Entrance fees?

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Permalink Reply by Joel Hunnicutt on January 27, 2012 at 9:31pm

It makes no difference to me if the show charges admission or not.  Coconut Grove charges $10 a person and there are probably 30,000 people that come through.  Main Street Fort Worth does not charge and has probably 50,000 people come through.  I have sold well at both.  I have also had poor shows where an admission is charged and poor shows that did not.

I do think that shows that charge admission tend to have crowds that are more likely to be buyers but that is only a generalization.

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Permalink Reply by Larry Berman on January 27, 2012 at 10:29pm

If you have lower end impulse items you could probably do better at a show that doesn't charge, but if your work is more expensive, the admission shows would probably bring you a more qualified audience.

Not every show can get away charging admission and in some cases leaves the door open for a non admission show to take away their customer base. Las Olas is an example. 

Another way that would be preferable would be like the Arts Festival of Atlanta used to put donation booths at every entrance and ask for a $5 donation and give people a small button to wear. The show made their entrance fee money without dropping the attendance. Everyone benefited. That's the original Arts Festival of Atlanta that folded over ten years ago.

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100

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Permalink Reply by Ruth Finkenbiner on January 28, 2012 at 3:17pm

For some shows it  helps keep the booth fee down, depends on how much the admission fee is and if it's reasonable.  Talked to an artist who quit doing Sausalito when the admission fee went up to $25, she felt it inhibited some attendees who wanted to bring their families, that would get to be an expensive family outing or even just a date for 2 people.

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Permalink Reply by Sheila Evans on January 30, 2012 at 12:36pm

And the entrance fee certainly didn't help keep the booth fees down at Sausalito. Sheesh.

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Permalink Reply by Ruth Finkenbiner on January 30, 2012 at 12:51pm

Sheila - did you find the attendance changed as the booth fee increased?  The Wood Artist I talked to at Best of the NW said she felt like the $25 admission fee drastically decreased attendance and sales.

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Permalink Reply by Sheila Evans on January 30, 2012 at 6:50pm

There was a high entrance fee as long as I did the show. I think it may have gone from $20 to $25 or something, but that didn't make much difference in numbers that I could see. I guess I never really thought of it as a family show, since there are wine and beer available all over the grounds, and mostly high-end art. I didn't get the impression that the gate fee would be a problem for most buyers of the art that was there.

I did get the sense that for the past few years, the music may have been emphasized more than the art, and that the attendees changed to more of a music crowd. I had one person come in to my booth and tell me they had no idea there would be art for sale.

But despite the gate fees, the booth fees are VERY high.

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Permalink Reply by Diane Wright on January 28, 2012 at 7:49pm

I think it works better at inside shows rather than outside shows.  Personally, I too have had good and bad shows with each but I think the admission fee does help with qualified buyers.  If they are willing to pay admission, they are at least thinking they might buy rather than just looking for a day of free entertainment.  I also like to choose shows without lots of entertainment and food venues.

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Permalink Reply by Robin Ragsdale on January 30, 2012 at 4:45pm

I've always felt that art shows satisfy two needs: providing a venue for artists to sell their work AND providing a venue for all people to see and experience art. I don't mind sharing what I do with people who are obviously not buying right then. I especially love to see families with children taking in the art and the experience of talking to the artists. I did a show once that was combined with a pioneer day for the kids. By the time a family of four paid to get in, they had nothing left for purchases other than food. Then again, I do another show that charges $5 (children 17 and under are free) for which all proceeds go towards a scholarship for art students. That one I don't mind.

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Permalink Reply by Warren Townsend on January 30, 2012 at 7:04pm

Well I guess since we are the entertainment, folks (promoters) feel that they should charge for the entertainment.  Too bad the entertainers do not get paid, well only if the entertainer entertains a client in a certain way that the client enjoys to pay for the entertainment so they can take it home and be entertained for the rest of their ownership.

 

Furthermore if the promoters feel that they have to have all of the money being shelled out by the clients then it leaves  less for the clients to spend on the entertainment.  But the promoter must feel that only folks with thick wallets full of credit cards will go to their show to see  the entertainment and it is  all about how many they can get through the gates no matter how well the entertainment is compensated.

 

Bottom line I hate it for outdoor shows.

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Permalink Reply by Colin Murray on January 30, 2012 at 8:21pm

I think it depends on the area. In Madison WI you can NOT charge an entrance fee. They expect everything to be free. In Milwaukee, just 75 minutes away, they expect to pay an entrance fee. The show must not be worth going to, if you don't charge a fee. Personally, we have good and bad at each type of show. We paid a high booth fee for a 30,000 attendance show with a $7 entrance fee and a big band at one end of the show. We did $197 in 2 days. Ouch! They all paid $7 to go see the band.

 

Last weekend I organized a show just outside Milwaukee. I got a non profit group involved. All the entrance fee went to the non profit. People give them more than the suggested $3 fee at the door. Good for the non profit, people thought they were getting into a good show. Everyone wins.

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