CONCERT ATTENDANCE IN BANGALORE

[hnbhagavan]

Dear Rasikas,

The attendance during Vadyavaibham at Bangalore Gayana Samaja was very thin indeed.On Aug 8,2013,for the concert of Sri VijayaGopal Flute,there were hardly around 10 persons at the start and increased to around 30-40 later.Even the Managing Committee was not to be seen in full!
The sponsors have to give incentive to public as well in addition to the expenditure incurred for the artists!

[munirao2001]

It is most disconcerting trend indeed. But the success story of Shri Nagendra Prasad/Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira in getting the rasikas in great numbers and even for the certain events, hall becoming full is to be emulated. He got the rasikas contact details registered and used to personally invite/remind on the ensuing event(s). Media-both the print and visual media giving coverage will also improve. For the present, they are interested to cover sponsored/paid events only, with exceptions.
munirao2001

[Rsachi]

Great point.
I have found that the attendance is likely to suffer under following circumstances:
1. No glamour quotient ( you can also call it, 'no riches on the stage').
2. Rain.
3. High priced ticket.
4. Insufficient publicity.
5. No real theme or occasion.
6. Unknown organizers.
7. Lack of initiative to publicize via emails/newsletters by the sabha (contrast SRLKM and BGS. BTW it is Krishna Prasad).
8. Inconvenient timings
9. cricket match
10. Local trouble like bandh etc.
11. Conflicts with more interesting events of similar type in the same oeuvre.
12. Lack of transport convenience.
13. Sheer overdose of programmes.
14. Lethargy.
15. Working day.
16. Vague excuses.

[hnbhagavan]

Bangalore Gayana Samaja has informed all its members thru its in house magazine.Assuming even 40 percent people turn up,there should be at least 300 people.Generally this was the case as Gayana Samaja has good number of members.However non members are also welcome.The Deccan Herald and a few other newspapers lists them under events.
In addition Rasikas.org and Kpjayan give wide publicity.But it looks to be dwindling interest in classical arts and only glamorous names attract the public.

[hnbhagavan]

Dear Rasikas,

I want more Rasikas to come forward with suggestions and this can be conveyed to Gayana samaja.I think this is a serious matter for all the rasikas to think and act.

[cmlover]

Have you considered the possibility of lack of attendence due to lack of Kannada songs?

[smala]

Have you considered the possibility of lack of attendence due to lack of Kannada songs?

That would be Kannada songs on flute ...perhaps the affiliation, not language, matters in this case, CML?

Rsachi can add point 17 - No Kannada songs, vocal ...or instrumental.

[hnbhagavan]

Absence of Kannada songs is not the reason.It looks that public give importance to certain artists.To name a few Sudha raghunathan,TM Krishna,Sanjay etc.
Somehow the sense of responsibility to preserve our culture and encourage young artists is lacking.During the period Aug 7-11,there are no cricket matches involving India.
The first edition did attract better crowd in 2012 for Vadyavaibhava.

[gardabha_gana]

I think it has got to do with awareness of programs and doing a good job of conducting it. Samaja has fallen in standards in the past couple of years. Smaller ones like BTM, Visesha, Nadasurabhi are doing a better job. My posting from Vadya Vaibhava thread
"That said - the publicity for the above program was well below par. Unless my eyes have failed me, there was no prominent news item or mention in the cultural section either in Prajavani (Fri/Sat/Sun) or Hindu (daily) - that I get. Even Jayan's site carried this very late. IMO - since the passing away of the doyen Kamalanath and the energetic Seetharam - the Samaja activities have taken a downward trend especially in the mindshare and making their presence felt. While I applaud them organizing this event - especially nagaswaram - they seriously fall short in spreading the word. I attended one of their monthly concerts and it was no different. Smaller organizations such as BTM Cultural academy, Nadasurabhi seem to do a much better job. Usually you have snippets in the Hindu by Ranjani Govind etc before the program. This is not a fault finding mission - but if someone can let the samaja know that they need to get their old energy back and do a better job in organization - given what the Samaja has meant to music in bangalore."

[arasi]

Considering that it still has a large community of rasikAs living nearby, considering that it is one of the oldest established sabhas which whenever I've been there in the past dozen years or more (many years after my childhood memories of being there)...
Yes, it comes as a shock to me that the concert was so poorly attended.

Poor publicity: no info in the newspapers or sometimes with missing or misleading details in them.
Lack of internet info.

Other reasons: The usual. Sachi has listed many of them.

CML,
Not singing KannaDa songs isn't one of the reasons. They appreciate it when musicians from other states include them in their concerts (they should--if not the pithAmahA's, of others). The listeners get to hear a lot of kannaDa compositions in Bengaluru because kannaDa speaking musicians do include a lot of them in their concerts.

gardhaba gana,
The canteen is another draw there. Is it still running or has it changed hands? I remember your hurrying there before the concert began, once! The snacks and bAdAm milk there are relished by many.

