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MagicB1S Inner circle Knoxville Tenn. 1039 Posts |
Last Saturday a fellow Magician was performing a public Christmas show at a local VFW so I packed up the Kids and away we went. I have seen this persons act several times in the past few years. To Be honest I am not sure how he is still in Business. Or how he gets repeat Business(and he does) He has No Story Line at all his whole act consists of here is a coin now the coin is gone. He does not Bring the audience on any kind of journey. As far as I am concerned he is making a bad Name for the rest of us. would it be rude to call Him and Make suggestions to his act just so he doesn't bring down the Market or should I just leave well enough alone?
"There are Tricks To All Trades.... My Trade is all Tricks"
"An amature practices until he gets it right. A Professional Practices until he can't get it wrong" www.Themagicchest.webs.com bobswislosky@yahoo.com |
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montymagi Special user Slidell La 752 Posts |
I have no dog in this fight but I would say yes it would be rude. If you guys got together and he asked, or if you were friends talking over a beer maybe. How would you feel if some guy called you up and said I saw your show let me make some suggestions. The other thing is if he is getting repeat business and the audience likes him then he is good no matter what short comings you may see. If the audience is bored and does not like him then he will be out of business soon. Remember you are looking at him through the eyes of a magician which can be very critical.
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rossmacrae Inner circle Arlington, Virginia 2475 Posts |
Why on earth would you give your best wisdom away to your competition? He won't listen anyway.
Watch carefully, and avoid his mistakes. |
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todd75 Inner circle 1277 Posts |
Here are the facts regarding magicians:
There are always great performers! The ones who can walk on stage in front of audience and blow them away with their personality and performance skills. These are the ones that know what they are doing and make the market better for everyone. There are down right bad performers! These are the ones usually with very little experience and the personality of a doorknow who have no business being in the business. They are generally the "cheap" performer that everyone hires because of the price. The sad fact is that these people will always get work no matter how bad they are because they are cheap. Some clients simply do not care who they hire. As long as they have someone to fill the need that is all that matters. I had a lady tell me just yesterday that someone told her she should never have to pay more than $150 for a magician for a child's birthday party. I explained to her that there are tons of $150 magicians out there and if price was more important that quality, she needed to get the phone book out and start calling. She would not oay me my asking price of $395 no matter what. So, instead she'll find her $150 magician and kick herself later for not listeing to me. Let this go about the other entertainer! Nothing you can say or do will change it! Even if you did help this other performer out and he listened to you, another one just like him will pop up again. |
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MagicB1S Inner circle Knoxville Tenn. 1039 Posts |
Thanks for the advice guys, I guess I already knew the answer to my question just needed to know if I was doing the right thing
"There are Tricks To All Trades.... My Trade is all Tricks"
"An amature practices until he gets it right. A Professional Practices until he can't get it wrong" www.Themagicchest.webs.com bobswislosky@yahoo.com |
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Here's a previous thread about a similar topic:
--> Magic Café thread titled... What Was He Thinking??? - Donald
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
LOL!
Have you ever looked up the word "inertia"? Bookings are often subject to it. It is hardly "full speed ahead". The competition is seldom what we fear. They just don't need our "help". They have a talent buyer! Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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MagicB1S Inner circle Knoxville Tenn. 1039 Posts |
Donald,
Thanks for the link... I read the post and it had some very valuable information.
"There are Tricks To All Trades.... My Trade is all Tricks"
"An amature practices until he gets it right. A Professional Practices until he can't get it wrong" www.Themagicchest.webs.com bobswislosky@yahoo.com |
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Happy to be of help.
- Donald
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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profgizmo New user Florida 54 Posts |
Price is not always a guarantee of quality. $150 for a birthday can get a pretty good birthday party in most parts of the country. As long as the parent doesn't need expensive props and animals, the important thing is that the kids have fun.
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Michael Taggert Special user Fredericksburg Virginia 656 Posts |
A couple of things interest me in this thread
first is the fact that the other performer had a gig and you didn't. The second is that if you didn't have the gig. Did you Market for the gig? if you are better than the other performer, then go for the gig. Let your qualifications do their work. Do not call the guy and be critcal of his act. if you are concerned about his skill, get to know him and you may find that he will eventually ask for your help or not. he may be just starting out and would welcome true fellowship. if he is not a member fo your local club ask him to join. then let nature take its course. natural selection is an interesting thing. Mike |
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todd75 Inner circle 1277 Posts |
Yes, $150 can get you an entertainer but usually it is a cheap one.
