"Nice track, but is this some new marketing trick?"
In the office of the manager of the comprehensive operations department, Congreve faced the invoicing worksheet on the table and fell into endless thinking.
Olga, the financial manager standing opposite him, also looked stunned: "The average ticket price of this ticketing plan is 11.25, which means that our total box office is about 22,960..."
"...a penny, which is equivalent to more than 90 pounds."
"Double-digit revenue?" Congreve is running his business brain that has been used to make money from customers' pockets for many years, thinking about how this new method will be realized in the future.
Olga also had similar thoughts.
She has already concluded from her experience working with Fan Ning that every time the music director comes up with an idea or launches a new set of moves, even though no one may understand it when they first hear it, they can always understand it later.
He discovered that all of them were "killing moves". Not only did he make a lot of money, but he also gained his reputation along with it. Customers even paid him money and praised him for doing a good job.
"This is the fact." Lausanne, who was standing aside, said, "Mr. Fanning said, 'There is no trick this time.'"
"Are there any other reminders?" Congreve hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, as a personal comment to show respect, I never believe that Mr. Fanning has no tricks..."
"No more." The female composer shook her head, "It's not like you don't know that although Mr. Fan Ning is still arranging all the work, he basically no longer accompanies us for any leisure social activities, and he is very careful with his words.
, If you can write it down clearly on the instruction sheet, don’t talk to people face to face. If you can explain it clearly in three sentences, don’t use five sentences. There are still some pointers for us, but they will never talk about anything else. After the explanation last night, we left in a hurry.
.”
"Is it just a 'fresh taste' before the price rises back to normal?" Congreve tried hard to explore all the possibilities of making money, fearing that he had missed Fan Ning's intention. "After all, the performance of the Youth Symphony Orchestra will gradually become normal...
By the way! Did he mention the pricing, repertoire and promotion plans after the first show?"
"This was mentioned earlier in the explanation, and the price will be based on this from now on."
There was a silence in the air.
"I get it, he's not interested in money."
Olga suddenly enlightened and said: "To be precise, I was very interested when I didn't get it before, but now I feel it's boring. Maybe I just want to get the boys and girls to practice. I guess... Kanger
Mr. Reeve, don’t think too much, just draw it like this, let’s go straight to the finance side. Currently, small-scale projects like this are already a very minor part of our revenue.”
Her tone was quite wealthy.
As early as late January, the media reported very keenly that Turner Hall was about to make a lot of money from box office performance, record sales and art exhibition auctions.
In fact, the revenue in these three months was more than 200,000, more than 300,000, and more than 400,000 pounds respectively. The pitiful balance after the New Year's concert has increased more than twenty times, and the current liquid assets have directly soared to one million.
As mentioned above, a new round of functional venue expansion and filling, as well as the purchase of top-notch pipe organs, have begun to be put on the agenda.
The reason can be seen from the business structure that is about to close in the first quarter:
The share of music score publishing and record sales accounts for more than 40%. Needless to say, there are a large number of music scores, and there are now seven records on sale: "Live at the Santa Ramburg Music Festival", "Fanning's Piano Solo", "Fan Ning's Piano Solo"
Ning's "First Symphony", "Sheeran's Three Violin Concertos", "Roy's Two Cello Concertos", "Joan's Two Flute Concertos", and "From 'Lee's' Piano Concertos to Impressions"
"Orchestralism". In the end, this set of records was priced at the highest, reaching 40 pounds, and it was somewhat bundled. However, due to the strong appeal of "Lee", its sales volume has surpassed that of "Symphony No. 1".
Concert box office accounts for 25%;
The museum’s revenue accounts for 20%, including secondary items such as “exhibition and auction commissions”, “daily tickets”, “album and souvenir sales”;
Third-party income accounts for 15%, including secondary projects such as "art naming", "regular donations", and "government subsidies";
It can be seen that under Fan Ning's series of tricks, although concerts are the main form of artistic activities, they are no longer the main revenue channel. In the eyes of traditional concert halls and theaters where "performance income ≈ operating income", this
It’s simply impossible, but it actually happened!
This has long attracted the attention of other colleagues in the empire. References and analyzes have come one after another. Even the cultural departments of two counties came for an on-site inspection last month. However, these dignitaries found that they could not learn Fan Ning’s gameplay at all.
.
Records? Everyone in the industry knows that today is the golden age of the record industry! However, the initial period of barbaric growth has passed, and there are already a considerable number of high-quality records. Music fans who have access to gramophones have extremely picky ears. Now it can be said that
The only things that make "big money" are "outstanding new works" or "masterful performances". However, the relationship between the academy and the composer is usually just a cooperative relationship. Recording an excellent new concerto is enough to last a year. Who can be like Fan?
Ning released so many tracks in half a year, and still made money for himself?
