new feature on the blackcat site

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

9:30 Club is a large venue in a medium size city that has to rely on SOMETIMES booking overly commercial acts to turn a profit. Simple matter of economics.
 
    TRhe 9:30 Club lost its "hip" factor the day it moved to V Street. The biggest criteria in bokking a show at the 9:30 Club is turning a profit. Hasn't Seth said that any number of times?
 
   
 
 
 

Originally posted by Bubba:
   

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
  Youre right. They would just book Michelle Branch regardless. And Michael Buble.
 
 

[/b]

How very defeatist of the two of you. I suppose neither of you vote in elections either?
 
 Some black shows only have 50 or so people at them, I am sure it wouldnt be too hard to get that many votes from the area for some interesting bands. [/QB][/QUOTE]

[Bags]

So I just went to tourvote.  It's not a Black Cat feature, they just put a link on their webpage.  It's run by someone else who will notify artists, venues and promoters about the votes and the interest in a region for seeing a particular band.  Then tourvote emails you when one of your requested artists comes to your zip code.  So, votes ostensibly should be passed on to Black Cat *and* 9:30 Club, though it's not clear if venues have to be 'members' or some such thing of tourvote.com.  - Bags
 
 
 From the WEBSITE:
 
 "YOU buy concert tickets and pay cover charges. So you should be able to tell the industry which acts YOU truly want to see -- LIVE, on stage. TourVote gives local fans the power to influence which musical artists perform in your metro area!  All TourVotes are made available to the artists, promoters and entertainment venues who make live shows happen -- so they'll know where shows should be scheduled.
 
 You may vote for a particular artist only once but you can vote for as many different artists as you like - anyone you really want to see on stage. Be sure to provide a valid email address -- because when the show gets scheduled in your metro area, we'll send you a TourAlert message. You'll be among the first to know the details, buy tickets and more. TourAlerts will be available in Baltimore and DC by early Fall and will be available in other areas nationwide soon thereafter.
 
 No matter where you live, it's not too early to cast your votes NOW for any act you want to see. And let your friends know about the revolution in live entertainment. You can leave it up to other local TourVoters or you can let your voice be heard."
 
 TourVote is a way for you to take an active role in determining what live entertainment is available to you, near where you live. Here's how it works:
 
 You place a vote (a request) to see ANY live show by ANY artist or group
 
 We let the artists know how many people want to see them locally. Also local entertainment venues, concert promoters and the like.
 
 With a good understanding of the local demand for a show, they schedule it in an appropriate club or concert venue.
 
 We let you know, via TourAlert, when the show will be, the show time, the cost, how to get tickets and more.  
 
 IMPORTANT: We must have your valid email address so that we can alert you on the shows you voted for. Have no fear of providing your email address (link to our Privacy Policy below).
 
 TourVote uses a patent-pending process to collect from consumers, through multiple web sites, their expressions of desire to see specific live performances by any entertainer or entertainment company. We call it demand identification or Demand ID.  
 The demand information is then made available to the persons and companies involved in producing and hosting live shows and concert tours. TourVote data is used to make decisions where entertainers will tour regionally, nationally and internationally. Once those decisions are made, TourVoters who live in or near the scheduled tour cities are alerted and provided special offers of the artists' music and, in the future, advance ticket purchase privileges.
 
 You'll receive one of our email TourAlerts when a show for which YOU specifically voted has been scheduled in your vicinity. So you don't have to worry about an inbox flooded with miscellaneous entertainment information. TourVote is about what YOU want - from a little-known coffee shop folksinger to the latest Backstreet Britney megastar.
 
 TourVote serves another important purpose - by helping musical artists to perform in profitable live shows, we are helping more of them to "quit their day jobs" and focus on their first love (and yours) - music.
 
 What we're NOT
 
 TourVote is not a music site. But we help music sites to deliver live music to their site visitors - not just recorded music. And, if you're like most people, you like to have the latest CD in anticipation of the show. So we help our partners to reach you at that moment.
 
 TourVote is not a concert promoter. But we help concert promoters to deliver the shows ticket buyers really want.
 
 TourVote is not a record company nor a talent agency. But we help those companies to discover rising, new talent at the earliest stages of their popularity.
 
 TourVote is not a vote-for-your-favorite-song-or-artist-or-CD thang. It's not a popularity contest. It's a tool to help communities of people get what they want in live entertainment - rather than being spoon fed what someone else guesses that you might want.

[markie]

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
   Hasn't Seth said that any number of times?
 
 

not in as many words, "give the people what they want would be equally appropriate".

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by bags:
  And here on the board, I'm like Miss DC101, in comparison  

yes bags....my friends think i am a music encyclopedia and here...i have been relegated to "SPIN" magazine.  its fun talking to people SO smart everyday isnt it?

[Jaguär]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  And Jag, I'm sorry to let you down (frankly, I let myself down) but we missed the Grandaaddy/Super Furry Animals/Elbow show last week do to another engagement that was horribly boring and Smackette has not heard the end of it yet. Women.  Kill em all.  That's what I say.

Oh, that's too bad. I am dying to see Elbow again and soon!
 
