Demf 2006

[Hustle Wimmins]

official statement first, and then numbers for detroit city officials. drive them nuts! pass this on to everyone you know who cares about techno!
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Ladies and Gentleman;

I know many of you want to know what?s going on with the festival for 2006. I cannot tell you for sure, but I have been told that the City of Detroit is in negotiation right now and are only considering companies that can pay for the festival expenses out right. Which I believe is a wise decision. This festival needs financial stability. Unfortunately with our greatest efforts, we could not achieve what was necessary to continue to produce the festival in 2006. Here are some of the facts why, questions and answers:

Q: How many people attended the festival this year?
A: We sold 41,000 tickets this year. That translates to 37,000 1 day tickets and 4,000 Multi day tickets.

Q: Are the numbers down from previous years?
A: Yes, but just slightly. Comparing beer revenues from 2004 to 2005 suggests we really only had approximately 50,000 people in 2004. This does represent a small decline.

Q: So was the festival successful? It sounds like you a lot less people than in the past.
A: Considering the planning window we had put this thing together, we think the festival was incredibly successful. In addition, our numbers this year, and the fact that Hart Plaza capacity is less than previously thought suggest that our earlier festivals did not have 1,000,000 people in attendance as previously reported.

Q: Did charging for the festival have a big impact?
A: We surveyed festival goers and they told us that they thought ticket prices were extremely reasonable. The smaller than expected ticket sales were caused partly by inaccurate counts from previous festivals and partly from our own overly optimistic goals for this year?s festival. Finally, the biggest factor in lower ticket totals was our inability promote ,because we were only approved for the permit 9 days before the event. This made advance ticket sales and fundraising nearly impossible, so we couldn?t do follow through on our advance marketing program. The other sign that our issue was promotion was the fact that in previous years there were a much larger number of out of town guests. To be successful, this festival needs to be promoted starting in November.

Q: How will you pay the invoices of the vendors? Many say they haven?t been paid.
A: Yes, there are several vendors that MusicLogical still owes money. My intention was to bring a partner with some financial stability and resources in to partner up with MusicLogical and relieve the debts from the 2005 Fuse-In festival, but at this point we have not been able to achieve that.

Q: Are you saying you lost money?
A: Yes, because of lack of promotion time on the festival, the festival sold less tickets generated less revenue than we would have hoped. The costs were tight and we had a very good handle on the operational aspects of this event. This was not about our operation of the event ? it was about not having enough time to properly market the event and draw the crowds that still want to hear our music. I believe people would be surprised at how tightly this festival was run and how organized the entire effort really was. If we had 10,000 more foreign visitors, not only would we have broken even, but the city of Detroit would have received that economic spillover as well.

Q: Can the festival have financial success?
A: Yes, absolutely. If it is run as well as we ran it, and if it was started 6 months earlier (assuming the weather was positive) it would absolutely make money, and be able to generate cash that the City could use to help rebuild Hart Plaza for other festivals.

This is too great a festival to keep down. If the city would allow enough time to promote it by awarding the festival permit months in advance instead of days in advance, this festival could continue to bring music and dollars downtown for years to come. As an ambassador of our music (Techno) and our city (Detroit), I will continue to do whatever I can to spread the word throughout the world.

Yours Truly

Kevin Saunderson
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*sigh*

The city government moves at a snail's pace and doesn't seem to understand that TIME is needed to really boost the attendance at this world class event.

well, i wish i would have moved on this earlier (i have been swamped this year), but here ya go. spread these around. give the numbers to your friends, to your friends overseas. remind the city of detroit why people around the world know the name detroit: because of the music.

be articulate. let them know that even tens of thousands of people in their city is good for detroit. let them know that not giving the permits for this festival will mean a loss for hotels, restaurants, venues, even convenience stores, that normally infuses (no pun intended) their economy come memorial day.

if the city is no longer giving money TO the festival, then they have nothing to lose except the festival itself.

do the math detroit! festival in detroit 2006!


OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

Please contact Mayor Kilpatrick at:

City of Detroit
Executive Office
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
2 Woodward Ave., Ste. 1126
Detroit, MI 48226

(313) 224-3400
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Recreation Dept
General Number: (313) 224-1100
General Fax: (313) 224-1734

ADMINISTRATION
Charles Beckham, Director
Lee Stephenson, Deputy Director
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and here's the city council website for good measure...
http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/legislat...il/default.htm

Doesn't this happen every year?

[Xmuzik]

sad to say but it just goes to show how much the city gives a damn about its electronic music history......

[Hustle Wimmins]

Actually the city has much more important things to worry about that just one festival. The city of Detroit is very close to bankrupcy. When that happens, services that the city provides will be taken over by private trusteeships and corporations. I'm not sure what that means for goverment oversight or accountability and having to answer to a higher authority. Stockholders or state legislature?

[downlow]

Detroit is a city very close to being an ink blot on the map... the population decreases every year and yet I am still so amazed the Superbowl was in Detroit this year. Wonder if the city picked up any money for it? I pull for Detroit and really think it has been a microcosm for many years of the real problems going on in america.

[kmoon]

I'm not gonna worry! I'll be there! cuz it is gonna happen !
Stay positive

[transplant]

Detroit isn't doing very well. It was better off in the 90's when the economy was booming, but then again, what city wasn't? The Superbowl was set in stone almost 8 years ago when Mayor Archer was in office, he actually gave a damn. He is the one that moved the Tigers and the Lions back into downtown proper in a plan modeled after the rebirth of Cincinnati's downtown. Plus, he was also a big supporter of the first DEMF. Kwami has been linked with tons of scandal and misuse of city funds. Before the last election, he apologized to the city, toned down his "hip-hop" mayor image and has tried to gain control of the city.

[djoffbeat]

in response to transplant--i agree with everything said about detroit, but about cincinnati--sorry brother, but i just moved from cincinnati and that city has had nothing resembling a makeover. white flight has taken full effect and downtown is all but abandoned. the only words for 'nati are sad, racist, and hopeless. just across the river in coving and newport kenutcky is where all the new business, retail, and restaurants are poppin up, and where all the local and tourists go on the weekend. every single club that opens in downtown cincy closes with in a year.
i know of what you speak (the planned renovation/revitalization), but that's on paper, not in reality.
detroit has seen much more of a renovation and a downtown revitalization over the past few years. there are new small businesses and lofts downtown, along with more business moving to existing offices downtown. yes, the population is decreasing, but i believe the younger adults in detroit are choosing to be downtown. i don't know oif this will be enough to save the city as a whole, but there are ever-increasing signs of life in downtown.
detroit is my home and my roots so i hate to say it, but i don't think they are ever going to get their shit together.
but let it be said that the city (gov't) may not understand the importance of their own music. but the people of detroit do. it is so sad to watch this type of thing happen year after year, as the world slowly loses interest due to the city's incompetence.
maybe a couple years off wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. ?? (sorry for the ramble)

[monarch]

Originally Posted by Coconutfetus

Doesn't this happen every year?

no kidding...

they said the same about WMC too...


its going down, and I'll be there

[djbonehead]

http://www.demf.com/

[downlow]

great news for sure. i've been 6 years in a row and it is an amazing experience with friends and lovers of the music. usually there is a group of us who drive up there every year to save a few bucks. I think between the 8 of us who went last year we only spent $150 each after the trip was finished.

[CLAWFUL]

FUUUUUUCK YEAH! Time to make plans!

[monarch]

Detroit or BUST!!!

[discotEcHrobot]

C:/the Discotechrobot Will Command.exe This Year For Sure