Art museums? One of the cultural industry models with a "money path", but they are not the same thing as concert halls! Is there anyone who is good at running art museums and concert halls? After thinking about it, this is the one in front of me.
Art naming? Excuse me, I don’t know how he came up with the endless courtesy! It’s not that no one wants to learn it, but it can’t be learned, and the sponsors don’t buy it at all!
Just talking about 25% of the box office revenue, and the pricing is comparable to the top ten bands, and the venues are sold out, those marketing methods are difficult enough to learn!
"Well, he's not interested in money." Congreve accepted the point of view, "So... how to promote this?"
"Ah, I don't understand this."
"Isn't this your specialty?"
Lausanne and Olga were confused by the manager of the operations department.
"Publicity is to set a relatively high price and then use means to attract others to pay..." Congreve felt the blind spot of cognition, "This, uh, it is so cheap, maybe, maybe it is easy to sell??... I am good at it.
It was a challenge, but Mr. Fan Ning came and said 1+1. I thought about it all morning and felt that I couldn’t even write 2..."
"How about you do whatever you want?" Lausanne tried to give a suggestion, "Aren't you working on posters for the second quarter's performance schedule? For other shows, you can just copy them and change the text.
The same goes for ticket prices."
"I can already predict that music fans will suspect that there is something wrong with their eyes after seeing the poster." Congreve shrugged, "But a new type of performance always has a new series name, something like '
Concertos by principals', 'impressions of music and pictures', 'joy without regrets', 'intimate dialogues of ensembles', etc. According to Mr. Fan Ning, this can 'demonstrate the systematicity of the performance plan and cultivate talents in subdivided fields'.
Fixed audience'... So, how do you name this Youth Symphony Orchestra performance, let me refine and refine the characteristics, 'Four Pennies Enjoyment'?"
"People who don't know think it's a low-quality red light district propaganda." Lausanne curled his lips and commented.
"I was careless, Miss Lausanne." Congreve sighed and held his forehead.
"The problem may be that I chose the lowest fare. How about changing it to '2 shillings for enjoyment'?" Olga tried to contribute ideas.
"A slightly higher-grade publicity for the red light district." Lausanne continued to comment with a curled lip.
A longer silence fell in the air.
"Born to love music." Fan Ning's voice came from the door.
The three of them looked at him together.
Congreve breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank God, you have restored our inspiration to nobility."
"Learning music is everyone's birthright. This is an objective 'ability'. Being born to love music is an instinct that has been stimulated or not yet stimulated by everyone. This is a subjective 'thinking'. The former is the performer
, the latter is the listener, and together they form the 'popularization of art'."
While Fan Ning was explaining, he pressed two pieces of paper on his desk: "If you add these contents to the track list, the size can be slightly larger."
"Repertoire guide?" Congreve subconsciously lowered his head and saw Fan Ning's dense handwriting.
Just like the guides at previous Impressionist art exhibitions, he gave an inspiring reminder for each piece in as plain language as possible.
There are also "little knowledge about watching performances" and "fine-tuning plans" at the back...
"Such pricing makes it affordable for groups with more difficult economic conditions." Fan Ning continued, "But they who have never been exposed to serious music may not necessarily pay attention to the news or even become interested in it for the first time. Let more people in need
When people know it, more people who need it can buy it.”
"Let the people who need it know that M&A is not enough for Mr. Fanning, and their free time is often extremely scarce..." Congreve pondered this request, and when he looked up, he found that Fan Ning had already stepped out of the door after explaining a few words.
.
"Who is it that has extremely scarce free time?" Luosang spread his hands and shook his head.
So in late March, many Uvranser citizens were reading newspapers on their way out and learned about the summary of Turner Hall's second-quarter performance plans.
Then almost everyone stared at some of the scenes and rubbed their eyes.
"Born to be a Philharmonic Turner Hall Youth Orchestra Concert...Performance Ticket Price...Performance Ticket Price?"
"4 pence, 8 pence, 1 shilling, 2 shillings?" After reading this, someone moved their eyes to other events in disbelief, "6 pounds, 10 pounds, 14 pounds, 18 pounds, 24 pounds..."
"If the unit symbols in those games were printed incorrectly, doesn't it make sense that the numbers are first larger and then smaller?"
And it was also on this day that all the alleys in Ufranser except the main streets, especially the labor settlements, industrial areas, dock areas or the middle streets connecting these areas, were specially posted with the first scene on April 15th.
A separate promotional poster for the "Born to Music" concert, which carefully circles the ticketing time, performance time, viewing instructions, various ticket sales points, the concert hall address and how to get there, as well as the rules for ticket release in batches
.
"With as little as 4 pence, you can listen to an elegant symphony?"
"I know the Turner Hall of Art. It's a noble and sacred place, a place for aristocratic young ladies and gentlemen, and a social place for the upper class."