[Rsachi]

Arasi,
Gayana Samaja is a great and respected venue.
Despite the metro construction and impossible parking, and also problems in getting autos after 9PM to ferry us to Indiranagar, HSR etc., we love to attend concerts there.
The Bajjis are superb. The toilets are ok. The seats are passable. The audio settings are rarely good. The office bearers are officious, love their own voices and insist on making speeches.
The publicity is poor.
And of late you find several concerts happening in various places at the same time.
I feel sorry for the artistes whose faces fall when the curtains go up to show empty seats.
And there is the exodus towards RTP time anyway.
Even the CDs on sale of late are cheap MP3 ripoffs.
These types of discussions always have generalisations and I think the problem of poor attendance is somewhat intractable.

[hnbhagavan]

Dear friends,

I think publicity to the gayana samaja members thru the monthly magazine is always there.In addition It was posted in Rasika forum and also kpjayan.The most shocking aspect is the absence of regular members of the Gayana Samaja.Infact gayana samaja draws good number of non members as well.I am forced to conclude that it is the combination of dwindling interest in instrumental music coupled with logistics problems.
However on Sunday for the Lalgudi siblings,there was a fair crowd.

[rajeshnat]

I think publicity to the gayana samaja members thru the monthly magazine is always there.In addition It was posted in Rasika forum and also kpjayan.

HNBhagavan
When you say publicity in monthly magazine , kpjayan or rasikas forum i think you cannot get that much publicity. Did it reach the friday review section of the bangalore edition of the hindu, where it will be mentioned in a small column that can surely generate more attendance.

[gardabha_gana]

AFAIK it was not in the hindu or prajavani - kpjayan and rasikas reach a very small subset of bangalore. More generally speaking - Bhagavan Sir - without offending the current office bearers, the mindshare/publicity/outreach the way things are conducted including speeches, intro, audio leave a lot to be desired when compared to 5 years back. The only thing that still maintains the standards is the bajji counter. I am saddened to see this - take no pleasure in saying this. Last year I attended a lec-dem of a very senior musician during the annual festival - very very thin attendance. If you attend the lec-dem in say, ananya or srlkm - you will see the difference. Sabhas like BTM, Nadasurabhi, srlkm draw bigger crowds. The one thing all the sabhas (except probably SRLKM when they conduct in samaja, ISS) is they can improve on the audio department. They may want to take tips from their sister sabhas in madras.

[hnbhagavan]

Dear Garuda sir,

Thank you for verifying these paper news items.I will covey this to the Managing Committee that as a minimum the info must get published in:
1.Friday feature of The Hindu
2.Deccan Herald metro sheets where they display cultural activities
3.Prajavani and other Kannada news papers.
4.If Possible inform press in advance that a big event is scheduled
I once again appreciate your earnestness in this subject.

[braindrain]

I would like to look at this in two separate kind of concerts : the "Monthly Concerts" of Sabhas and the "Annual / Seasonal Festivals".

The success of the monthly concert, to me, is the captive audience. The members of the Sabha and the regular local Audience. Few of the organisations in Bangalore have reasonable captive audience. Nadasurabhi , SRLKM, BTM Cultural Academy, Essae music foundation are a few who is fairly good at this. on the other hand Gayana Samaja, Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha, SGBST (unnati) and the rest seems to be far behind. I am not making any judgements here, but that had been my observation.

The Annual Events are a different matter altogether. The crowd there mostly come attracted with the star power of the performer. Which is why we always have packed halls at Unnati, at Odukathur Mutt ( during Shivarathri), Gayana Samaja annual Festival, SRLKM Spring Festival, The Fort School Ramanavami do attract larger crowd during the season , not to mention Nadasurabhi and BTM Cultural Academy and Academy of Music at Chowdiah Memorial.

What is needed is a few professional touch in event hosting. With new kids in the block in Bhoomija Trust, Vishesha Fine Arts, Ranjani Fine Arts bringing in some freshness in the way events are arranged and organised, I see a positive trend.

[Purist]

One cannot wish away the notorious Blore traffic and parking problem that can put you off in attending a concert. Many a time it's a pain to reach the venue and then a herculean effort for parking space. I used to be a regular at Gayana samaj and Fort High School Ramanavami concerts,
but have given up since 2/3 years.

[cienu]

One cannot wish away the notorious Blore traffic and parking problem that can put you off in attending a concert..........

A good point. I think that attendance will improve to a great extent once Metro rail is extended to entire Bangalore. A robust secondary transportation network of autorickshaws at the respective metro stations will certainly help.

[cmlover]

Was this particular concert announced at this Forum?
Always make sure that a prominant announcement is made at the Kutcheri section here well in advance.
I will make sure it does not get buried among other posts.
Again request readers to pass the program by word of mouth.
Have you considered car/autorikshaw pooling to beat the traffic?

Good reviews of the programs here by your attendees will help....

[hnbhagavan]

PRCM has prominently displayed on July 23,but it is in the GENERAL DISCUSSION.I think this should be posted under MUSIC AND FESTIVALS.It may be noted that he has posted
very nicely with the Invitation.Even if one scans GENERAL DISCUSSION,he is unlikely to miss the same.
The festival is prominently notified in the FORUM.