Last week I had to pull the plug on the Christian McBride Band. Scheduled for March 4, the show was going nowhere. Advance ticket sales were pathetic, and there was no possibility the Theatre would come close to covering its costs – the artist fee, equipment rental, stage labor, security, catering, ticketing, advertising, etc. It was an unpleasant decision to cancel, but the time had come to cut our losses. I also felt an obligation to protect the artist from the potentially demoralizing experience of playing to a handful of people in a mostly empty theatre.
I knew when I booked this show nearly a year ago that it would be a tough sell. Christian McBride isn’t exactly a household name and I’ve learned over time (and the hard way) that Jacksonville audiences tend to be a bit on the timid side – not particularly willing to take chances on the unknown or unfamiliar. The downturn of the economy has made it harder for us as people tighten up on discretionary spending. Even though jazz lovers surely know McBride as an incredible virtuoso bassist, they’re more difficult than ever to reach. Jazz is often called America’s music but, for the most part, America’s radio stations aren’t playing it. Jazz radio stations de-evolved into ‘smooth jazz’ stations and their insipid, repetitive playlists drove listeners to the internet or satellite radio. Now, the smooth jazz stations have met their deserved demise and, unfortunately, along the way, they’ve dealt a blow to a great musical genre.
A couple of years ago, I may have gone through with this show and tried to make up for the financial loss somewhere else. Lately, I’m not sure that’s possible. Show for show, this season’s attendance is running about 20% off prior years. The Florida Theatre’s City funding has been reduced by 17% - nearly $70,000 – over the past two years. The budget of Florida’s Division of Cultural Affairs has been so decimated by the legislature that our annual programming grant is so small it barely justifies the paperwork. Corporate support for the arts is dwindling and individual contributions are tougher than ever to solicit. In short, we don’t have the financial cushion we once did.
Whatever the reason, cancellations are a last resort and almost never a good thing. They may help cut losses, but still hurt financially. There are advance deposits to artists and expenses for ticketing and advertising which can’t be recovered, not to mention enormous amounts of staff time. Cancelled shows are damaging to the Florida Theatre’s reputation of always delivering what we promise and they don’t help the image of the northeast Florida market either. They can leave an artist short of budget and stranded mid-tour. Worst of all, perhaps, cancellations disappoint fans.
Sadly, this wasn’t the first cancellation of 2009. Just last month, for similar reasons, a performance of the American Soul and Rock and Roll Choir was cancelled, and in January I pulled the plug on an evening with blues artists James Hunter and Ryan Shaw.
Nor was this to be the last cancellation of the new year. The very next day, the tables were turned on us and Morrissey cancelled four Florida concerts due to illness. In this case, we had sold a LOT of tickets and it’s pretty troubling every day to watch the money going the wrong way through our box office window as people come by for their refunds. Frankly, I was never much of a Morrissey fan. He’s a bit dark, depressing and weird for my taste, but the cancellation was a huge disappointment for hundreds of his fans out there.
Anyway, for at least four days (so far) this year, the beautiful Florida Theatre has been dark when it should have been alive with audiences, artists, excitement and inspiration. For at least four days we weren’t meeting the costs of maintaining this historic treasure for the community, and weren’t fulfilling our mission of bringing a rich variety of cultural and entertainment events to our public.
If you were among the fans who were disappointed by any of these cancelled shows, I’m sorry. If you don’t know Christian McBride, the American Soul and Rock and Roll Choir, Ryan Shaw, James Hunter or even Morrissey, I’m even sorrier. It would have been a real treat to turn you on to them.
Most of my friends not in this business are convinced that I’ve got a dream job. Thankfully, on most days, they’re right. But there’s a dark side, too. And the dark side can suck.
erik hart