Guest Column

The recent Bob Dylan concert raised many questions about the concert market at NIU. This is a good opportunity to explain the difficulty of obtaining major concerts.

The DeKalb market has several problems limiting artists who consider performing here.

Artists and their management representatives have final approval over markets they play. NIU’s only input into this decision is how much money we can offer, the attractiveness of our market and facilities.

There are four major reasons artists accept a bid:

‘The facility must be able to support the artist’s technical requirements (sound, lighting and staging). If a venue cannot meet the technical requirements, you cannot bid on the act.

‘Performers require a flat guarantee or artist fee paid to the artist regardless of ticket sales. The cities or venues which bid the highest get the artist.

‘Artists look at the gross potential or the maximum number of ticket sales possible. The more tickets they can sell, the more money they can make.

‘An artist’s exposure is critical. A tour needs to reach as many people as possible to maximize the artist’s record sales. Record companies demand this, and an artist’s livelihood depends upon it.

Here are the problems.

The Chick Evans Fieldhouse has severe technical limitations. About 90 percent of all major touring artists carry lighting and sound systems which must be suspended from the roof of the building.

The fieldhouse was not constructed to “fly” sound and lights, which eliminates most blockbuster entertainment from performing here.

Our facilities provide no opportunity for a large gross potential. The fieldhouse can only seat 4,800 people for 4,800 tickets. Other cities have larger, better arenas.

To compound the problem, there are at least 10 arenas which seat 7,000 to 18,000 within five hours of DeKalb that artists will choose before NIU.

Maximum exposure is paramount to artists. Hence, major markets are primary targets for large touring productions. An artist has a limited number of dates to cover the Midwest.

To do this effectively, they will almost always choose Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cincinnati, Madison and other metropolitan areas.

Major markets sell more tickets at higher prices and all concert advertising and radio promotions reach thousands of people. This maximizes exposure.

More tickets and higher prices also means more money and increased exposure is not maximized in markets like DeKalb, Green Bay, Macomb and Charleston.

If touring dates still remain, artists will choose venues such as Champaign Assembly Hall (17,000 seats), Peoria Civic Center (12,000 seats) and other venues.

All these arenas are professionally managed by people whose sole job is to produce entertainment.

If any dates remain, NIU now faces the challenge of bidding against ISU (11,500 seats), the University of Iowa (15,500) and Purdue University (14,000 seats).

Having now, at last, been given the opportunity to bid on an artist’s “left over” dates (these, by the way, rarely include weekends), we must have enough money to pay the artist’s guaranteed fee and also competitively outbid other cities.

In 1986, the Campus Activities Board Concert Committee budget was in excess of $50,000. It is now $32,000. The fact is, you must pay for quality. If NIU does not, someone else will.

In the last three years, NIU has had a chance to book only five fieldhouse acts: UB40, Bob Dylan, the B-52’s, Midnight Oil and the Pretenders.

The first two accepted bids. The last three acts didn’t give DeKalb a second glance. All other major entertainers bypassed DeKalb.

DeKalb’s record of supporting fieldhouse shows has not been exemplary. In the last 15 years of concert production, not one fieldhouse show has sold out, including: Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello, the Grateful Dead, the Kinks, R.E.M., Jethro Tull, UB40, Cheap Trick and, of course, Bob Dylan.

The point is, when quality entertainment comes to NIU, you must support it. We all must share in the blame, as an entire community, for not attending events.

This is a chronic problem at NIU. The athletic department has offered exciting intercollegiate athletic teams the last several years which we have often failed to support.

There are also hundreds of student organizations and committees who toil daily creating programs to breathe life into our university and community. Yet people continue to complain that there is nothing to do.

Quality activities are here, but for some reason people do not seek them out. If we look closely, we will see it in the Holmes Student Center, Black Heritage Month, Theatre Arts Building, Boutell Concert Hall and Recital Room, Unity in Diversity programs and the Egyptian Theatre among others.

If people must criticize this environment, at least support events with your attendance. Or, if it’s not too much to ask, join an organization and make something happen.

Those of us who are in the trenches daily eagerly await your assistance.

Steve Duchrow, activities adviser/cultural arts and entertainment director, writes on the recent Bob Dylan concert.