Locals' Tickets Sell Out at 11:45 this morning

[completejohn]

Whatever works!

However, I remember one of the problems with in-town tickets in the past was a hint of scalping.  Making even more tickets available might increase that.

[FaceOnMars]

Whatever works!

However, I remember one of the problems with in-town tickets in the past was a hint of scalping.  Making even more tickets available might increase that.

I guess we'll see how it works.   It is an awful lot of tickets, but maybe they're just playing it safe to see how it works out this way.

If I were intent on scalping (which I'm not), I'd still be hesitant to take a chance given the way things worked out last year (yard sale for tix) ... even in light of it being the 40th.

If there is an issue, PBG could always revert to the system they used for locals' tix for the Phish shows ... which was the strictest I've ever seen in terms of needing an ID at the point of purchase to be placed on a list (no ticket issued), then needing an ID to have the wristband placed directly on your wrist before the show.

[dayton]

As for scaling down the popularity of TBF like discussd in this thread by some forumvarians, I have some insight into a similar situation in Asheville with the Bele Chere festival...

As recent as 5 years ago Bele Chere attracted 300,000 patrons.  For anyone who has been to Asheville, its not hard to tell that this number is much larger than the town can sustain in a safe and enjoyable way.  In this case, it was not about how much money was being spent, whether 3k by out of towners or $20 by locals, the numbers just got to be too much and the festival lost its spirit, along with local businesses becoming shut out by vendors and alcohol sales almost exclusively.

The solution here was to minimize the Bele Chere festival drastically and for the past 3 years almost exclusively put local and regional acts on the lineup.  Even with this change, the momentum of Bele Chere has been hard to stop and the attendance has only slowly been getting less each year.  Point is...  sometimes its not about the money that is brought in but the sustainability, spirit, and safety of hosting major festivals that are in small towns.  Just some food for thought...   

 Listening to: John Mayer - Queen of California

[ShatteredArm]

As for scaling down the popularity of TBF like discussd in this thread by some forumvarians, I have some insight into a similar situation in Asheville with the Bele Chere festival...

As recent as 5 years ago Bele Chere attracted 300,000 patrons.  For anyone who has been to Asheville, its not hard to tell that this number is much larger than the town can sustain in a safe and enjoyable way.  In this case, it was not about how much money was being spent, whether 3k by out of towners or $20 by locals, the numbers just got to be too much and the festival lost its spirit, along with local businesses becoming shut out by vendors and alcohol sales almost exclusively.

The solution here was to minimize the Bele Chere festival drastically and for the past 3 years almost exclusively put local and regional acts on the lineup.  Even with this change, the momentum of Bele Chere has been hard to stop and the attendance has only slowly been getting less each year.  Point is...  sometimes its not about the money that is brought in but the sustainability, spirit, and safety of hosting major festivals that are in small towns.  Just some food for thought...   

Asheville is substantially larger than Telluride, and probably considerably less reliant on tourism for its livelihood.  Without tourism, Telluride would probably be a ghost town.  With that in mind, if I were a resident, I'd be really skeptical of anything that reduces the number of people coming through the town... Even if some weekends are a little crowded.

[dayton]

As for scaling down the popularity of TBF like discussd in this thread by some forumvarians, I have some insight into a similar situation in Asheville with the Bele Chere festival...

As recent as 5 years ago Bele Chere attracted 300,000 patrons.  For anyone who has been to Asheville, its not hard to tell that this number is much larger than the town can sustain in a safe and enjoyable way.  In this case, it was not about how much money was being spent, whether 3k by out of towners or $20 by locals, the numbers just got to be too much and the festival lost its spirit, along with local businesses becoming shut out by vendors and alcohol sales almost exclusively.

The solution here was to minimize the Bele Chere festival drastically and for the past 3 years almost exclusively put local and regional acts on the lineup.  Even with this change, the momentum of Bele Chere has been hard to stop and the attendance has only slowly been getting less each year.  Point is...  sometimes its not about the money that is brought in but the sustainability, spirit, and safety of hosting major festivals that are in small towns.  Just some food for thought...   

Asheville is substantially larger than Telluride, and probably considerably less reliant on tourism for its livelihood.  Without tourism, Telluride would probably be a ghost town.  With that in mind, if I were a resident, I'd be really skeptical of anything that reduces the number of people coming through the town... Even if some weekends are a little crowded.

good point shattered arm...
another thing about the Bele Chere festival is that it is a free festival.  this of course allows for a non-issue when it comes to availability of tickets for locals. 
just a thought, but if telluride became a free festival, and camping plus night grass events became the tickets for cost then the number of people coming into town would increase and access to the festival via town park & warner would stay the same... allowing tickets for locals to no longer sell out...
but then again, why make something free when everyone is willing to pay?...



 Listening to: m ward

[Hot Sugar]

but then again, why make something free when everyone is willing to pay?...

I don't believe Telluride would work as a free festival, simply because of the location. I don't think you're actually suggesting this, but the box canyon and town are too small to support the amount of people that making it a free festival would bring.

[FaceOnMars]

I've heard it mentioned a number of years ago (10-15) during some "high demand years" in the past that PB engaged in "negative" advertising to dissuade the ticketless from flooding the town.  Not sure if this is true, but do recollect something to this effect.

[Pilgrim99]

I've heard it mentioned a number of years ago (10-15) during some "high demand years" in the past that PB engaged in "negative" advertising to dissuade the ticketless from flooding the town.  Not sure if this is true, but do recollect something to this effect.

Since we are inundated with negative advertising of a political nature right now, I'm curious about your comment. How would "negative" advertising be done in a case like this? Is it something subtle like not advertising at all, or straightforward ("Don't come to town without a ticket...or else.")?

[FaceOnMars]

I've heard it mentioned a number of years ago (10-15) during some "high demand years" in the past that PB engaged in "negative" advertising to dissuade the ticketless from flooding the town.  Not sure if this is true, but do recollect something to this effect.

Since we are inundated with negative advertising of a political nature right now, I'm curious about your comment. How would "negative" advertising be done in a case like this? Is it something subtle like not advertising at all, or straightforward ("Don't come to town without a ticket...or else.")?

I don't recall actually reading or hearing such "negative ads" directly ... just hearing about their possible existence from others at one time a number of years ago.

But yeah, I think it would probably have went something along the lines of "WE'RE COMPLETELY SOLD OUT, DON'T COME TO TELLURIDE WITHOUT A TICKET.  YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO PARK, LETS KEEP THIS SUSTAINABLE, ETC".