Interesting news re: Fodens
- Thread starter Roger Thorne
- Start date
backrowbloke
Member
£20k short this year...bet most band would love to have the £60k they are getting!
missflugel
Member
£80,000 a year to run a band. Yikes. :shock:
Find it hard to have sympathy when many bands cant even afford instrument repairs or to pay for coaches to take them to contests and they manage to maintain sponsorhip at a time when bands struggle to find financial aid.
Jo x
Find it hard to have sympathy when many bands cant even afford instrument repairs or to pay for coaches to take them to contests and they manage to maintain sponsorhip at a time when bands struggle to find financial aid.
Jo x
Accidental
Supporting Member
£80k :shock: Do they make thier instruments out of melted down coins or summat? Either that, or it costs that much to pay off conductors and advertise for new ones every 5 minutes. :?
CaharleyFarley
Member
Ah - but let's face it...... Fodens are a bit special arn't they. My favourite band..........they just sound that bit more WOW than the rest.
backrowbloke
Member
CaharleyFarley said:
Could improve the sound of my band though with £80k....
Isnt it a shame that when a band seems to be successful in managing to accumulate £80,000 through hard graft and commitment of it's players that people still manage to find it within themselves to criticise and put them down?!
Of course I do understand that most 'lesser known bands' struggle with their finances, but this is no reason to detract from one band's achievements?
Of course I do understand that most 'lesser known bands' struggle with their finances, but this is no reason to detract from one band's achievements?
George Fairhurst
Member
FODENS
Ken 442442 wrote
I don't think anyone is putting the band down but just saying that other bands wished they could have £80,000 a year to run on, and why can Fodens not manage with this amount, but I will put this to you, and I am not saying this is the case at Fodens, if travelling expences and retainers were stopped under brass band regulations throughout the country would the commitment of all players to their particular bands who pay this money still be there?????
Ken 442442 wrote
I don't think anyone is putting the band down but just saying that other bands wished they could have £80,000 a year to run on, and why can Fodens not manage with this amount, but I will put this to you, and I am not saying this is the case at Fodens, if travelling expences and retainers were stopped under brass band regulations throughout the country would the commitment of all players to their particular bands who pay this money still be there?????
Okiedokie of Oz
Active Member
Money doesn't make the world go around - and I've witnessed both ends of the stick.
I am a dedicated comittee member of Gladstone at present, and I can tell you that our bank balance fluctuates only by $5-10 K per year, depending on how whimsical we get. Our sole incomes are certain performances, member fees, Brass academy lessons (4 students) and a nice City council grant which changes yearly depending on where we promise to spend it.
My last band charged exorbitant fees per gig, charged low membership fees, and spent money left, right and centre on instruments, music, and whatever else the conductor wanted. We were actually short a few thousand on our coach costs when we went to the Nationals in 2001, but as the coach owner's daughter was in the band, the bill seemed to "dissipate" somehow.
Finally, the other Rockhampton band is very lucky to have been given whatever permits etc they needed to be able to run Bingo nights once or twice a week. These are well attended, and as such are rumoured to have $100k sitting in the bank account (I have a reliable source on this fact), yet cannot hold a conductor to save themselves.
So to hear Fodens is short on money, I gotta ask where is it going? I acknoledge to be a top band, you gotta have the goods, but if you were to convert that to Aussie dollars, that over 100 thou!!!
I am a dedicated comittee member of Gladstone at present, and I can tell you that our bank balance fluctuates only by $5-10 K per year, depending on how whimsical we get. Our sole incomes are certain performances, member fees, Brass academy lessons (4 students) and a nice City council grant which changes yearly depending on where we promise to spend it.
My last band charged exorbitant fees per gig, charged low membership fees, and spent money left, right and centre on instruments, music, and whatever else the conductor wanted. We were actually short a few thousand on our coach costs when we went to the Nationals in 2001, but as the coach owner's daughter was in the band, the bill seemed to "dissipate" somehow.
Finally, the other Rockhampton band is very lucky to have been given whatever permits etc they needed to be able to run Bingo nights once or twice a week. These are well attended, and as such are rumoured to have $100k sitting in the bank account (I have a reliable source on this fact), yet cannot hold a conductor to save themselves.
So to hear Fodens is short on money, I gotta ask where is it going? I acknoledge to be a top band, you gotta have the goods, but if you were to convert that to Aussie dollars, that over 100 thou!!!
Australian Euphonium
New Member
its about 220 000 aussie dollars - :shock: thats enough to send an entire aussie band to europe for a contest, pay a full time conductor, travel to 2 contests anywhere in australia, and buy music plus pay guest conductors and principal players fees!!!!
Majoresteve
Member
jambo said:
:shock: :shock:
peasantband
New Member
The Fodens band is a good band and for one of my favourites. This is the crazy money to be needing. Perhaps the band should have the review of its needs. If they have the players on so much money it is time for the change of policy.
We make much of the money for our peasant band with the famous chicken race festival in village near prague. The chickens have to run down lanes made from the rope. Sometimes they do not move so we have them to be chased by the weasel. Ha ha it is much for the betting who will win.
Much is sold at the festival in local products made by men of the fields and their women. The band plays for all of the day and is reward by share of proifits from the festival and in pleasure from the people in village.
The bands should look to themselves for the help, take less and give more. You succeed on more level than the one as you earn the success not be paid for it!
We make much of the money for our peasant band with the famous chicken race festival in village near prague. The chickens have to run down lanes made from the rope. Sometimes they do not move so we have them to be chased by the weasel. Ha ha it is much for the betting who will win.
Much is sold at the festival in local products made by men of the fields and their women. The band plays for all of the day and is reward by share of proifits from the festival and in pleasure from the people in village.
The bands should look to themselves for the help, take less and give more. You succeed on more level than the one as you earn the success not be paid for it!
ScrapingtheBottom
Active Member
£80,000 probably doesn't go that far, when you consider british prices and the fact that the band is stuffed full of top class professionals who require some re-embursement for their time (which could be spent earning money elsewhere). I wish my band had £80,000, but I wouldn't take on the pressure of being Fodens any day.
Hope they can get through this without losing their edge.
Hope they can get through this without losing their edge.
Okiedokie of Oz
Active Member
When you sit down and look at it, the economies aren't that dissimilar. I just had to convert prices for a report I am doing, and when comparing purchase prices , it works out fairly evenly. So if Foden's is short on cash, and they consider themselves a business, they're gonna have to do 1 of 2 things
1) Paycut
2) layoffs
1) Paycut
2) layoffs
AndyCat
Active Member
Perhaps I can't read, but it seems to me that there is a problem with the lease of their "home", not with players expenses etc.
Even modest expenses must be high as they rehearse in the middle of nowhere in comparison to most top flight bands, and people travel more miles than to, say, Huddersfield or Manchester. Their expenses (petrol money per mile) are actually lower than most bands from what I've heard.
When I was in the band 12-14 years ago there was always talk of having to move towards the players rather than the players towards them!
And, Aidan,
:wink: :wink:
Even modest expenses must be high as they rehearse in the middle of nowhere in comparison to most top flight bands, and people travel more miles than to, say, Huddersfield or Manchester. Their expenses (petrol money per mile) are actually lower than most bands from what I've heard.
When I was in the band 12-14 years ago there was always talk of having to move towards the players rather than the players towards them!
And, Aidan,
:wink: :wink:
