In the last post, I talked about a recent concert that UPC brought to campus. How much do a lot of big artists cost though?
These figures are again from Pretty Polly Productions.
In the fall of this past year, UPC put on a Ben Folds concert at Templeton Blackburn Memorial Auditorium. The cost to bring him was around $40,000. Some of the cost can be made up in ticket sales, but there are also big production costs for equipment, lights and the stage.
Some other prices for a range of artists and different types of music are:
-Augustana: $25,000- $30,000
-Barenaked Ladies: $100,000- $150,000
-Blake Shelton: $35,000- $40,000
-Colbie Caillat: $35,000-$40,000
-Daughtry: $150,000- $200,000
-Foo Fighters: $200,000+
-Incubus: $125,000- $150,000
-Jason Aldean: $60,000- $75,000
-Ne-Yo: $75,000- $100,000
I love the artists that are just listed as "BIG $$$", such as Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Green Day, Taylor Swift and others.
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Next year will also be challenging when I'm the special events co-chair because I'll be dealing with bringing comedians. I will be programming for many of the family weekends. Comedians can also be really costly and difficult to book, but I'm currently in the process of choosing people to bring!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
So when are you bringing the Dave Matthews Band?
University Program Council just brought the country duo of Joey and Rory last Thursday, May 28 to the Baker Center Theater. The musicians, who are actually husband and wife, finished in third place on the CMT TV series "Can You Duet?" and their first single, "Cheater, Cheater," was big on country radio stations. That concert was a big accomplishment for Molly Hoyt and Jared Nyhart, the concert co-chairs. The two proudly watched from the side of the theater as the audience enjoyed the acoustic set the musicians put on.
Joey and Rory singing during an intimate performance in the theater.
Bringing a concert can be a big challenge for programmers in many circumstances though. It's not an easy or cheap thing to find a perfect, popular band, to book the date of the show and to guess the right size venue. I spoke with Nora Bass and Marisa Grill, the two concert co-chairs for next year, about planning concerts.
UPC Up Close: What do you think are the biggest misconceptions that students have about bringing a concert to OU?
Nora: I think students don't always understand that we're on a tight budget. We're part of a whole programming board, and our budget includes all of the other event planners in different areas.
Marisa: I don't think they get how much really popular artists are. People don't understand why we can't bring the Dave Matthews Band here. They're probably more than $100,000.
(Blogger's note: To put that into perspective, that's more than UPC's entire budget for next year! One really interesting thing to do is to go on web sites for talent agencies to see how much your favorite bands cost, such as Pretty Polly. Just for fun, I'm going to do another post with a list of how much some popular bands cost.)
Nora: For big concerts, students may say if you charge enough, you can make money back. But they don't understand about production costs, and who is really willing to pay what for a ticket.
Nora also added that some goals for concerts next year include trying to bring something big in the fall and doing an outdoor concert in the spring.
Joey and Rory singing during an intimate performance in the theater. Bringing a concert can be a big challenge for programmers in many circumstances though. It's not an easy or cheap thing to find a perfect, popular band, to book the date of the show and to guess the right size venue. I spoke with Nora Bass and Marisa Grill, the two concert co-chairs for next year, about planning concerts.
UPC Up Close: What do you think are the biggest misconceptions that students have about bringing a concert to OU?
Nora: I think students don't always understand that we're on a tight budget. We're part of a whole programming board, and our budget includes all of the other event planners in different areas.
Marisa: I don't think they get how much really popular artists are. People don't understand why we can't bring the Dave Matthews Band here. They're probably more than $100,000.
(Blogger's note: To put that into perspective, that's more than UPC's entire budget for next year! One really interesting thing to do is to go on web sites for talent agencies to see how much your favorite bands cost, such as Pretty Polly. Just for fun, I'm going to do another post with a list of how much some popular bands cost.)
Nora: For big concerts, students may say if you charge enough, you can make money back. But they don't understand about production costs, and who is really willing to pay what for a ticket.
