I get comments from people from time to time wondering why the 1471-seat Coral Springs Center for the Arts doesn't get more "big" shows. If the patron is sincere and not negative, I will take the time to explain a little about the business of securing acts and how working with only 1,471 seats puts us in the back seat when bidding against the Broward Center, Hard Rock Casino and others. Sometimes we are able to use our booking leverage (our company PFM manages theaters across the U.S.) and land a big name like David Copperfield, Taylor Hicks, and others.
He who has the most seats wins most of the time in this game. It's all about the money...how much can the act walk away with at your place. Sometimes, promoters in other markets (i.e. Miami) book a show down there and try to negotiate an exclusive type deal with the agent to block Coral Springs from getting a show. In fact, that situation is going on right now with the Carnival Center and a national promoter regarding a "very big" name. It's borderline ridiculous.
How many people in Coral Springs are going to drive all the way to Miami, pay $40 for parking (if they can find any) to see a show at the Carnival Center? Very few, if any, is my guess. Certainly not enough to make a dent in the gross sales for an event at the Carnival Center. Our own zip code analysis from the past three years of shows here tells me less than 1% of our audience (over 300,000 people) comes from Miami.
Nevertheless, they are trying to stop a "big name" show from playing our theater as well as their venue. No whining here...it is what it is. Bu that's an inside look at why sometimes we can't get A level stars even when the number of seats aren't a factor.
We're working with the agent to try and convince them otherwise, but it's a big promoter with a lot of muscle. And Coral Springs is getting squeezed because Miami can't sell tickets in their own backyard.
I'll keep you posted on how this shakes out.
He who has the most seats wins most of the time in this game. It's all about the money...how much can the act walk away with at your place. Sometimes, promoters in other markets (i.e. Miami) book a show down there and try to negotiate an exclusive type deal with the agent to block Coral Springs from getting a show. In fact, that situation is going on right now with the Carnival Center and a national promoter regarding a "very big" name. It's borderline ridiculous.
How many people in Coral Springs are going to drive all the way to Miami, pay $40 for parking (if they can find any) to see a show at the Carnival Center? Very few, if any, is my guess. Certainly not enough to make a dent in the gross sales for an event at the Carnival Center. Our own zip code analysis from the past three years of shows here tells me less than 1% of our audience (over 300,000 people) comes from Miami.
Nevertheless, they are trying to stop a "big name" show from playing our theater as well as their venue. No whining here...it is what it is. Bu that's an inside look at why sometimes we can't get A level stars even when the number of seats aren't a factor.
We're working with the agent to try and convince them otherwise, but it's a big promoter with a lot of muscle. And Coral Springs is getting squeezed because Miami can't sell tickets in their own backyard.
I'll keep you posted on how this shakes out.
posted by Kevin Barrett at 7:42 AM
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