perhaps a trickle will end up filling up the cup the same amount as a waterfall.

Tara might have not only booked enough work to cover her trip here but is in the process of also trying to talk a few of her other model friends to come on down too who like metal
(Unlike Tara who initinally wanted to come for Redemption,Solution 45 and Symphony X,ie,she is a certified fan of our genre,her friends can be a harder sell as they like the Hot Topic kind of metal,but she thinks the latest 2 Symphony X CDs,Solution 45 and Epica can win them over)

And Tara also knows of the corset night festivities....
And has latex

 

[TheLongshot]

Everyone's situation is different. It's dependent on proximity, resources, and the perceived value of the "experience", and the bands. That said, many of us use to buy our Gold Badges (blind) before a single band was announced. For me, the bands are secondary.

Unfortunately, that's how I lost my Gold Badge originally. (Was a GB for PP2) I just couldn't make the jump at the time, and it wasn't until PPXI that I could get it back. Given that I've only missed two PP, I regret that decision.

 

[Fizrider]

For me, the bands are secondary.

I guess this is what my long-winded post tried to convey. Don't get me wrong - if there was a festival year of uber-crappy bands, I'd change my tune... but my faith in Glenn's taste and contacts in the industry is pretty unshakable.

ProgPower has become a year-long journey for me (learning new bands, experiencing new music, maybe catching one of the bands at a show pre-fest as I did with Creations End last year), with the ultimate culmination being the 2-3 days of music itself.

 

[Harvester]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. My personal suggestion and hope is to focus on specific reasons that someone sitting on the fence may not attend. If we can reach those specific people with alternatives, the ticket becomes a much easier sell. For example, money is always the first reason for not going. They see the costs at the Artmore, etc and that stops them in their tracks. However, how many of those folks have actually sat down and explored all of the options for lodging, travel, etc in the ways to save money thread? Jen posted a condo for rent recently that sleeps 8 people for $175/night within walking distance. If you coordinate a big group, you pay $22/night!!! That's just one of the many examples that can be pointed out to someone.

 

[grogg]

I had to renew my drivers license today so I got my picture taken in my PPX shirt. Unfortunately, they do a lot of cropping these days with the new license style and you can't see it. Oh well.

 

[ToddS]

I came to this thread several times to post my thoughts, but have been at a lost for words really. I just can't put into words my heart felt thoughts on this. I'll finally give it a shot.

It goes without saying I hope PP continues on. I've been to all of them, and would have a void in my life should PP cease to exist. I remember when you told me you were going to do this at that Powermad fest many years ago. To see what you accomplished is truly amazing! I really appreciate all you have done. The feast is first rate, and completely top notch. I really hope you can continue, but do understand your situation.

We will talk more in a few weeks, but for now I'll just say thanks for everything, and here is to selling the rest of those damn tickets!

Todd

 

[No Username]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. My personal suggestion and hope is to focus on specific reasons that someone sitting on the fence may not attend. If we can reach those specific people with alternatives, the ticket becomes a much easier sell. For example, money is always the first reason for not going. They see the costs at the Artmore, etc and that stops them in their tracks. However, how many of those folks have actually sat down and explored all of the options for lodging, travel, etc in the ways to save money thread? Jen posted a condo for rent recently that sleeps 8 people for $175/night within walking distance. If you coordinate a big group, you pay $22/night!!! That's just one of the many examples that can be pointed out to someone.

Someone else said that they used to pass this festival every year and had no idea what was going on. Many many people from far away have said they wanted to go but the overall cost is too high. Put those two together and it is obvious that the huge push should be local. Posters in bus stations, at the colleges, at the local college radio stations! Print the doggone things at home and paste them on telephone poles. The (c)rap bands do it all the time, maybe that works? How about people contact the non-college radio stations, request music in our genre, get people talking about the show on the air, listen for interviews with bands that come through town where questions are asked over the air about ProgPower. Higher visibility = ticket sales. And going local is a lot cheaper than going national.

Maybe it is time to scale back the band acquisitions? Think about only having ten bands instead of 12, and putting the extra money into local advertising.