"Are the big musicians working there and can I meet them?"
"Will you be laughed at because you don't understand?"
At seven or eight o'clock in the evening, some of the people who were working shifts in the factory or returning home after working part-time or long-term jobs were attracted by the posters that could be seen everywhere on the streets and stopped, forming a circle and talking endlessly.
Some people can't believe it, some are eager to try it, and some are hesitant. In addition to fear and inferiority complex, being stuck in heavy work or housework is also an objective factor.
But there are a few fine-tuned details on the part of the performers, which play a more critical role——
Spread the sales points as far as possible; (reduce the time of walking or taking a horse-drawn carriage to buy tickets);
The concert time is moved to 8:30 p.m. (try to meet the 7-8 o'clock work time of most morning shift workers)
There is no lateness limit, and you can enter and leave the venue at any interval between tracks; (to further accommodate listeners with different work schedules)
The repertoire will be short and there will be no encores, and it will end before 10pm; (to take care of trivial housework and child support needs after work)
After the tickets are opened on April 1, the daily number of tickets sold will be controlled to 20% of the total number of tickets; (it will take five days at the fastest to sell out, because workers cannot free up free time immediately when they have their own arrangements)
.)
The middle-class employees, nobles and factory owners did not think about the layer behind the words, but these workers who were watching only felt that all the arrangements and adjustments were taking care of their own distressed side as much as possible.
Little did they know that the performers' understanding of their living conditions was precisely the result of Fan Ning's extensive interviews and research in the early stages.
On the first day of invoicing, many workers had already taken action and decided to try to see the situation.
"Sir, may I ask... is there a show on April 15th where the ticket price is 4p?"
At seven o'clock in the morning, there was a long queue as usual in front of a sales agency in the South Pier District. A female textile worker on her way to work, wearing an old gray cotton-padded jacket, gritted her teeth and asked the front desk calmly.
After receiving a positive answer, she pretended to be nonchalant and took out four coins, quickly selected her seat without even looking at it, and finally carefully put the tickets in her arms and left.
The gentlemen standing behind their walking sticks said nothing, their eyes were calm under their top hats, and they did not keep a close eye on them out of courtesy. However, if you look closely at their facial expressions, you always feel that there is something strange.
Later, there were also several people who looked like laborers queuing up, and among them there were some in between, skilled workers, small shopkeepers, and clerks whose families were slightly better off but not yet middle-class.
They are gentlemen and ladies again.
After the ticket sales reach the daily limit coordinated by the general management, tickets for the corresponding Youth Symphony Orchestra performance will be temporarily suspended, while other performances will continue to be sold normally.
Generally speaking, there was nothing worth mentioning about the on-site conditions at various sales outlets in the first two days.
After all, no gentleman or lady would make radical remarks at the scene.
The problem arises from the subsequent media reports and public opinion.
Nowadays, when Turner Art Hall has won a wide reputation in society, the mainstream front-line media will not do things that attract attention, but there have been many tactful criticisms.
In the eyes of the upper class, whether conservatives or progressives, the previous dispute between academicism and impressionism was just an "internal" contradiction within the artistic trend...
And this incident is a bit like "the elegant palace of art is stepped on by muddy soles".
The above quotation marks come from the city's number one media "Ufranser Art Review".
"Theoline Cultural Weekly", which has always praised Turner Art Hall, also published an article that "everyone is born to love music, but music is a broad concept, and the boundaries between seriousness and business cannot be confused." They especially pointed out that "nobles and
Common people are not distinguished by wealth, but by taste. As a leading art venue, Turner Art Hall, when its performance prices fall below a certain limit, the effect is not public welfare, but for the empire.
Public cultural resources have been occupied and wasted.”
Big media is more or less polite.
The reporting angle of Ufranser's second-tier media "Events" is very tricky.
They directly published several photos taken at the early morning queue, in which gentlemen and ladies with well-made makeup and workers with embarrassed faces were mixed in the queue.
There is even a close-up of two young women who are painted in makeup and wearing stockings, boots and leg rings in the cold weather. They seem to be dressed as wandering orioles!
The content of the article beside the picture seems to be excerpts from interviews with citizens lining up:
"I bought a ticket for this, yes, I bought it decisively. You know, I am a loyal music fan of Turner Hall. I swear, when these 'music lovers' applauded randomly during the music, I
They will jump out and stop them to protect the young musicians."
"The current situation is undoubtedly understandable: for such a performance, if we consider the cost, its price reduction is an inevitable result. Because our beloved Mr. Fanning needs to hire at least 20 more people than originally planned.
Twice the manpower to clean up the dirt, dust, stains and garbage left inside and outside the symphony hall after the performance!"
"Hey, during intermission, maybe you could interview the pair of prostitutes and ask them what they heard in Mr. Fanning's symphony!"