Say What? Music at RMU over the years
Alexandria Antonacci
Issue date: 2/26/10 Section: Features
To book big bands on national tours RMU had to work with a booking agency that specializes in working with colleges and universities. But before they decide who to book they have to figure out what they can afford, and after that they rely on student leaders to recommend bands. Then on top of it all, they need to see if it is possible to book the band of the student's choice, the dates they could play, and if the Sewall Center would be available to be used for that certain number of days for the duration of the bands visit.
"People think that they come in and do their thing and then they leave but there's a whole lot of set up and tear down, that behind the scenes stuff which takes a lot more time than the actual event does itself," Keefer said.
Not only does the university pay for the act to perform but it also has to arrange for the event center and artist who will play, to be completely ready for the day of the event. Behind the scenes expenses could range from paying for security/first aid personnel, sound/lights/stage/barricade equipment rentals and most importantly it is the requirement of the university to provide general hospitality to its guests. Its RMU's job to make this a home away from home for their visitors. This could involve feeding a large amount of people breakfast, lunch and dinner on top of whatever contractual things they might need. As you see the expenses can pile up.
The sole mean of making some money back for the university is the ticket sales. Figuring out the individual prices the university needs to contemplate how much the concert cost them and how much the audience can afford. The money from the ticket sales is never going to make the university any money or even have the chance of breaking even. And in the end the ticket profit doesn't all go to the university if the school utilizes Ticketmaster or Live Nation for the event because the provider has to cut their take. Then after everything is set up for the visit, not all the expenses are necessarily finished. Thousands of dollars are spent on advertising on the radio, through the newspaper and to print materials to place around campus to get the word out that a band is visiting the area. In the end you gotta spend money to make money.
"People think that they come in and do their thing and then they leave but there's a whole lot of set up and tear down, that behind the scenes stuff which takes a lot more time than the actual event does itself," Keefer said.
Not only does the university pay for the act to perform but it also has to arrange for the event center and artist who will play, to be completely ready for the day of the event. Behind the scenes expenses could range from paying for security/first aid personnel, sound/lights/stage/barricade equipment rentals and most importantly it is the requirement of the university to provide general hospitality to its guests. Its RMU's job to make this a home away from home for their visitors. This could involve feeding a large amount of people breakfast, lunch and dinner on top of whatever contractual things they might need. As you see the expenses can pile up.
The sole mean of making some money back for the university is the ticket sales. Figuring out the individual prices the university needs to contemplate how much the concert cost them and how much the audience can afford. The money from the ticket sales is never going to make the university any money or even have the chance of breaking even. And in the end the ticket profit doesn't all go to the university if the school utilizes Ticketmaster or Live Nation for the event because the provider has to cut their take. Then after everything is set up for the visit, not all the expenses are necessarily finished. Thousands of dollars are spent on advertising on the radio, through the newspaper and to print materials to place around campus to get the word out that a band is visiting the area. In the end you gotta spend money to make money.
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