Rally tickets...part timers???

[handrick]

Hi, I am a little confused regarding the messages Taxi has been sending about tickets for the Rally..One saying that you can just pay to go to the Rally and then get your membership free( a twist on the original join up and the get to the Rally free)and another about 50 tickets at $100 which can then be taken off the price of your membership should you decide to join..Does this mean if I don't use my free ticket to the rally that comes with membership, I can get $100 refund??? that would be only fair do you not think???I realise Taxi is a business and a service that is hear to help us musicians of all kinds to try and get somewhere in the industry, but I am more and more getting the feeling lately that it is starting to be more about just getting money in.. is there some kind of bonus for people who have already joined.. a loyalty bonus if you will???

[slideboardouts]

I think there are some holes in your logic here...TAXI started in 1992 and a 1 year membership was $299. In 1998 they held their first Rally. At that time, a 1 year membership including Rally tickets was $299. It is now 2008, and a 1 year membership with Rally tickets is still $299. They have never raised their membership rate in over 15 years, and they have even added a FREE convention. You seem to be connecting the Rally with a cash value, and there is none...it has always been free to members. Leveraging your free Rally tickets for a price break is a bit silly in my opinion. That would be like going to get a haircut at a hair salon that offers their clients a free cup of coffee, declining the free cup of coffee, and asking for a discount on your haircut in exchange for declining the free cup of coffee. It makes no sense, and it definitely isn't fair. If I were to guess, those Rally "offers" you mentioned are probably attempts to attract more new members. Nothing more, nothing less. TAXI knows that they hold a great convention, so what better way to introduce people to TAXI and what it offers? Oct 31, 2008, 5:04am, handrick wrote:I realise Taxi is a business and a service that is hear to help us musicians of all kinds to try and get somewhere in the industry, but I am more and more getting the feeling lately that it is starting to be more about just getting money in.. Neither of those offers would actually make any significant money for TAXI. 50 tickets for $100? Thats 2$ per ticket, which is practically free. The only way that that offer makes ANY business sense is as a marketing tactic. The only way TAXI would make any money from that offer is if they acquired new members from it, and, if that happens they apply whatever was paid for the Rally to the membership fee. So the Rally still ends up being free.I've been involved in quite a few large events where people actually pay to attend and I can tell you from experience that often times the person/company that is holding the event is lucky to break even. Depending on the size of the event, its not at all uncommon to lose $30,000 or more. Especially if the event is in its infancy.Oct 31, 2008, 5:04am, handrick wrote:is there some kind of bonus for people who have already joined.. a loyalty bonus if you will???As far as a loyalty bonus goes, they give returning members a $100 discount on a 1 year membership. If you sign up for more than 1 year at a time, you get a larger discount. Those are pretty significant discounts, and on top of that they have never raised their membership prices since the company's creation. That itself is unheard of. Every business I've ever been involved with has raised their prices at least once every 5 years.I hope that clears up the confusion.-Steve

[handrick]

Steve,while I appreciate your response and the only one who did, though I suspect people are caught up in the road rally at the moment..there are a few holes in your logic not to mention your mathematics$100 a ticket50 tickets=$5000my point is I think giving existing members more to keep them here would be a better deal for taxi as we are the ones who are paying all year to apply for opportunities..I did not get the chance to attend a road rally for $100 before joining.. and from what I have read here the rally is a very good networking tool..so $100 dollars is not much for that opportunity..and I have heard some people on here who were member saying they are were not sure they could afford the membership fee again... an offer of a reduced fee may have kept some of those people here..and the fact that they are selling tickets for $100 dollars does in fact put a monetary value on the rally..$200 a year plus $5 per opportunity may not be a lot to you but I am sure it is to some people including myself...I already knew about the discount on year 2..as I have been here for 2 years... my budget only stretches so far... as I am sure do others...it all just reminds me of Banking sector... offering new clients great deals to get them in while giving the existing clients nothing...$5000 = 1000 listing opportunity fees.. would you say no to a free opportunity or 2??.. would be a nice little payback for existing members...I have been around the business for a long time also and have been involved in many events from behind the scenes... and talking about paying for other events is irrelevant in this case as they do not charge a fee which is part of their marketing in the first place..of course now they are charging non-members..I am not saying its a bad service I just think this particular strategy is not a good one...confusion still remains and I will be seriously considering not joining next yearAnother member lost = $200=price of 2 road rally tickets to non membersanyways, just speaking my mind...too easy to gloss over things sometimes....hope you all enjoy the rally. peaceAndrew

[matto]

handrick,I haven't personally seen the offers you are referring to but from your description I think I can deduce what's going on.Most likely Rally registration is down over previous years due to the current economic woes, and extending these special offers to potential new members would kill two birds with one stone...it would fill the seats at the Rally and hopefully attract new members at the same time.Marketing is a necessity in any business, and there will always be "special offers" for new clients that don't apply to existing ones, particularly if times are tough economically.That being said, Taxi also has an incentive that's only available to existing members: if you get one new member to sign up to Taxi at full price, you can renew for only $100 instead of 200, and if you refer two new members, your renewal will be free.matto