It amazes me that with only 1100 tickets that the show does not sell out in two weeks. I have a friend, local to Atlanta, that is a genius at generating leads through internet marketing. I will have a long heart to heart with him over the weekend, and will report back to you with (hopefully) innovative and free methods to drive people to this site, and to generate a buzz that will lead to more ticket sales. Lets put this on the folks in Atlanta to step up and make this festival a success every year. If you go after 25000 and end up with 500 sold tickets (a very real expectation, maybe even a little low if the marketing is done right!) the problem is solved. Permanently.

Fuck waiting for the weekend. I had a chat with my friend as I was posting this. I told him exactly what I said above, explained the situation and asked him for one decent idea that we could implement right away that would cost Glenn almost nothing.
His reply:
A challenge for those of us already going to the show, or those who want to go and cannot for whatever reason? And who make enough money to afford the extra 140 bucks for another ticket? He said he thinks we should have a "sponsor a new fan" promotion where WE buy tickets and then make sure they go to deserving folks--LOCAL folks if possible that will essentially see the show for free, with hopes of them paying this year. For people who earn 60, 70, 80k per year, you know you spend 140 for one nice dinner with your special someone. Maybe go to that local college and offer them up as a prize for the 100th caller or something. Free advertising, a real nice prize for a local student, and word of mouth buzz.

If 50 of us do this, right away, we take some of the pressure off the ticket sale problem, and will certainly add regular attendees to the fan base. I have written a check and it is sitting on my desk.
Sir, you've got mail!

 

[Bamafan]

Someone else said that they used to pass this festival every year and had no idea what was going on. Many many people from far away have said they wanted to go but the overall cost is too high. Put those two together and it is obvious that the huge push should be local. Posters in bus stations, at the colleges, at the local college radio stations! Print the doggone things at home and paste them on telephone poles. The (c)rap bands do it all the time, maybe that works? How about people contact the non-college radio stations, request music in our genre, get people talking about the show on the air, listen for interviews with bands that come through town where questions are asked over the air about ProgPower. Higher visibility = ticket sales. And going local is a lot cheaper than going national.

Maybe it is time to scale back the band acquisitions? Think about only having ten bands instead of 12, and putting the extra money into local advertising.
R
It amazes me that with only 1100 tickets that the show does not sell out in two weeks. I have a friend, local to Atlanta, that is a genius at generating leads through internet marketing. I will have a long heart to heart with him over the weekend, and will report back to you with (hopefully) innovative and free methods to drive people to this site, and to generate a buzz that will lead to more ticket sales. Lets put this on the folks in Atlanta to step up and make this festival a success every year. If you go after 25000 and end up with 500 sold tickets (a very real expectation, maybe even a little low if the marketing is done right!) the problem is solved. Permanently.

Fuck waiting for the weekend. I had a chat with my friend as I was posting this. I told him exactly what I said above, explained the situation and asked him for one decent idea that we could implement right away that would cost Glenn almost nothing.
His reply:
A challenge for those of us already going to the show, or those who want to go and cannot for whatever reason? And who make enough money to afford the extra 140 bucks for another ticket? He said he thinks we should have a "sponsor a new fan" promotion where WE buy tickets and then make sure they go to deserving folks--LOCAL folks if possible that will essentially see the show for free, with hopes of them paying this year. For people who earn 60, 70, 80k per year, you know you spend 140 for one nice dinner with your special someone. Maybe go to that local college and offer them up as a prize for the 100th caller or something. Free advertising, a real nice prize for a local student, and word of mouth buzz.

If 50 of us do this, right away, we take some of the pressure off the ticket sale problem, and will certainly add regular attendees to the fan base. I have written a check and it is sitting on my desk.
Sir, you've got mail!

Without going into excessive detail, I have taken a similar step.

 

[dcowboys311]

Those ideas are great in theory, but I assure you that there is already heavy college radio advertising.

 

[King Lek]

Radio and Print Advertising are great, but alone, it does not define the experience of actually going...it is just a concert.
It is the experience that bring so many back. Get them there once, and bet a good percentage will be back or pass on the experience.
The ticket give away has merit.

