[Jandek] New York ticket situation thoughts

[BlackMonk]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Reed" <jim.r at connectsavannah.com>
To: <jandek at mylist.net>
Sent: Friday, August 12, 2005 12:21 PM
Subject: [Jandek] New York ticket situation thoughts



> 200 tix at $26 each is $5,200.
>
> Now, take out about $800 - $1,000 for the venue rental (unless the 
> Anthology
> is actually co-sponsoring the event, which it appears they're not).
>
> Then take out another $200 - $300 for the security which I can only assume
> they'll have to provide to keep sundry nutbags from trying to get to the
> featured artist before, during and after the show.
>

This is Jandek, not Paul McCartney. I doubt there's going to be any more 
security than there usually is at performances this size. Which is to say, 
none. That $300 could pay at least one and possibly both opening acts.


> Then take out the cost of professionally-made physical tickets (let's say
> $150)
>
> Then the cost of a PA system commensurate with what they'll need (which 
> I'll
> bet this theater does not normally house), and an engineer to run it. That
> could easily run as much as $800.
>
> If he requires a piano, to have one rented, hauled upstairs and then 
> tuned,
> might cost as much as $500.
>
> Then there's the matter of getting the Corwood rep to NYC from Louisiana
> (train travel might account for the lag between shows). Let's say $200.
>
> Then he has to stay somewhere. True, he could have friends who'll let him
> crash, but why do I assume he'll want a cozy hotel room far from the 
> madding
> crowds? Try $150 a night for a couple nights (who doesn't at least look
> around NYC?
>
> Even after backing off these estimates a little bit, the net is now down 
> to
> $2,300, and the opening acts have yet to be paid, and the promoter (who's
> obviously handling ALL OF THE DETAILS) hasn't either.
>
> I would not be surprised if, at the end of the day, our man walks away 
> with
> between $1,000 and $1,800 for his work.
>

$1,000 for a couple hours work isn't bad. Again, this is Jandek, not Paul 
McCartney.

> With that in mind, it's interesting that he's insisting on keeping ticket
> prices so low. They could have been $100 each and it still would have sold
> out in approximately the same amount of time.
>

It's possible, just because there were so few tickets, but even with all the 
notice he's been getting for the live performances, the fan base isn't that 
large. Charging $100 a ticket would drive away a lot of people. Especially 
those who are going because a Jandek show is an EVENT. And I suspect that 
the show sold out because of those people. Would anyone say that Jandek has 
a bigger following in NYC than, say, Neil Innes, AMM, or The Monks? All of 
them took considerably longer to sell out similar sized shows. (Innes, at 
$17, didn't sell out until the day of the show. AMM did 4 shows at the 
Knitting Factory, which I don't think even holds 200 at $20. I'm not sure 
they even did sell out. The Monks' reunions shows, the first shows in the US 
ever by a legendary band, took several weeks to sell out.)