A high price for concert variety

It wasn't long ago that college students who shelled out hard cash to go to school could at least look forward to cheap campus concerts that wouldn't make them choose between seeing their favorite band and buying groceries for the week. \nLegend has it these concerts would have set a student back no more than $10 or $15.\nBut it seems those days are fast receding into memory, at least for some colleges and universities. \n"I would've gone to see Wyclef Jean when he came here, but it was just too expensive," said freshman Bryson Kern. Student tickets for the Oct. 15 show cost $26.50.\nAnd because of ever-inflating industry costs, IU is one of those schools that has been forced to choose between quality and affordability when it comes to entertaining its students.\nBut senior Jeff Zuckerman, Union Board concerts director, said it's not that simple.\nWhile some schools charge less for tickets to popular shows, Zuckerman said a number of factors determine how Union Board sets prices.\nHe said schools start their concert season with a fixed budget to spend on guest artists that year.\nMost of Union Board's money comes from the student activity fee, which Zuckerman said doesn't end up being much. \nGraduate student Ken House, Union Board's vice president for programming, said the combined total budget for the concerts committee and Live from Bloomington is about $35,000. The Live from Bloomington project is designed to offer local musicians exposure, put on a club night and produce a compact disc displaying local music. House said the project takes up the bulk of the $35,000, with $13,000 for the concerts committee to put on music and comedy performances.\nZuckerman said this leaves Union Board with the choice of either charging higher prices or holding smaller acts at a lower cost in hopes of selling more tickets.\n"When it's all worked out, the concerts committee actually gets a very small percentage of the activity fee," Zuckerman said. "What we do with a shoestring budget as compared to other schools is amazing." He pointed out that IU's prices are still lower than those at larger public venues, like Deer Creek Amphitheater in Indianapolis.\nBut freshman Dave Gruss said he would prefer to spend money to see acts in familiar, professional venues. \n"I would consider going to Deer Creek to see Bob Dylan, but I couldn't see spending $32 at IU," he said.\nStill, Zuckerman said high performance fees generally do not prevent a school from booking an artist. \n"If an artist costs $250,000, you don't need $250,000 in the bank," Zuckerman explained. "Ticket sales will hopefully make up the difference."\nIn addition, the amount and variety of concerts offered during the year by a university help to determine costs. \n"Some schools don't attempt to put on as many shows as we do, so they can afford to let their tickets go very cheaply," Zuckerman said. He noted a school that decides to have only one or two concerts per semester can put the bulk of its budget into paying for those artists and not rely on ticket revenue.\nBut Zuckerman said IU's concerts committee has chosen a different angle. \n"We decided that it would be better to have multiple shows and offer a wider variety of music than to put on one very expensive show and keep our ticket prices really low," Zuckerman said.\nGraduate student Cassie Murphy said IU is fortunate to have such a wide variety of performances.\n"I did my undergraduate work at Northwestern University, which is in Chicago," she said. "We didn't have any concerts on campus. We just went to concerts in the city. And we didn't get student discounts."\nAccording to various programming board Web sites, other colleges and universities who use the same approach have a similarly wide range of concert choices for students, with similar resulting ticket prices. Tickets for a Randy Travis concert at Purdue University this year cost $30, and the University of Michigan is charging its students a dollar more than IU's $31.50 for Bob Dylan when he stops there on his current tour, according to their Web sites.\nZuckerman said working with professional promotion agencies, like Sunshine/SFX Promotions, which works with Union Board to attract, promote and finance big-name acts like Dylan, Bonnie Raitt and Ray Charles, raises prices. \n"They're in the business of promoting concerts, and need to make a profit," Zuckerman said. "Whether we do make a profit or take a loss on a concert, UB splits those gains or losses with them."\nSunshine/SFX Promotions representative Annie O'Toole declined to comment.