Acorn

Drew University, I would like you to meet Denison University.

You�re alike in more ways than one: small classes, personable professors, beautiful campuses and exorbitant tuitions.

Of course, you also have your differences. For one, it seems to me that Denison might like its live music a little bit more than Drew does.

This year, Denison plans to have not one, not two, not three, but four major-label musicians and groups appear on campus, including Everclear and three unannounced artists. In the past, they�ve had The Roots, Dave Matthews Band and Widespread Panic, among others.

How many �big artists� are found on Drew�s calendar this year? Goose egg. And no, that�s not some �Spotlight at the Space� performer you haven�t heard of.

�At this time, we�re not looking into any big artist,� Assistant Director of Student Activities Genevieve Famoso disappointingly said in the Sept. 8 issue of The Acorn.

Without asking any further questions, it is safe to assume that the reason why this is so stems back to a pair of financially disastrous performances the past two years. In 2004, Emerson Drive came to Drew and rocked the house to about 20 students. It was almost one year ago when the infamous Howie Day performance barely packed a third of Baldwin Gym. Acorn estimates from last year had both concerts bringing in financial losses mounting to $40,000. So it�s not insane to extrapolate that another Day-caliber disaster would scare Drew away from even considering another major-label artist. But according to Famoso, that�s not the reason why we have no big artist.

�Financial reasons didn�t really play a part [in finding an artist this year]. Financial implications from one year to the next really aren�t there,� Famoso said.

So if it�s not the money, what is it then? First of all, according to Famoso, it�s largely location, location, location.

�We�re in a highly competitive market for artists,� Famoso said. �Performers will be more inclined to go with a more well-known venue [in the area].�

She has a point. Though Baldwin Gym is a wonderful venue for convocation, I know that if I were a rock star I�d prefer to play in that little town nearby called New York City, with its legendary dingy punk clubs and the towering arena that is Madison Square Garden. Why would a rock star�s touring bus bother to refuel at Madison�never mind park in Tilghman lot to play a show?

It�s a good question. Here�s another good question: If close proximity to a major city is a problem, why will four major artists head out to dusty ol� Granville, Ohio�home of Denison University, a school that is mere hours from four cities?

Denison�s Director of Student Activities John Beckman said during a phone interview that he sees his school�s proximity to Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati as a benefactor to attracting artists to his school. Part of the reason for this is Denison�s non-competitive clause in its performers� contracts, which doesn�t prohibit a band from playing in a nearby venue�or city�within the months of the performance date at the school. Performers need to perform as much as possible, so they certainly benefit from these kinds of contracts.

Another successful measure that complements the non-competitive clause is that Denison only sells tickets for shows to Denison students. With tickets only sold to university students, a promoter will know exactly how many tickets he could sell and won�t have to spend the money to accommodate an unknown amount of non-university concert-goers.

Last year, back at Drew, the Howie Day show was marketed as a community-wide event, and it was financed as one as well. I believe that this is one of the reasons why it was such a financial disaster. Pre-show estimates anticipated ticket sales ranging from 500 to 1,000 tickets. When the show was over, hardly anyone from Fairleigh Dickinson University, the College of St. Elizabeth or even Madison High School showed up. I doubt that Verizon, who sponsored the show last year, would ever sponsor a Drew show again.

To make matters worse, less than 20 percent of Drewids attended the show. So if the community wasn�t there, where were the students? The oft-cited reason for the show�s poor attendance lies in the supposed diverse taste of music of our student body. �We can�t say if we brought in [a certain group], everybody will go and everybody will love it,� Famoso said.

This is true, however, I believe that Denison�s concert success dispels this notion. We have a student body of about 2,600 people�including graduate and theology students. Denison stands at approximately 2,300 undergrads. Their musical tastes are as proportionally diverse as ours, however, they still had three �well-attended� major-label artist performances last year, according to Beckman. I can assume this is so because they don�t hold their shows on Sundays�like what was done with Howie Day. Also, they market and sell tickets only to the student body and they gauge students� inputs far better when choosing big shows than the University Programming Board does�or did.

So let�s review the disparities: Drew is competing with one major city market while Denison is within driving distance to four. Drew offers tickets to the general public for its shows, and loses money. Denison sells fewer tickets and has big artists playing every quarter of the academic year. And Drew�s student population is so diverse that not one artist can please everyone, while Denison students somehow manage to go to their shows.

It would be ignorant of me to assume that a school like Drew could easily get Top 40 artists, and I know that oftentimes luck is the best aid when hiring an artist. But please, UPB, be aggressive when looking for major-label artists! Convince promoters why their clients should come to Drew. After all, we�re a school comprised of cultured and outgoing 18 to 22-year-olds with cash � we�re a label executive�s wet dream! You must knock on some doors because we�re not at the point where major label reps from BMG and Universal are knocking on ours�which happens often at Denison, according to Beckman.

The UPB does excellent work acquiring small on-campus entertainment throughout the year. I also believe it�s fantastic that we have low-priced trips to Montreal and Broadway offered every year, and free Space shows every Thursday. But the allure of a big-name artist playing at Drew at least once a year shouldn�t be shuffled under the rug. Famoso said herself that finances aren�t the issue. I have found that our diverse taste in music and proximity to New York don�t matter either. If Denison can lure Everclear to Granville, Ohio, for their first major performance this year, I believe that we could get one major artist to perform at Drew sometime this year.

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