9:30 Fan Club

[Lamb007]

Never been to the NORVA so I'm not defensive about it.  I was just surprised to see the VIP concept at a club/smallish venue.  Nissan and Merriweather have offered this for years.  It's ridiculously expensive and definitely aimed at the same people who sit in climate controlled boxes at football games.  Personally I'm not a fan of making the live music experience more expensive than it is.  But folks like me who spend a good amount of time and $$ at 9:30 and would like to be able to hang back and see the show from a perch up in the rafters would be happy to do just that.  I'm no VIP, just cranky with bad knees.  More or less, I'm lazy and I show up late so I'm usually standing behind some tall skinny guy with a ball cap.

[markie]

the norva thing would be irresistable for me.....
 
 I guess I would end up seeing a lot more shows that way.

[Lamb007]

I think it's kind of a cool thing too. Not everyone's cup of tea, but if this were offered here, it would be tempting.  I'd definitely go to more shows and that's a good thing.  I'd experience acts I wouldn't normally pay much attention to.  Give me a mediocre band over a great sitcom any day of the week.

[Jaguär]

This is just my opinion but I don't like the plan for many of the reasons posted in the other thread.
 
 Also, I don't think that Seth would want to give up his private area that often and I wouldn't blame him. Of course, only he would know the real answer to that.
 
 If something like that went through, it would have no real affect on me whatsoever as I couldn't afford it and it wouldn't affect my concert experience otherwise.
 
 I still think that it smacks way too much of the corporate mentality and leaves way too many true fans out of the loop. If the club is serious about doing some sort of a fan club, maybe they should experiment with something on a much smaller scale and see how that flies.

[ggw]

Even if you went to 100 shows a year (an average of two a week, every week), at $4000 a year you would still be paying $20 a ticket.
 
 Of course you would get access to the "Promised Land" and all, but it doesn't sound like a screaming bargain.

[markie]

and I guess 250 passes like that gets the club a cool $10 million upfront. Well worth finding some space at the back of the club.
 
 I wonder how many they could actually sell? I bet 50 would be more reasonable, but hey $2 million will buy Seth a fleet of  S-classes and leave enough money to patch up the entrance to the car park.

[ggw]

Originally posted by Jaguär:
  This is just my opinion but I don't like the plan for many of the reasons posted in the other thread.
 
 Also, I don't think that Seth would want to give up his private area that often and I wouldn't blame him. Of course, only he would know the real answer to that.
 
 If something like that went through, it would have no real affect on me whatsoever as I couldn't afford it and it wouldn't affect my concert experience otherwise.
 
 I still think that it smacks way too much of the corporate mentality and leaves way too many true fans out of the loop. If the club is serious about doing some sort of a fan club, maybe they should experiment with something on a much smaller scale and see how that flies.

How does it leave the "true fans" out of the loop?
 
 How are the "true fans" different from you, who admits that this would have no effect on your concert going experience?

[markie]

meet and greet.....  well that would be nice....
 
 Private balcony..... would be great if it was Seths,  awful if it was right at the back where VIP is now.
 
 But with two days written advance you can sign yickets to friends.....
 
 I am sure I could sell a few shows and recover  say $1000 a year.

[Lamb007]

Who the hell said anything about a bargain?  The Kennedy Center's free stage is a bargain.  This is just for people who are willing to shell out some bucks for the sake of convenience.  I doubt it would be uber-corporate.  I mean seriously.  Would Deloitte & Touche purchase a membership?  Would some law firm offer their VIP tickets to Motorhead as some incentive plan?  It's not like club seats for the Redskins or box seats at Nissan.  9:30 is run by and for music fans.  Those corporate deals you're comparing this idea to are lunkheads who have to be force fed their tastes in entertainment.

[ggw]

Originally posted by Andrew WK:
  and I guess 250 passes like that gets the club a cool $10 million upfront. Well worth finding some space at the back of the club.
 
 I wonder how many they could actually sell? I bet 50 would be more reasonable, but hey $2 million will buy Seth a fleet of  S-classes and leave enough money to patch up the entrance to the car park.

He would have to add valet parking of course.

[Jaguär]

You know, I wouldn't mind getting a free 9:30 t-shirt after so many shows. With that, the club ends up with using our bodies as billboards. Or maybe a bonus point system with every so many shows. Points that can be used for t-shirts (probably only 9:30 merch) drinks, food, or even show tickets.

[kurosawa-b/w]

Is a private Radiohead concert at the club too much to ask? Or being happily recognized and on first name basis with the staff (staph?)? Seriously though, I like the idea. Not too sure how we could make it work fairly... We've started some kind of community already through this Forum.
 
 I like Jag's idea of merch, drinks, and food. I can sometimes afford the ticket price but no drinks.

[Jaguär]

Originally posted by ggw:
  ]

How does it leave the "true fans" out of the loop?
 
 How are the "true fans" different from you, who admits that this would have no effect on your concert going experience? [/b][/QUOTE]
 Meaning that too many true fans would not be able to take part in a fan club of sorts. I would venture to say that most could not afford this luxury and many who can would not invest in it.
 
 My point was that it would not interfer with my concert experience but I would also not be rewarded as a regular fan. Neither would most avid club goers.
 
 I think Seth's point was that he would like to spread the goods to as many people as possible instead disenfranchising many because of a privileged few.

[Lamb007]

A free brownie on my birthday would be a nice touch...assuming there was a show that night.  Maybe a candle too.  And Norm singing Happy Birthday.  I'd go for that.

[kosmo vinyl]

in this town it wouldn't take much to sell subscriptions like that...  the whole reason the mci center and fedex field exist is to have corporate boxes and seats.
 
 the norva also has room for 500 more people than the 9:30 club and probably doesn't have nearly as many sellouts.  they are probably using the vip ticket as a way to pad the bottom line.
 
 even if the 9:30 club sold 50 subscription like the norva that 10% of the clubs capacity.  and you better believe the going rate for a subscription is going to higher than $4000.
 
 i'm against the frequent flyer plan, can you imagine how much busier those poor bartenders would be if they had to stamp cards as well.  it's not starbucks.  
 
 the idea of starting small is a good one... there have already been some free show and buy one get one free offers in the emails.  the volume presale is nice step.  just wish it would involve a break in the service charges.  like it was in the case of the supergrass show.