How the 7107 Music Fest let me down

The producers of the two-day 7107 Music Festival (Feb 22-23, 2014) billed at Clark's Global Gateway Logistics City recently released “Phase Two″ of their list of performers, and a lot of people are disappointed. 
 

After inducing a much-welcomed freakout by slapping us with the Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP) and “other performers” for their Phase One reveal, more than 71,000 people flocked to the producer’s Facebook page to play what seemed to be a never-ending guessing game as to who would be playing as the banner act of Phase Two.

 

The chase

 

7107 teased potential patrons with Instagramed photos of lyrics and, with each post, some super fan, real or not, died and/or peed a little bit inside. By December 2013, 7107's organizers kept on dshing out “specials” for bulk sales and holiday deals.

Naturally, fans got impatient. “Yeah and you guys still didn’t release the Phase Two lineup,” one fan said on December 29.

 

Phase Two

 

So, with fans whining on social media about how the producers are holding out too long for their “next reveal”, 7107 quietly released Phase 2 this year. Who’s the banner act for Phase Two? Kanye West? Jay-Z? Tool? 

 

Sorry, honey, no: it's Kaskade. Yes, Kaskade. Oh, and for consolation, there’s Kendrick Lamar.

 

It’s everyone’s fault (or nobody’s), really

 

It feels natural to join the legions of music aficionados who are condemning the organizers for “taking them for a ride.” But that would be unfair.

 

Those disappointed got ON the joyride. Perhaps more discerning people waited for “Phase Two″ before purchasing tickets. Some immediately bought theirs, blinded by the fact that RHCP was in Phase One, thinking that, if 7107 can haul such a huge act over, it wouldn’t be too difficult to assume that more of the same level and fame are coming.

 

They fed their minds with the Phase Two guesses splashed all over the comments section on the event’s Facebook page. Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Lorde, Blink, Greenday, Pearl Jam, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, Ellie Goulding, Frank Ocean, and Drake were some of the names dropped. . .by fans.

How would it have worked?

 

In my most humble opinion, the 7107 Festival would have worked if:

 

1) They invested the way they wanted the concertgoers to invest.

 

7107 wanted the producers to have tens of thousands of people fork out P20,000 (for the two days) and P8,000 to witness their spectacle. It didn’t matter that part of their target market had the starting salary of P16-18,000 pesos fresh out of college. 

 

Perhaps they thought that’s what parents are for? I mean, their parents MUCT know RHCP. Surely, they’d understand.

 

7107 had an amazing idea and they also targeted the perfect market. The variety in their lineup meant that it appealed to a wide range of people, from college kids to fresh, twentysomething  yuppies, to 40 and even 50-something people with pop culture awareness who have money to blow. 

 

That’s, what: the A and B crowd? 

 

The problem is that the producers failed to remember that the A and B crowd are also a demanding market. They’ve watched concerts here and abroad. Their Facebook feeds have been flooded with Coachella posts from their cousins and friends in the U.S. They've probably watched F1 races in Macau and Singapore.

 

In short: they know what their money’s worth. Photos with song lyrics won’t cut it, especially to a discerning audience.

 

2) The organizers saw sponsors and food commissaries as partners, not cash cows.

 

This writer has been informed that 7107 asked eight digits for sponsorship deals for two days of exposure. 

 

How many TV and print ads can you buy with that? How many social media campaigns can you run with that? How many UAAP athletes can you get to endorse your product for a year or two with that price? 

 

The Teng brothers are making an issue about Big Macs vs Double Cheeseburgers and they’re getting paid for that for a fraction of what 7107 wants its sponsors to cough up. If, like the organizers, you want to make money from the concertgoers, you can opt to drop P70,000 to sell food. You can rent a whole kiosk in a high foot traffic place in Manila for a whole month with that.

 

3) They managed everybody's expectations (including theirs).

 

Contrary to what the organizers thought, money won’t just keep flowing in, especially after the delay in the release of Phase Two. 

 

The delay in divulging Phase Two's artists only meant one thing: they didn’t have a lineup worth salivating over. Also, if I borrow the meaning of “international” from, say, international schools, there should be more “international” acts than local, whether or not you follow the 51% rule or 50%+1 rule. Someone from Twitter asked the organizers: 

 

“More local artists than foreign? Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?”

 

The organizer’s reply? “We’ve always wanted to support local talent.” Ya serious, bro? Check out the “Sponsors” tab of their website and you will see so many. . .media partners.

 

They posted ONE photo of Smart’s sponsorship contract only a little over a month prior to the event. Maybe they reminded Smart of the campaign they did for the telco giant years ago, when they brought Lupe Fiasco and Jermaine Dupri over to perform at the Iphone 4S launch. 

 

Before that? Nada. If I were the organizers, I’d be so disappointed.

 

With how many friends and business partners flocked to their establishments and graced their events, NOBODY trusted them with that eight figure price?

 

Comb Twitter for posts about the event and you will see a load of celebrities asking you to buy tickets. Did those people even buy tickets? Or gratis ba lahat yon?

 

Mixed emotions

 

I can’t help but have mixed emotions about the organizers. It takes a lot of balls to organize something this big. It was a gamble on their part and, in a way, it’s admirable to see a group of people imagine something of this magnitude FOR US. But at the same time, I am disappointed that they wasted this opportunity. They could have secured quality talent by getting commitments from sponsors if they didn’t charge so much.

 

They “minimum complianced” their way into this project, hoping that all their ultra-marketing plan would pull them through. But this week, they were served a slice of humble pie, admitting that there isn’t anybody better besides Kaskade and Kendrick Lamar.

 

On that weekend

 

Perhaps RHCP will pull them through, perhaps not. Perhaps the the concert venue will be so full we’ll be rubbing elbows with the same people we see at places like Republiq or Saguijo? Perhaps it will be half empty and people will have a place to play frisbee? Perhaps the organizers don’t care because they have enough friends to fill up the VIP tables? Perhaps the NBI will be there since it has been suggested that the event is bankrolled by Napoles money. Perhaps the 7107 event will make enough money to actually donate proceeds to charity, as they originally marketed. 
 

Did anyone even ask how much of the proceeds are actually going to typhoon victims? Or do we not care? Basta meron.

 

That’s how we justify going to this concert. “Part of the proceeds will go to charity,” they said. What part? One percent? Two percent? Gross or net? That’s the problem here. We never bothered to ask the relevant questions.

 

In the end, I hope we all see this as a learning experience. We should be aware about what we are going to buy, and not be swayed by photoshopped and filtered promises. Concert producers should also learn that you absolutely get what you give. If they give the minimum, that’s the same reaction they’ll get from the people. “Underwhelmed” is the word going around Twitter for now. Potential concertgoers will shy away because of the lackluster lineup. The organizers would have to offer the early bird prices till kingdom come.

 

Truth be told, a little honestly would have gone a long way. I would have spent P1,000 for a double dose of UpDharmaDown and Ron Poe anyway. — KDM, GMA News 

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Renee A. Fopalan is a newsproducer for the sportsdesk of GMA News Online. This essay originally appeared on her blog. We are re-posting it here with permission.