Nora also added that some goals for concerts next year include trying to bring something big in the fall and doing an outdoor concert in the spring.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Awards Gala: A Special Night for UPC
Talking about the Leadership Awards Gala is especially important, and personal for me. The 26th annual Leadership Awards Gala, held on Wednesday, May 20, was put on by the Division of Student Affairs. The awards honor students, advisors and organizations.
People from UPC ended up winning three awards, and I just wanted to share briefly why each one was special to me:
UPC will be going through some major changes next year because of the reorganization of campus departments. It is currently advised out of Baker Center Administration, but it will become part of the new Campus Life division. Our advisor, Chad Barnhardt, will no longer be advising the organization because he will be moving to a new position as the Coordinator of Parents Weekends and Special Events in the Dean of Students Office. Amanda Childress, who currently works in Health Promotions, will become the new advisor.
Chad has been a great mentor to each student and an advisor to the organization, and he has always challenged us throughout the year. Many executive board members nominated him for being an outstanding advisor.
Chad was one of the co-recipients for Outstanding Student Organization Advisor, along with Amanda Smith for the Student Alumni Board. Cheers erupted from our table when he was honored.
*Photo taken by Aimee Rancer
Robin Gillespie and I, the film and culture co-chairs, won a programming award for our event in the fall called "Watch History Unfold: Election Results Party." The event included food, raffles, music and big screens to watch the results come in during the historic presidential election. This award was really special to receive after working hard to plan events and dedicating a lot of time to UPC.
Catherine Gignac, the current president of UPC, also won an award for being an "Outstanding Senior Leader." Everyone on the board was really proud of her for being a great leader and role model in the organization.
A full list of all the students who won awards at the Gala is available on Outlook.
People from UPC ended up winning three awards, and I just wanted to share briefly why each one was special to me:
UPC will be going through some major changes next year because of the reorganization of campus departments. It is currently advised out of Baker Center Administration, but it will become part of the new Campus Life division. Our advisor, Chad Barnhardt, will no longer be advising the organization because he will be moving to a new position as the Coordinator of Parents Weekends and Special Events in the Dean of Students Office. Amanda Childress, who currently works in Health Promotions, will become the new advisor.
Chad has been a great mentor to each student and an advisor to the organization, and he has always challenged us throughout the year. Many executive board members nominated him for being an outstanding advisor.
Chad was one of the co-recipients for Outstanding Student Organization Advisor, along with Amanda Smith for the Student Alumni Board. Cheers erupted from our table when he was honored.
*Photo taken by Aimee RancerRobin Gillespie and I, the film and culture co-chairs, won a programming award for our event in the fall called "Watch History Unfold: Election Results Party." The event included food, raffles, music and big screens to watch the results come in during the historic presidential election. This award was really special to receive after working hard to plan events and dedicating a lot of time to UPC.
Catherine Gignac, the current president of UPC, also won an award for being an "Outstanding Senior Leader." Everyone on the board was really proud of her for being a great leader and role model in the organization.
A full list of all the students who won awards at the Gala is available on Outlook.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Challenges lie ahead
Spring brings a time of transition for UPC. On March 8, 2009, the outgoing seniors on the old executive board selected a new executive board for next year after conducting interviews. Then, the craziness began. Meetings were scheduled to train each person in his or her new position.
At one point during the beginning of the quarter, I was up to six hours each week just in meeting times. That's a big commitment for myself and other students who are involved in the organization as volunteers as an extracurricular activity. I was an outgoing film and culture executive, so I had the responsibility of training the new girls who would be filling my spot and my co-chair's spot. I had to teach them all about choosing the Free Movies for each weekend, and planning events such as lectures and creative programs. I also had to attend meetings to learn about my new position as a special events co-chair.
We go through all that madness because we have to prepare event ideas and budgets to present to the Student Activities Commission (SAC) to receive our annual funding amount. UPC is one of three annually funded student programming boards at Ohio University. The Black Student Cultural Programming Board and the International Student Union are the other two programming boards. This year, we received $140,125 to program for the students on campus.