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montymagi Special user Slidell La 752 Posts |
That really depends on where you live. The price of a show is going to be very diffrent here in southern Louisiana than in Los Angeles or Dallas. $150.00 is what I charge for a birthday party and I don't think I do a "cheap" or "poor quality" show nor do my clients.
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Location does have some significance. A lot has to do with what you ask! For years I owned a booking agency. One of the things an agent offers is knowing how much to ask of a given talent buyer.
Recently we lost a very well respected member of our magic community. He certainly earned it. He was also on television doing magic five days a week. His name recognition is well above mine. We often worked the same clientele in the same venue even on the same days of the week. Until he died I never exposed that I was getting $650 a show and that he was paid $150 from the same talent buyer. (I was not his agent.) They paid what you asked! He asked for $150 and they took it. The competition is seldom another magician. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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todd75 Inner circle 1277 Posts |
I do understand that prices vary in each market. When I made the $150 statement, I was really referring to my market.
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Todd,
I'm not faulting anyone. I'm agreeing! Redefining our market can often really work for us. Last week (Christmas) I had a business discussion with my son (age 27) who went on the road with me doing 200 stage shows a year when he was six-weeks old. (His degree is in marketing.) Something I did to redefine my market is that I quit performing for audiences except in smoke-free environments. It improved my audiences and the money! It wasn't the reason for doing it. But I'm willing to accept the results. Life is a struggle but we get to pick which plane (market) will get our efforts. Do the best you can on that plane. I think Al quoted me here on The Café somewhere. "I have two prices: mine and free." It's a choice. But it is not the competition. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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LMLipman Elite user Falls Church, Va. 443 Posts |
Quote:
On 2009-01-01 23:37, Michael Taggert wrote: I heartily agree with Mike's advice. Since you've seen this guy before and he was performing at a local venue, then he's probably located near you. Invite him to an IBM or SAM meeting (if you are a member of either, which I hope you are). If he's not a member of either group, you may be doing him a great favor by exposing him to other magicians so he can watch and learn, and -- probably -- seek advice. Joining IBM Ring 50 in Washington DC made me a much better magician. And gave me some lifelong friends, like Mike Taggert! |
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MagicB1S Inner circle Knoxville Tenn. 1039 Posts |
Larry,
A few years back when I first met him, I introduced Myself and indeed invited him to our local IBM meeting, Nothing developed from it, He nevered showed up. The Local ring in this area is 45 minutes away, that could be the reason he hasn't joined.
"There are Tricks To All Trades.... My Trade is all Tricks"
"An amature practices until he gets it right. A Professional Practices until he can't get it wrong" www.Themagicchest.webs.com bobswislosky@yahoo.com |
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Michael Taggert Special user Fredericksburg Virginia 656 Posts |
Aw Shucks Larry I’m blushing.
I can certainly understand about travel to the ring meeting Fredericksburg is 52 miles from our ring meeting to get there you have to drive through northern Virginia and the Infamous "mixing bowl" It takes me any where from 62 Minutes to two hours to get to the meeting. There are several of us here in Fredericksburg but we never seem to get the car pooling thing down pat. Any way sometimes repeated invitations are needed to get someone to go to a meeting. perhaps having a few of your club members "over for a Jam session" would help This allows the person to get to know a few of the members so They are not intimidated by the general membership first. |
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MagicB1S Inner circle Knoxville Tenn. 1039 Posts |
Michael,
Didn't mean to pass you by.... I Actually had a full schedule for the weekend. My Saturday consisted of three shows as did my Sunday, That particular Saturday my show times were 3:00, 6:00 and 8:00pm His Show was at 11:00 in the morning. This particular gentlemen has been doing his act for several years this is not the first time I have watched him. I do indeed Market that particular area And did not receive a phone call for the show. As far as I know this gentleman has been doing this venue for the past three or four years. ( for all I know he might have an inside connection) over the past few years I have watched his act maybe three of four times and it never gets any better. There is mistake after mistake. At the end of this particular show he came over to me and said How much of that Disaster did you see, I replied "The whole Thing" and left it at that. That was probably My opportunity to give him some advice however there were people there around us and I am not going to start to critique his show in front of some of the audience. That may also have been the place to invite him to a ring meeting... However I didn't. When I created this post I wasn't asking if I should call and better this magician for his sake but for the sake of the Market. If we as a whole can Provide Better shows we can ask more money for a show. Lets just say someone hires this guy for $200.00 and he does a show like the one he performed Nobody in there right mind will hire another magician again.
"There are Tricks To All Trades.... My Trade is all Tricks"
"An amature practices until he gets it right. A Professional Practices until he can't get it wrong" www.Themagicchest.webs.com bobswislosky@yahoo.com |
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