[Dreamboat] Fan Club

[LAURIE]

I just got tired of not being able to afford all that wonderful music out 
there that I don't have and haven't had exposure to in the past.  I'd rather 
buy new music than get better seats and get backstage......done all that. 
:-)

I have just started to do street team stuff for a few small time 
artists.....I'll see if that pays off.  Hopefully.  I wish I got onto Bonnie 
Raitt's team in time for her last tour (I think some got free tickets), 
however she gives a lot of front rows to charity auction.      :)

-Laurie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <DRMFRIEND at aol.com>
To: <Dreamboat at monger.net>
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 6:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Dreamboat] Fan Club


> In a message dated 2/3/2006 3:42:49 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> swimfishie at hotmail.com writes:
> I'm stating this this because I feel very strong about the Heart Fan Club.
>
> <Here we go. lol...>
>
>
> $30 per year is not asking much to join a fan club.  It pays for the 
> band's
> website and staff which gets those excellent tickets for the shows, plus 
> the
> "other" goodies.
>
> <Assuming you also have the money to go to multiple shows out of state 
> every
> year.  I don't.  Alot of people don't.  Not just everyone can take off 
> that
> much vacation time or pay the extra expenses of travelling to get to all 
> these
> shows.  Even if the show is a 'free' one.  So, for me , it's definately 
> not
> practical.  [NOTE: At the DC show in '04, I went to the 'last show of the 
> tour'
> in my own home town... so all these mongers came from all over and because 
> they
> were able to travel, my 'special seat' got pushed back several rows. 
> The
> thing that made it most special to me was getting to hang with my bud's 
> Lynn,
> AJ, Tom, Rich, etc.]  As for the other goodies, the once or twice a year 
> token
> chats?  Guess I'm old fashioned.  I think back to the old AOL days.  It's 
> an
> old arguement and I guess I just shouldn't even make comparisons.  Those 
> who
> remember know what I mean. And that didn't cost us a dime.  >
>
> Styx, Prince and other fan clubs  - especially Fleetwood
> Mac - charge a PREMIUM to belong to their fan clubs.  Melissa Etheridge's
> fan club just raise their price from $35 to $45.  When her fan club 
> started,
> it was $25 in 1993-94.
>
> <Outrageous.    Melissa should take the extra kickback she's getting from 
> the
> sale of her signature Adamas 12 string and reinvest that in financing her
> fanclub so her fan's don't have to feel insulted to 'like her'.   Other 
> bands
> should consider investing a portion of the initial fee in stock funds, so 
> it'll
> pay itself  back...and future fees might not have to be as much.  There 
> are
> ways and resources to make a fanclub inexpensive to belong.   There are 
> many fans
> who would and DO things for free to help out...even moderating and passing 
> on
> info. >
>
> I paid to belong to a Heart fan club from 1980 until 1995. $30 isn't much
> this day in age.
> $30 is a tank of gas, a nice dinner out, a night out at the bar.  It's the
> extra change you have after you break a dollar.  I don't know about you, 
> but
> I put my change in a jar for vacation.  You could do the same to join the
> fan club if you really want.  I'm going to grad school right now and
> although money is tight, I have $30 to join.
>
> <Perhaps this really just comes down to 'how much of a die hard fan are 
> ya'
> or 'what's important to you today?'  :)   I spent probably a few thousand 
> on
> Heart over the many years that I used to collect stuff.   I spent 300.00 
> at a
> convention just on photographs alone before there was an online fan site. 
> That
> was just one little 'expenditure'.  Money used to 'not be an object' where
> Heart was concerned.  I emptied my pockets left and right.  I wasn't 
> 'cheap' when
> it came to Heart and my fanship.  I'd eat P&J for a few weeks to afford
> something.  I'd say I was 'diehard'.   I've spent all the money on them 
> and/or
> bootleggers(excluding CD releases and concerts in my home town) that I'm 
> personally
> interested in spending anymore.  As some people here are aware, I will
> shortly begin to sell off my entire Heart collection.  I don't hate 
> them...  I just
> need to start investing in myself.  I've gotten over "it".  >
>
> There really wasn't an "offical" fan club durning the late 1990's and 
> early
> 2000's although A&N used their own money to have a website.
> Communication
> was okay but not great.  I will say those who are running the fan club now
> are on the cutting edge of getting info to the fans through a very
> interactive website.
>
> <I agree that the communication of info is more effecient with the current
> volume of the fanbase...than in the past.  However, this is at the expense 
> of
> putting  up with certain 'Drama Queen' postings and editorials.  That is 
> the
> main reason I stopped going over there.  I'm really tired of it.  Kinda
> unfortunate, not to mention ..embarassing. >
>
> That's my 2 cents.  If you don't agree, that's okay.  You're entitled to
> your own opinion.  This is mine.  Thanks for letting me share.
>
> <I respect your right to state your feelings.  We can agree to differ. :)
> Good luck with grad school.
>
> Vik>
>
>
> Francie
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
> multipart/alternative
>  text/plain (text body -- kept)
>  text/html
> ---
>