Fast forward to May 1, when Robin Gillespie, the new president of UPC; Jo Nam, the new treasurer and Haley Bannister, the new collaborations chair, presented the board's ideas for programs and asked for $198,000 in a presentation to SAC.
On May 8, the funding amounts were announced. UPC received only $98,000, which was about a $40,000 decrease in funding. There were definitely feelings of disappoint and frustration about the decision, especially because SAC received $100,000 more to hand out to annually or quarterly funded organizations. One possible other source of money was a pot of $40,000 that SAC set aside specifically for collaborations between the programming boards.
The board decided to appeal the decision to SAC because they strongly opposed the individual budget cut. They decided to ask to raise the funding to $120,000 for each of the three annually funded organizations.
"We felt that the 30% budget cut wasn't justified due to our great performance this year and the quality of the presentation," Gillespie said.
SAC denied UPC's appeal for funding, but UPC's board still felt that the issue need to be addressed about how SAC allocates the funds.
"Although we're disappointed that we couldn't change the outcome, we felt that we started an important conversation for the future about having everyone start out on equal footing," Gillespie said. "UPC is ready to move on and do great work next year."
The board is currently in the budgeting process of choosing programs for next year. There is certainly a challenge with the economy and working with less money, but the board is working to come up with creative programs to make the best out of the budget.
The old executive board at a Monday night meeting, with the new board sitting in the background
At one point during the beginning of the quarter, I was up to six hours each week just in meeting times. That's a big commitment for myself and other students who are involved in the organization as volunteers as an extracurricular activity. I was an outgoing film and culture executive, so I had the responsibility of training the new girls who would be filling my spot and my co-chair's spot. I had to teach them all about choosing the Free Movies for each weekend, and planning events such as lectures and creative programs. I also had to attend meetings to learn about my new position as a special events co-chair.
We go through all that madness because we have to prepare event ideas and budgets to present to the Student Activities Commission (SAC) to receive our annual funding amount. UPC is one of three annually funded student programming boards at Ohio University. The Black Student Cultural Programming Board and the International Student Union are the other two programming boards. This year, we received $140,125 to program for the students on campus.
Fast forward to May 1, when Robin Gillespie, the new president of UPC; Jo Nam, the new treasurer and Haley Bannister, the new collaborations chair, presented the board's ideas for programs and asked for $198,000 in a presentation to SAC.
On May 8, the funding amounts were announced. UPC received only $98,000, which was about a $40,000 decrease in funding. There were definitely feelings of disappoint and frustration about the decision, especially because SAC received $100,000 more to hand out to annually or quarterly funded organizations. One possible other source of money was a pot of $40,000 that SAC set aside specifically for collaborations between the programming boards.
The board decided to appeal the decision to SAC because they strongly opposed the individual budget cut. They decided to ask to raise the funding to $120,000 for each of the three annually funded organizations.
"We felt that the 30% budget cut wasn't justified due to our great performance this year and the quality of the presentation," Gillespie said.
SAC denied UPC's appeal for funding, but UPC's board still felt that the issue need to be addressed about how SAC allocates the funds.
"Although we're disappointed that we couldn't change the outcome, we felt that we started an important conversation for the future about having everyone start out on equal footing," Gillespie said. "UPC is ready to move on and do great work next year."
The board is currently in the budgeting process of choosing programs for next year. There is certainly a challenge with the economy and working with less money, but the board is working to come up with creative programs to make the best out of the budget.
The old executive board at a Monday night meeting, with the new board sitting in the background
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Sex Rules! Finale
The line wrapped around the inside of the fourth floor of Baker University Center on Tuesday, April 28 as students waited to see the UPC event "Sex Rules! with Maria Falzone." It seems the more controversial or unusual the event, the bigger the recipe for success. Around 600 students piled into the Ballroom to see the sex-pert and stand-up comedian.
