question to ponder

[executioner]

dosen't that mean we should worry about the "eternal destiny of peoples souls"?

I said "worry for" not "worry about", in other words we don't need to worry that people won't be saved if Classic Petra becomes financially inviable. It's a vast simplification to start quantifying the price of a salvation by saying things like "someone was saved therefore the $50K concert was worth it" because others could counter that by pointing out $50K could support a missionary family in an unreached nation for a year establishing a church which goes onto see many thousands brought to Christ over the years.

I'm not saying don't have Christian concerts, but let them be self sustaining - if they don't pay for themselves, don't put them on. As a means of entertainment and edification they can be great, but as a tool of evangelism, I'm convinced they don't represent an efficient use of money.

True!

[executioner]

Yeah, but would they have had to pay to play as the opener, or would it have been worth their while?

They are going out with Disciple. THAT doesn't make sense to me. I like those guys. But, Disciple is not the same genre, and draws a completely different crowd, etc. I don't see this working.

No actually I was told that it was all paid for; The lead singer of this band is a huge Petra fan from the 80's and wanted to give back which was given to him years ago. The previous management of CP declined this because they felt CP was going to be able to headline a big 40 city tour. I'm sure this assumption contributed to them no longer being with the band.

[executioner]

I highly doubt it cost anywhere near that much to book Classic Petra.

The shows in Texas that they cancelled last fall were costing in that neighborhood and I'm sure the international shows are in that range also. I know the promoter for the Dallas/S. Antonio shows last fall had to eat alot of cost, but not as much if the shows were allowed to go on, so CP made the correct decision in cancelling the shows. Could you imagine promoters dishing out $150k for 3 shows in Texas and a total of 600 advanced tickets were sold for all 3 shows combined? What a disaster that would have been.
As of now the market can't support CP in playing secular venues like were booked in Texas, CP is going to have to stick with churches and maybe even small clubs until a new CD is produced. My promoter friend says if CP sticks with these types of venues in the U.S. and continues to play Europe(which is where the money is) then they should be able to promote a new CD successfully, but he stressed waiting a another year for new material will be too late; he thinks the latest CP could release new material and make it successful would be this winter, and that might even be too late.

[Preacherman777]

Well, whether or not the canceled shows in Texas would have cost that much money I don't know, but was referring to what's happening now. There is no way these churches are laying 50k to bring Classic Petra in. Only a mega church could even begin to afford to do something like that and I doubt that most of them would for the very reason that it would not be a wise use of finances. We do know that the band did not seem to have much control over how they were being promoted during that first year so, but things seem to being handled much better now. Unlike most here, I'm not concerned about them at all. These guys have been in this business almost as long as most of us have been alive and so I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing.

[executioner]

Well, whether or not the canceled shows in Texas would have cost that much money I don't know, but was referring to what's happening now. There is no way these churches are laying 50k to bring Classic Petra in. Only a mega church could even begin to afford to do something like that and I doubt that most of them would for the very reason that it would not be a wise use of finances. We do know that the band did not seem to have much control over how they were being promoted during that first year so, but things seem to being handled much better now. Unlike most here, I'm not concerned about them at all. These guys have been in this business almost as long as most of us have been alive and so I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing.

Yeah none of these church venues are costing that much; The Plano Texas show was under 10k cost wise and everyone from the church & CP counted it as being successful. By staying in the church size venue CP is making some money, but I'm not sure if its enough to pay the bills, the real profit is Europe, Asia, and South America. Even though I would love for them to tour the U.S. I think the best business decision for them would be for them to stick with international touring to build up some revenue.

[brent]

Yeah, but would they have had to pay to play as the opener, or would it have been worth their while?

They are going out with Disciple. THAT doesn't make sense to me. I like those guys. But, Disciple is not the same genre, and draws a completely different crowd, etc. I don't see this working.

No actually I was told that it was all paid for; The lead singer of this band is a huge Petra fan from the 80's and wanted to give back which was given to him years ago. The previous management of CP declined this because they felt CP was going to be able to headline a big 40 city tour. I'm sure this assumption contributed to them no longer being with the band.

Idiotic! Prideful.

[brent]

Well, whether or not the canceled shows in Texas would have cost that much money I don't know, but was referring to what's happening now. There is no way these churches are laying 50k to bring Classic Petra in. Only a mega church could even begin to afford to do something like that and I doubt that most of them would for the very reason that it would not be a wise use of finances. We do know that the band did not seem to have much control over how they were being promoted during that first year so, but things seem to being handled much better now. Unlike most here, I'm not concerned about them at all. These guys have been in this business almost as long as most of us have been alive and so I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing.

I do not know why people think mega churches have big budgets. They often don't. In fact, many mega churches have less tithers and givers, getting the bulk of the funding from fewer, wealthier people. There are exceptions of course. Churches do not have this kind of money. In fact, I worked for the largest Methodist church in the USA and one of the largest evangelicals, and they would not do this without some kind of networking with the local symphony, etc. This will not bring new membership. The churches I worked for saw it as entertainment.

[executioner]

Yeah, but would they have had to pay to play as the opener, or would it have been worth their while?

They are going out with Disciple. THAT doesn't make sense to me. I like those guys. But, Disciple is not the same genre, and draws a completely different crowd, etc. I don't see this working.

No actually I was told that it was all paid for; The lead singer of this band is a huge Petra fan from the 80's and wanted to give back which was given to him years ago. The previous management of CP declined this because they felt CP was going to be able to headline a big 40 city tour. I'm sure this assumption contributed to them no longer being with the band.

Idiotic! Prideful.

All word I ever have gotten on the subject was this was not a band decision, but a managements decision, but as a band you got to have more control over things like this.

[Preacherman777]

Well, and I think that's probably why we saw the change in management.

Brent, you are basically making my point. Keep in mind I said, only a mega church could even BEGIN to do something like that. The inference being that being a mega church is no guarantee that they could. I am a pastor and have worked on many church boards over the years. The vast majority of churches would not even think of laying out 50k on a concert.

[executioner]

Well, and I think that's probably why we saw the change in management.

Brent, you are basically making my point. Keep in mind I said, only a mega church could even BEGIN to do something like that. The inference being that being a mega church is no guarantee that they could. I am a pastor and have worked on many church boards over the years. The vast majority of churches would not even think of laying out 50k on a concert.

They probably wouldn't even lay out 10k for a show, and too be honest can you blame them. That is really not spending your money wisely, the funds could go for something more mission based.

[brent]

This is what it still takes to make a hit song:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/07/ ... a-hit-song

Now, you can do it for duh money, or you can do it for fun. One makes it easy to eat, have a place to live, and take care of your peeps. They other ensures you will eat someone else's food, live with someone else, and mooch off of your peeps. You pick.