changing fan conventions, changing times

[dbskyler]

So Gallifrey One put a cap on their attendance for this year's February convention, and now it is November and they are already sold out. I am sad to hear this. Not sad about missing the convention -- there was no way I could attend this year (previous commitment for the weekend) -- but sad because this is a mark of the convention changing, and moving towards a different type of event from what it had been. Some people might argue that it is a better event, and perhaps in some ways it is, or will be, but I still grieve for the olden days of just last year, when I showed up on a Saturday and simply paid my admission at the door.

You see, ages ago I lived within driving distance of San Diego, and a friend of mine told me about this thing called ComicCon. I had never heard of it, but it sounded interesting, so I decided to go. And just like that, I went. I showed up at the door on the weekend -- it was probably a Saturday -- and paid my admission and walked in. Nowadays, memberships to ComicCon are ridiculously hard to get; I think they pretty much sell out the next year's attendance during pre-sales at the current convention, so that the only way to get to attend ComicCon is by already attending ComicCon. This leads to a closed, privileged group going repeatedly, and no one else ever getting to go. I think that is a sad thing, and a bad thing for fandom. I am glad that I can say I went to ComicCon once, even though it wasn't the huge media event back then that it is now. Perhaps it wasn't as good, but it was accessible. And what's the point of a huge fandom party if run-of-the-mill fans never get to go to it?

I really hope Gallifrey One doesn't travel the same road, but I see them heading in that direction. I suspect that the demand for tickets this year was heavily influenced by the fact that there was a cap on attendance, and now that it's become sold out, the situation is only likely to escalate. They will certainly cap it again next year, and it will likely sell out again by November, or possibly sooner, because people will be worried about it selling out and will therefore rush to buy. And if the cycle continues, then at some point the tickets will be seen as so scarce, next year's tickets will sell out during this year's convention, just like ComicCon. After all, who wants to miss out on a scarce ticket?

If you're trying to make money, this is a great way to run things. Create a demand by warning people that they better buy now or they will miss out, then watch the value of your tickets escalate like magic. But I think it's a very sad situation, and I will miss being welcomed just because I showed up.

Comments

[aralias.livejournal.com]

wow. i mean - i bought my ticket because i was told it might sell out, but i am still kind of... not sad (although you present a very good case for why this is bad for a fandom), surprised and wishing it could be more open. i guess. this year has some things that might also especially draw the crowds and might not work again next year-

1. it's the first to focus on the new series (noo, why did i not go last year when it was about the TVM??)(also - the fact that is is focusing on the new series and is increasingly growing because more and more new fans are coming to the show actively from america suggests that they would be unwise to only let people who are already gallifrey one attendees attend - because eventually the gallifrey one attendees will wish it was more like it used to be and the people who would want the con to be like it increasingly is won't be able to just rock up)
2. it's the 50th anniversary year

but the year afterwards will be gallifrey one's 25th birthday. so presumably they will want to do something big then.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

You're right that demand may have been higher this year because of the anniversary too. But I'm not so sure about the importance of the "focus" on the new series -- when I went last year, there were guests from the new series in addition to the TVM guests. No one as high profile as Arthur Darvill, but Mark Sheppard was there, and Camille Coduri, and Caitlin Blackwood, and Nicholas Briggs, and several new series writers and directors. Also there was Paul McGann, and this year they had been saying there would be no Doctor in attendance, although I notice they're now advertising that they might have news about that (if people suspect that David Tennant might attend, then admittedly that would also drive up demand a lot. And okay, it would be awesome if David Tennant was there.)

I don't think the convention wants to only let current attendees attend; they want to put on a successful event, which, well, is a very reasonable goal. I just . . . see it heading in the wrong direction. But perhaps I was being overly cynical last night (it was late). I certainly understand that there is limited space, and that is a genuine problem to overcome. But last year I didn't think the convention was overly crowded -- I never had a problem finding a seat in whatever session I wished to attend. Was it really going to be that much worse this year?

I wish there was a way to be successful *and* accessible. And I wish some of these conventions would work on that. I think they tend to stop at "successful," and perhaps they can't be blamed for that, but I can still wish, right?

[paranoidangel]

That does sound sad. I understand that there's a limit to the number of people they can fit in these things, but it's sad that only people who have gone before or only people who get in quickly can go.

If Gallifrey goes the same way as Comic Con they've got to find a way of dealing with it better.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

I can't go either, but it makes me kind of sad too.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I really hope they do try to find a better way. ComicCon appears to be actually proud of the fact that they're a closed group, and that's perhaps the saddest thing about the situation.

If Gallifrey One can't expand, then I'd hope they'd at least figure out some sort of lottery system so everyone who wants to go can have a chance to get a ticket. If Wimbledon can do it, then Gallifrey One can do it.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I kind of wonder if we're outliers in our reaction, or if other people are sad too. Well, at least I know I'm not alone.

[paranoidangel]

That does sound really sad. Although if Comic Con is that closed off to the idea of newcomers, perhaps it's best if it is only open to people who've been before.

Wimbledon should totally be the model for anything popular that's ticketed :)