I know I have seen a few ticket give a ways, but in reality the local area is the the best place in which to do this.
Giving a ticket away to some one in Idaho might be nice, but the affiliated costs of going, still are there, no matter how budget friendly you try to make them.

Have to get past the college radio aspect though and something more main stream....maybe tie it to a music store promotion...buy such and such and be entered into a chance to win a pair of tickets to PP...something along those lines.
Does take some time and manpower....but everything does.

There are sponsors for bands....why not sponsors for give-away tix to local outlets.

 

[mattbrood]

A challenge for those of us already going to the show, or those who want to go and cannot for whatever reason? And who make enough money to afford the extra 140 bucks for another ticket? He said he thinks we should have a "sponsor a new fan" promotion where WE buy tickets and then make sure they go to deserving folks--LOCAL folks if possible that will essentially see the show for free, with hopes of them paying this year. For people who earn 60, 70, 80k per year, you know you spend 140 for one nice dinner with your special someone. Maybe go to that local college and offer them up as a prize for the 100th caller or something. Free advertising, a real nice prize for a local student, and word of mouth buzz.

If 50 of us do this, right away, we take some of the pressure off the ticket sale problem, and will certainly add regular attendees to the fan base. I have written a check and it is sitting on my desk.
Sir, you've got mail!

I have done this with the contest on The Metal Pit Facebook page. I could only afford to purchase one ticket as the prize. When the person that runs The Metal Pit site saw the response to the contest (25 new "likes" on our Facebook page in one day!), he offered to purchase the second ticket to upgrade the prize to *two* two-day passes! I challenge other metal webzines and radio shows to do the same thing!

 

[miel]

I would like to thank everyone for their kind comments - they mean a lot.

A few folks have suggested scaling back on the # of bands; however, strategically, a diverse, plentiful line-up (that's focused on USA debuts and USA exclusives) should appeal to a more vast audience. With 7 bands each night, we intended to have something for everyone, if you will.


~Jen

 

[dcowboys311]

Radio and Print Advertising are great, but alone, it does not define the experience of actually going...it is just a concert.
It is the experience that bring so many back. Get them there once, and bet a good percentage will be back or pass on the experience.
The ticket give away has merit.

I know I have seen a few ticket give a ways, but in reality the local area is the the best place in which to do this.
Giving a ticket away to some one in Idaho might be nice, but the affiliated costs of going, still are there, no matter how budget friendly you try to make them.

Have to get past the college radio aspect though and something more main stream....maybe tie it to a music store promotion...buy such and such and be entered into a chance to win a pair of tickets to PP...something along those lines.
Does take some time and manpower....but everything does.

There are sponsors for bands....why not sponsors for give-away tix to local outlets.

I think too many giveaways could be a bad thing, though. You don't want to devalue the tickets or even have people who are planning on buying but haven't pulled the trigger just decide 'meh I'll just enter a bunch of contests'. Something like a 'buy your ticket during the next two weeks and enter to have your ticket price reimbursed' could generate sales and provide the free stuff part.

Maybe a new ticketing level in between Gold Badge and Sponsor? Something with an exclusive t-shirt, dinner with a band, etc. 'Band' tickets where you get something specific to one band on the roster? Obviously that's very, very difficult when you run the risk of drop-offs.

Getting people to PP2012 is great, but I imagine the end goal is to make sure those new people come back to PP2013 and future events.

 

[dreamweaver80]

I agree that any advertising push should be made locally and perhaps extended to a radius that is within easy driving distance to Atlanta. Say 100 miles maybe? I also agree with hanging up signs, posters, whatever. They should be everywhere that such things can legally be hung.

If there isn't one already, perhaps create a ProgPower Street Team where members make a coordinated effort to go to as many shows as possible to spread the word. Even going to shows such as Mayhem Festival and passing out flyers while people wait in line to get in (the line went for blocks at the Denver show a couple years ago). Even if that isn't the target audience, there may still be a few that will check it out.

