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Post by Michael Messer on May 7, 2014 17:58:18 GMT
Hi DaveRed,
Thanks for your feedback. I hope that most people will understand that it is not sustainable with the current pricing.
Shine On Michael
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Post by simonf on May 7, 2014 19:07:01 GMT
This is difficult Michael- and I can certainly see the problem. The price has been held back in the face of inflation and rising air fares etc for some years, and there is only so much you can do in terms of squeezing extra work out of each tutor!
The price is good value for what you get, but it is still a hefty figure. A sum of "about £600" is easier to justify for those of us with families / young kids than "about £700". That said, I guess the main demographic at Blues Week doesn't tend to be people with young families. Personally £695 would be a bit painful, but if the tutor list justified it (and it looks like it will do) then I will undoubtedly accept the extra £70 which isnt actually that much extra when you are talking about a fee of £600 plus anyway. I'm probably fairly lucky in being in a position where I can do that, but again the demographic at Blues week probably leans fairly heavily towards people who can do so as well.
I think the tutor list is very important in this. In a couple of the more recent years, I have seriously waivered and came close to not signing up because it was very hard to justify the money, for a tutor list which didn't really excite me. I ended up going primarily for the week away with friends rather than the music tuition and might struggle to convince myself to do that if the fee was £695. The list you are building looks very promising, so hopefully thats not a problem. It must be a very difficult balance to find between paying premium fees to the best tutors and shipping them in from the US, and balancing the books.
On a connected note (and I suspect you've already thought about it), it is presumably very difficult to take advantage of the currently favourable dollar exchange rate, but US tutors must be cheaper at current exchange rates than they might be in a year's time.
Overall- I think you will be okay with the increase. Its understandable, and the people who attend are broadly speaking people who are likely to be willing to find the little extra, especially having missed out on this year's event.
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Post by Michael Messer on May 7, 2014 21:27:35 GMT
Hi Simon,
I agree with you about £695 being harder to justify than £625, but we have spent a lot of time looking at this and no matter which way we cut the cake, with the price at £625 per head, it is impossible to make ends meet. This was one of the reasons (IMO) that David Popple was unable to continue with BW14. The university are putting their prices up and that will destroy us unless we increase the price. The good side of this is that (a) we are a non-profit making organisation, so nobody is making any more than a week's wages to make this whole thing happen, and (b), some extra funding will allow us to bring in additional new tutors. This has got to be good for everyone, because that is what the whole thing is about. We can deliver the goods, but we cannot put our hands in our pockets to make it happen.
We are looking at all aspects of this so that we can deliver a great BW15 and not lose money. While I totally understand and appreciate the previous owners, Euro Blues, not increasing the price over the years, I do think that looking at the figures as we have recently, it is long overdue. It's a difficult dilemma, because we do not want to be elitist and price ourselves into a different marketplace, or even right out of the marketplace, but we do have to make BW15 at least break even.
Thanks for your comments. All greatly received and will be taken seriously by both Dennis and me.
Much appreciated
Shine On Michael
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Post by simonf on May 7, 2014 22:12:16 GMT
I agree with all you say Michael.
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Post by Michael Messer on May 8, 2014 9:26:54 GMT
Thanks to everyone for your response both on the public forum and via PM (private message).
This is exactly why I asked the question and I am getting the feedback that we need, so we can weigh up the whole thing. As it is a non-profit making company, we are only trying to make BW15 happen without losing money.
Shine On Michael
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Post by simonf on May 8, 2014 10:58:01 GMT
One other passing thought:
I've often said that we really don't need 3 hot meals a day at Northampton. Probably very modest difference to pricing, but a cold sandwich lunch or whatever would be more than adequate and presumably every cost saving helps. I appreciate that the University may not offer a package on that basis, but thought it was worth mentioning.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2014 11:12:49 GMT
I, for one, would be happy to pay £695.00. I'm looking forward to Blues Week 2015 already!
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Post by gordon on May 8, 2014 12:23:17 GMT
I share Simon's thoughts about the tutors : the experience at Bluesweek is great, but sometimes the fact that there are really exciting tutors can make all the difference. That said, Ari Eisinger's Reverend Davis class only had a handful of people in it but I loved it. With people's different interests, it can't be easy getting a roster that suits everyone. I don't think there's any comparable event in Europe, and in my opinion the figure of £695 is reasonable.
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Post by stevie2sticks on May 8, 2014 15:42:29 GMT
Bed, three meals a day plus tuition is good value at £140 per day.
Would it aid the numbers for beginners sessions to be separate than experienced blues sessions. Very conscious as a beginner of holding others up and spoiling their days.
I definitely will book some time out for this. For me one of the deciding factors is the amount of tuition my brain can actually cope with.
Good luck.
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Post by Michael Messer on May 8, 2014 16:16:14 GMT
Hi Steve,
At Blues Week we do have beginners and intermediate/advanced classes running separately, whereas at Pocklington we are all in together. I think both ways work well and putting beginners in classes with good players does not slow down the class.
Thanks for your comment about the costs
Shine On Michael
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Post by steadyrollinman on May 8, 2014 18:09:35 GMT
Hi Michael,
I think the cost is cheap for what you get.
Full board for 6 nights, all your meals and 5 days tuition- Bargain.
Chris
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Post by alexkirtley on May 12, 2014 21:36:56 GMT
I'm not too sure what blues week involves but I would go just to see Ari Eisinger! , unfortunately there's no way I could afford it and no way my parents would let me go that far down south alone
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Post by Michael Messer on May 12, 2014 22:44:16 GMT
Hi Alex,
In previous years Blues Week has had a scholarship fund to bring in young people, who without the scholarship couldn't be there. We have just taken over Blues Week and at this point do not have a scholarship fund in place, but keep in touch about it, because if there is a fund set up, then you might well be eligible. If you are under 18 you would have to be accompanied by a parent or guardian, but with BW15 being over a year away, there's a lot that can happen in that time.
Ahhhh.....so you'e a big fan of Ari's playing. Me too. Ari is a wonderful musician and a lot of fun to spend time with.
Shine On Michael
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Post by Michael Messer on May 12, 2014 22:47:56 GMT
I can now confirm that Eric Noden, Joe Filisko's musical partner and a fantastic guitarist, performer and teacher, will be at BW15! This will open up the whole idea of teaching in a duo format.
Shine On Michael.
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Post by Michael Messer on Sept 18, 2014 17:02:50 GMT
THIS IS A COPY OF AN EMAIL THAT HAS JUST BEEN SENT BY DENNIS RIGG TO THE BLUES WEEK PARTICIPANTS DATABASE:
Dear All,
You will know from my email to you in June that following the late cancellation of Blues Week 2014, Michael Messer and I decided to step in to ensure there was a 2015 Blues Week at Northampton University.
Our understanding was that Michael Roach had ceased running Blues Weeks and in any event would be in the USA until at least summer 2016. However, towards the end of August, we discovered from a third party that he had returned to the UK earlier that month.
On phoning him just over a week ago I learned that Michael had decided in May/June to return to the UK, and that he intends to organise Blues Week in 2015.
As he does not wish to continue with the arrangements that Michael Messer and I have made so far, regrettably we are left with no option other than to cancel them.
Michael Messer and I wish to thank all those who have offered their help and support to us, in particular Stuart Earl who has been working on a website and Mark Makin who has produced publicity materials.
I’d like to put on record my appreciation of Michael Messer’s invaluable assistance in putting together a team of tutors that would, I believe have delivered a great programme.
I’m sorry if this causes you any inconvenience and I hope you’ll give Michael Roach’s event your full support.
Best wishes,
Dennis Rigg -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shine On Michael
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