October 3, 2014
By Tracy Sword
This is beyond frustrating on so many levels. I am not a musician. I am not a friend of a musician. I am a patron. I am the target audience. And I am siding with the "crazy people" because I believe they are right. I am siding with the musicians because I agree with them. I am siding with the musicians because the vision they have for the ASO is in line with what I want my ASO to be. Their vision is what I am willing to spend my money to support. I am siding with the musicians because I believe there are solutions the WAC has not explored. I am siding with the musicians because I have watched the WAC continue to demonstrate a complete and utter lack of understanding of both its existing patrons and the audiences it needs to attract to build a stronger, more sustainable model for this organization. I have watched as they have made decision after decision that erodes the quality of this orchestra without taking any responsibility for their own failures. I've watched as they've blamed everyone but themselves for "12 years of deficits" all the while demonstrating absolutely no understanding of what makes the ASO valuable in the eyes of their target audiences. I am siding with the musicians because I believe that there is nothing wrong with the musicians; the problem lies elsewhere. I am siding with the musicians because I believe that just because there aren't enough people who currently appreciate the value of something, the solution should not be to strip it down until it is even less valuable (especially when that lack of interest can be directly traced to the ineptitude of the people tasked with generating that interest). This opinion comes not from ignorant, blind following of musicians, but from my own observations and existence as a patron. It comes from my own experiences of being an ASO season ticket holder and the target of their woefully off the mark marketing initiatives. Indeed, I have continued to support the symphony because of my love for it, and DESPITE the misguided, ineffective, uninspiring, and useless marketing efforts. For this board member to imply that my opinion is naive or ill-informed is offensive and insulting. This just further demonstrates that the WAC and ASO board absolutely do not understand the audiences they claim to be trying to reach. I'm not an idiot. I know it takes money to make all this happen. I am well aware of the challenges of generating ongoing interest in the ASO in today's society. And I also know that if you want people to spend money on something, you would do well to preserve those qualities that make it worth spending money on. You would also do well to refrain from insulting them because you can't see beyond your own inappropriate perspective. I am not willing to spend my money on an organization that clearly does not understand that you can't run a symphony the way you would run a bank or a for-profit business. The values need to be different. The model needs to be different. And here's one more tip for the WAC and ASO Board: try listening to what your target audience is saying rather than insulting their intelligence.
By Tracy Sword
This is beyond frustrating on so many levels. I am not a musician. I am not a friend of a musician. I am a patron. I am the target audience. And I am siding with the "crazy people" because I believe they are right. I am siding with the musicians because I agree with them. I am siding with the musicians because the vision they have for the ASO is in line with what I want my ASO to be. Their vision is what I am willing to spend my money to support. I am siding with the musicians because I believe there are solutions the WAC has not explored. I am siding with the musicians because I have watched the WAC continue to demonstrate a complete and utter lack of understanding of both its existing patrons and the audiences it needs to attract to build a stronger, more sustainable model for this organization. I have watched as they have made decision after decision that erodes the quality of this orchestra without taking any responsibility for their own failures. I've watched as they've blamed everyone but themselves for "12 years of deficits" all the while demonstrating absolutely no understanding of what makes the ASO valuable in the eyes of their target audiences. I am siding with the musicians because I believe that there is nothing wrong with the musicians; the problem lies elsewhere. I am siding with the musicians because I believe that just because there aren't enough people who currently appreciate the value of something, the solution should not be to strip it down until it is even less valuable (especially when that lack of interest can be directly traced to the ineptitude of the people tasked with generating that interest). This opinion comes not from ignorant, blind following of musicians, but from my own observations and existence as a patron. It comes from my own experiences of being an ASO season ticket holder and the target of their woefully off the mark marketing initiatives. Indeed, I have continued to support the symphony because of my love for it, and DESPITE the misguided, ineffective, uninspiring, and useless marketing efforts. For this board member to imply that my opinion is naive or ill-informed is offensive and insulting. This just further demonstrates that the WAC and ASO board absolutely do not understand the audiences they claim to be trying to reach. I'm not an idiot. I know it takes money to make all this happen. I am well aware of the challenges of generating ongoing interest in the ASO in today's society. And I also know that if you want people to spend money on something, you would do well to preserve those qualities that make it worth spending money on. You would also do well to refrain from insulting them because you can't see beyond your own inappropriate perspective. I am not willing to spend my money on an organization that clearly does not understand that you can't run a symphony the way you would run a bank or a for-profit business. The values need to be different. The model needs to be different. And here's one more tip for the WAC and ASO Board: try listening to what your target audience is saying rather than insulting their intelligence.