The event was jointly organized by Robin Gillespie, a film and culture co-chair; Jenna Markel, an annual events co-chair and Molly Hoyt, a concerts co-chair.
UPC had been hesitant to see if there would be any complaints about the poster advertising the event because it only showed one type of couple: a heterosexual, white couple. But as I talked to people before the event, the poster seemed to have caught their eye because the topic made a strong statement.
Chris Dierken, an Ohio University freshman, said he likes to try to go to any campus event featuring the topic of sex because it's entertaining.
"On the poster, just that the word 'sex' was really big caught my eye," Dierken said.
Leann Morrissette, an Ohio University freshman, also mentioned that the event grabbed her attention.
"The poster was interesting. I just saw the big title about sex with the exclamation point," Morrissette said.
If you were standing outside the door just listening in during the event, a person might have been really curious what was going on inside the ballroom. Maria Falzone, the comedian, was not holding anything back. She covered every topic from making sex noises to safety and why condoms shouldn't ruin your sexual experience to her personal story of getting herpes. At one point, she even joked that she was the "happy herpes lady." Laughter was continuously rippling through the audience.
The event was jointly organized by Robin Gillespie, a film and culture co-chair; Jenna Markel, an annual events co-chair and Molly Hoyt, a concerts co-chair.
UPC had been hesitant to see if there would be any complaints about the poster advertising the event because it only showed one type of couple: a heterosexual, white couple. But as I talked to people before the event, the poster seemed to have caught their eye because the topic made a strong statement.
Chris Dierken, an Ohio University freshman, said he likes to try to go to any campus event featuring the topic of sex because it's entertaining.
"On the poster, just that the word 'sex' was really big caught my eye," Dierken said.
Leann Morrissette, an Ohio University freshman, also mentioned that the event grabbed her attention.
"The poster was interesting. I just saw the big title about sex with the exclamation point," Morrissette said.
If you were standing outside the door just listening in during the event, a person might have been really curious what was going on inside the ballroom. Maria Falzone, the comedian, was not holding anything back. She covered every topic from making sex noises to safety and why condoms shouldn't ruin your sexual experience to her personal story of getting herpes. At one point, she even joked that she was the "happy herpes lady." Laughter was continuously rippling through the audience.
After the event, Falzone was happily chatting with students about sex questions and stories. As event organizers on UPC, students in the organization get to spend even more time with the guest speakers that come in. Markel had a good experience bonding with Falzone.
"Maria was a firecracker and you could tell that she really enjoyed her work. She was confident too in the awareness that she was spreading throughout college campuses. She really cared about the students and their safety in sexual experiences," Markel said.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Heated discussion over Sex Rules! event poster
Sitting around the conference table in Baker 242, the executive board of University Program Council had come to a standstill. For an upcoming event called "Sex Rules! with Maria Falzone," the poster for the event was the topic in question.
The graphic design chair, Amanda Platt, had used a stock image for the advertisement. The photo featured a heterosexual, white couple looking at each other, and they were naked in the photo down to their shoulders.
Chad Barnhardt, the assistant director of Baker University Center and advisor to UPC, pointed out that the poster might send the wrong message to students. It might turn off students who are of different ethnicities or sexual orientations or make them think the event is not for them, he said.
Some executive board members suggested that four different versions be created with couples of different races and sexual orientations. Others just wanted the image taken off completely and only graphics used to represent the event.
Platt expressed her frustration in even finding the one stock image, and said it could take her hours upon hours to try to find one to go in each of the categories. The problem was that she was crunched for time to turn the poster in to be printed. She had only days left before the poster was due. Unless people would model for a photograph, the changes were unfortunately unrealistic.
Ultimately, the board decided to leave the poster as it was for advertisements. Being careful of the message that publicity can send across was lingering in everyone's minds though.
"I think it was an important conversation for us to have," Barnhardt said.
Caption: The poster hangs in Baker University Center.
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