I don't know if this is financially feasible, but make a commercial for it with some clips and a couple of fans giving a brief description of the experience and having it air on local cable tv. Again, I don't know if something like that would be worth the cost though.

As for the people who are concerned about the cost, they don't have to stay in a fancy hotel. Show them the need a ride/roommate thread and have them post there. There's lots of ways to get there if you really want to. I've even considered getting a second job for a few months just to ensure I will have enough money to make the trip.

 

[saskthunder]

My wife & I first attended 2 years ago (blew our minds- had a wonderful time), unavoidably missed last year, & I just bought tickets for this year for my son & I for Thursday and the weekend. While I'm still euphoric about this year, this does make it a little bittersweet knowing that it might be the last one. Our fingers are double crossed for a sellout for you Glenn. We're telling anyone who'll listen here in Saskatchewan about what an awesome, unique experience Progpower is- hopefully we can convince some to attend. Sure, when one takes into account travel & accomodations it's not cheap, but one only lives once & life is meant to be enjoyed.

 

[No Username]

Ticket purchased, for another deserving fan.

One other idea...if there are three people staying in a room, buying a ticket for the fourth and then having them split the cost of the room can help you reduce the cost of the ticket.

If the room is 150 a night, split it three ways and it is 50 per person. If three people throw in 50 to buy a ticket and the fourth person just has to pay their part of the room, suddenly that becomes 37.5 a person. 12.50 a day for three days is 37.50--you just bought an extra ticket for 12.50 each!

Obviously room price affects the math accordingly. I am staying in a hotel with a higher room rate, so we would be even better off. Also, if you are driving you can split the cost with another person, further reducing your overhead. One can easily imagine buying the ticket for a 3rd for your duo or a 4th for your trio will end up saving you money in the end.

 

[MeTuLHeD]

Every time I go to a show here in CO and talk about ProgPower, everybody says "God, I wish I could go". So awareness isn't the issue, the fest is legendary enough from word of mouth. Everybody who pays attention knows that ProgPower is the best there is. I think there are just a lot of people that look at the price tag of the overall package and conclude that they can't afford it. With the economy the way it is, I think ProgPower is a luxury that some people are having to cut out.

This. ^

And I'm not sure this is something that can be fixed. I know TONS of people who LOVE this music. Take the recent SX/Iced Earth show in Charlotte. There were a LOT of people there who love both bands who have never been to a PPUSA. And they've ALL heard about it. I was talking to a group of five SX fan boys who had driven in from South Carolina. When I mentioned PPUSA, the reaction was across the board - "man we sure wish we could come to that show". Why don't they? The cost. And no, not the ticket cost. The incidental cost. Transportation, food, lodging, etc. It really does get up into the $1K range very quickly. So for many fans, it just comes down to simple economics unfortunately.

 

[dcowboys311]

This. ^

And I'm not sure this is something that can be fixed. I know TONS of people who LOVE this music. Take the recent SX/Iced Earth show in Charlotte. There were a LOT of people there who love both bands who have never been to a PPUSA. And they've ALL heard about it. I was talking to a group of five SX fan boys who had driven in from South Carolina. When I mentioned PPUSA, the reaction was across the board - "man we sure wish we could come to that show". Why don't they? The cost. And no, not the ticket cost. The incidental cost. Transportation, food, lodging, etc. It really does get up into the $1K range very quickly. So for many fans, it just comes down to simple economics unfortunately.

Gonna disagree with the cost here. It's not hard at all to find good deals, and PP is the only fest I know of that actually and continually helps to make it cheaper for the attendees, not only with hotel deals but posting links to flight deals, food deals, whatever. I'm flying to Baltimore for MDF and it will cost me under $500, flight, hotel, ticket, and food included. I'm flying to Austin the weekend after for Chaos in Tejas and that's a bit more expensive due to the flight, but it's certainly much cheaper than travelling from SC to ATL. Honestly it's pretty easy to do this fest on a budget as long as you plan and have people to split the costs with.

Plus, it's not like PP is the only fest that requires things like travel and lodging. Every big fest does.