Longer Shows Demand Higher Ticket Prices
Item
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Title
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Longer Shows Demand Higher Ticket Prices
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Description
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Addresses audience complaints of short concert length.
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Creator
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Eclipse Jazz
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Date
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Winter 1978
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License
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Copyright holder does not require license.
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Rights Holder
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Regents of the University of Michigan.
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Format
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.pdf
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Source
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Winter Newsletter 1978, folder 6, box 2, Eclipse Jazz (University of Michigan) records, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
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extracted text
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p
D
Eclipse had received complaints about the length
of concerts in the Union and League Ballrooms,
especially the Sonny Rollins performance. Specifically, people were disappointed with 60 minutes
of music for $3.50 and wou Id rather pay $6-$7 for
a two hour concert. We think. this attitude reflects
a lack of recognition of one of the primary goals
of Eeli pse Jazz.
Musicians have had severe difficulty supporting
themselves over the past 20 years since I ittle or no
effort has been exerted in maintaining and developing a jazz audience in America. This is especially
true of new "progressive" jazz. Eel ipse serves an
audience made up of people familiar with the
music and reaches out to those only marginally
exposed to jazz. If we were to jack up our prices
to $6-$7, people unfamiliar with jazz would probably not experiment with the music. We know,
for example, that many
Eclipseserves
people attended the Anan audiencemade
thony Braxton and Gary
Burton concerts not knowup of people
ing the work of either
familiar with the
artist and a good number
musicand reaches
of them will attend future
out to those
concerts with a growing
interest in jazz.
only marginally
We think it is selfish
exposedto jazz.
to deny artists exposure
If we were to jack
to new people if only to
up our pricesto
provide 60 more rninutes
of entertainment to those
$6-$7, peopleunwho could purchase a sefamiliar with jazz
cond $3.50 ticket.
would probably
Eclipse is forced into
not experiment
two concert seatings per
with the music.
night in the Ballrooms
ANN ARBORMUSICMART
336 South State Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108
SPECIALIZING
IN:
Stereo Components
Instruments
-lessons
769-4980
-guitar repair
due to our very Ii m 1ted
access to University halls
Wethink it is
and the nature of the mu
selfishto deny
sic business To break eartistsexposure
ven on most concerts
to new people
(Rollins, Charles Mingus,
Dizzy Gillespie} we need
only to provide
60 more minutes a seating capacity of 12001400 seats per night. The
of entertainment BalIroom seats 650 and
to thosewho
therefore has to be sold
couldpurchase
twice. Power Center, with
slightly higher expenses,
a second
seats 1400 and generally
$3.50 ticket.
perm its us to have one
seating with two sixty
minute sets. Whether they play one concert consisting of two sets in Power Center or two oneset shows in the Ba11room, they get the same
money.
Eel ipse prefers to use Power Center but only
three dates were available for the fall term, two
Thursday nights and a Friday night. The Friday
nightswas used for Dexter Gordon. In Hill Auditorium, which isn't quite as difficult to obtain,
the hall expenses are very high thereby usually
restricting its use to artists that are commercially
viable such as Jean-Luc Ponty.
Nonetheless, when using the Ballrooms, Eclipse
is attempting to negotiate 90 mf nute sets with
artists. Some artists wi 11 consent to th is request
and others wi II not. The Art Ensemble of Chicago
agreed to do so. Unfortunately Sonny Rollins
did not grant this request.
IT'S A PERSONAL MATTER...
JAZZ in the PUB
1st floor-Ann Arbor Inn-Wed. thru Sat.
featuring
RON BROOKSTRIO
Sun. eves - 11th floor-Sandalwood Lounge
MIXED BAG
Ann Arbor Inn 100 S. Fourth Ave.
769-9500
No Cover Charge