 And don't forget, it was a woman who told you about Elbow being at the show.  

[markie]

Originally posted by bags:
  So I just went to tourvote.  

thanks Baggy,
 
 so I still think its a good idea.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Seems the people want Jewel and the Mighy Wind.
 I'll bet the 9:30 Club raked in a fortune the past two days, what with the three $40 Mighty Wind shows (two sold out) and a sold out $40 Jewel show...four $40 shows in two nights.
 
    Look at the Billboard charts...that's what the people want.
 
   
 
 
   

Originally posted by Bubba:
   

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
   Hasn't Seth said that any number of times?
 
 

not in as many words, "give the people what they want would be equally appropriate". [/b]

[kosmo vinyl]

tourvote is "good" idea for the blackcat or the velvet lounge especially for regional acts trying to playing at those venues.  it's still up for street teamer abuse.  the data collect for the 9:30 site would be less useful i.e. 10 votes for The High Strung verses 5,000 votes for Good Charlotte.  Most booking agents go direct to the club anyways already knowing their acts are going to succeed there.

[Bags]

Interestingly, I could not sell even one out of four extra tickets to the Sunday night 'late' show of A Mighty Wind.  It was really weird.  Once that insanely long line, which went on forever, was in the club, there was not a soul on the street or in front of the club.  I wasn't the only one who didn't get rid of extra tickets.
 
 

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
  Seems the people want Jewel and the Mighy Wind.
 I'll bet the 9:30 Club raked in a fortune the past two days, what with the three $40 Mighty Wind shows (two sold out) and a sold out $40 Jewel show...four $40 shows in two nights.
 
    Look at the Billboard charts...that's what the people want.
 
   
 
 
   

Originally posted by Bubba:
     

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
   Hasn't Seth said that any number of times?
 
 

not in as many words, "give the people what they want would be equally appropriate". [/b]

[/b]

[Bags]

And I'm all for it!!  It's how the Club can sustain itself and still be able to book bands with loyal but small followings, like Idlewild or The Juliana Theory recently.
 
 

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
  Seems the people want Jewel and the Mighy Wind.
 I'll bet the 9:30 Club raked in a fortune the past two days, what with the three $40 Mighty Wind shows (two sold out) and a sold out $40 Jewel show...four $40 shows in two nights.
 

[/QB][/QUOTE]

[Bags]

But that's my question, Kosmo.  Do the votes from the Black Cat site go only to the Black Cat management, as kind of "black cat votes"?  I didn't think so on my first (but pretty thorough) read of the website.  It sounds like the votes go to various venues in that area around your zip code, which is how you vote (though it is noticed that you've voted through the B.C. website).
 
 

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  tourvote is "good" idea for the blackcat or the velvet lounge especially for regional acts trying to playing at those venues.  it's still up for street teamer abuse.  the data collect for the 9:30 site would be less useful i.e. 10 votes for The High Strung verses 5,000 votes for Good Charlotte.  Most booking agents go direct to the club anyways already knowing their acts are going to succeed there.

[markie]

Originally posted by bags:
  But that's my question, Kosmo.  Do the votes from the Black Cat site go only to the Black Cat management, as kind of "black cat votes"?  I didn't think  

nor do I, the votes must get sorted by Zip code......
 
 I wonder who pays for the service? Clubs, or the record industry?
 
 Just because an act is popular in the billboard chart does not mean a lot of people will want to see it live and vice-versa.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

Voting for bands you want to see strikes me as not unlike radio "request" shows... you know, the type of show where callers usually request something in heavy rotation anyway, so by providing the "request" line it makes these people think they actually had a say in getting that song played.  It's not empowerment, it's illusory empowerment.
 
 
 looking for internet porn?

[Seth Hurwitz]

Originally posted by bags:
  Interestingly, I could not sell even one out of four extra tickets to the Sunday night 'late' show of A Mighty Wind.

how did you wind up with 4 extra tickets?

[Liberte]

First, as a matter of full disclosure, I'm one of the principals in the company that runs TourVote.  I don't want to abuse the hospitality of the 9:30 by plugging what we do, but I would like to respond to a couple of issues raised in this thread.  (Moderator, please let me know if this is a problem for you.)
 
 Bags asks, "But that's my question, Kosmo. Do the votes from the Black Cat site go only to the Black Cat management, as kind of "black cat votes"?"
 
 Answer:  Only the BC (or any other partner) gets to see which votes came through their own site.  Other venue partners get to see how many potential customers (if any) in nearby zip codes say they want to see a given band play live, but not where those people cast their votes.  Artists, music publications, etc., see other appropriate slices of aggregated, anonymized data.  NOBODY except us EVER gets to see the e-mail addresses we require for vote validation.
 
 Dr. Doom wonders whether the "empowerment" is illusory.  
 
 Answer:  We certainly hope not.  The idea is not after-the-fact endorsement of what the music business already does.  It really is for the fans to to tell the business what they want.  If enough fans do that, we believe that the business will listen and begin to act accordingly.  Out of self interest and because, all cynicism aside, most of the people in it really do care about delivering shows that get fans excited.