[slideboardouts]

Oct 31, 2008, 5:04am, handrick wrote:and another about 50 tickets at $100 which can then be taken off the price of your membership should you decide to join..Like Matto, I have not seen these offers myself, but the way you worded it here reads like you get 50 tickets for $100 (50 tickets @ $100). After your last post, I gather that there are 50 tickets available for $100 each to non-members.Again though, you are trying to leverage a free offer for a discount. TAXI has not always had a Rally, and when they started it they didn't increase the price of membership. The Rally is a total bonus. If they had increased the membership fee by $100 after they began hosting the Rally, then I definitely think you would have a point. But they didn't. Its free for you to come, if you can/want to. Just because they are selling tickets for $100 to non-members does not mean that you deserve $100 off from your membership because you are not going to the Rally. TAXI doesn't have to host the Rally, would you rather them not have a convention and still charge everyone $299 a year? Because before 1998 that is exactly what happened...$299 for a one year membership and no convention. The 50 available tickets for $100 each is a marketing attempt to gain more new members, and I think that TAXI has every right to execute such a promotion. I don't see how that is a better deal than what current members get. As a current TAXI member, I certainly don't feel like I'm getting the shaft at all. Non members have to pay $100 to go to something that I can go to for free. Thats fine with me. And the reason I brought up other conventions is to point out that I doubt TAXI is making much money off of the Rally. Even if they sold all 50 tickets for $100.00 each and grossed $5,000 that is a drop in the bucket when you look at the costs of an event like this. And actually, the events I'm involved with, everyone attending pays a monthly fee that ends up being WAY more than TAXI plus they pay an entrance fee for the event. Nobody complains either because they know that the event (which is held every year) is an extra, not a requirement. The membership fee is a lot for me too, even the $199 deal for returning members. But if you break it (the $199 renewal fee) down over 12 months, its just over $16 per month. If you submit 3 times per month, its just over $30 per month, which is still significantly less than my wireless bill (I have the cheapest plan offered). The deals that I've signed through TAXI are easily worth that.-Steve

[kg]

If you *truly* had any idea just how much money it takes to put on a convention like this, then you would know that TAXI is responsible for the full bill of the convention, it's speakers, the unused hotel rooms, the shipping fees, the convention room fees, the breakout room fees, the audio equipment fees, the taxes, the clean up, and many other things that can be added by a host center, no matter how many members show up. I don't think you should worry too much about a measily $5000 that *might* be made if those teetering on the verge of joining would pay $100 to show up for three days when it will help to cover costs for something that you are getting as a part of your membership. Essentially they would be paying $100 to taste-test for three days. If they haven't decided to join after that, which frankly I can't see why they wouldn't unless they have absolutely no ambition whatsoever, then you should be smiling, because it's still less competition for you in this particular avenue. If they have decided to join, then fantastic, they pay exactly what you pay for a membership when you renew, plus the $100 they already put out of pocket which = a full first year membership.

[handrick]

I really am getting tired of the condescending attitute from some of the replies implying I do not know what goes into organising such an event .. lets clear this up.. I DO...ok... got it?? good... Fact is... I paid $300 first year to have the opportunity to go to the rally..these people get it for $100I am not sure I can make my point any clearer than that...you know the only way services and ideas improve is when they are questioned.... I just felt this needed to be questioned...It is not an attack on Taxi as a whole..which some of you seem to be taking it as...and I will repeat again. I am not saying Taxi is a bad service.. I just think putting a monetary value on the rally was a bad ideaHope all who could vote did...and again best of luck at the rally peaceAndrew

[ragani]

Nov 4, 2008, 6:26am, handrick wrote:Fact is... I paid $300 first year to have the opportunity to go to the rally..these people get it for $100I get it, though you also had the membership of TAXI for the year too. It's a wash from my perspective-- pay $100 up front for the Rally and then the rest for the membership later. Or pay for the membership first, then attend the Rally for free. Not much difference in my books. And if you're really wanting to benefit from TAXI membership and save big bucks (without referring anyone either) join for 3 years at a time, you get $300 off. So that would be like having free Rally's AND getting a full year free at TAXI. So that's where you get your money back. Just my $.02Raags

[handrick]

Raags,I think you'll find I answered the question about signing up for 3 years earlier in the thread...pays to read the whole thing before answering ya know ok someone give me a beat and I'll break it down for ya$100= 2008 rally (not paying $200 for that year for membership to attend rally)after rally pay $200(full membership less $100= first year membership including 2009 Rally)option to renew after first year, if taken $200total of $500 for opportunity to attend 3 rallys and 2 years of membershipI paid $500 got 2 years of membership and opportunity to attend 2 rallysunless the first years membership pre-dates the rally(which I doubt very much it does otherwise they would have been eligible to have applied for opportunities also in that time)..tricky is it not so thats it... I have spent enough time explaining a relatively simple scenario..perhaps I was just not meant to have received the offer in my mail.. as some of you do not seem to have known about it... which also begs the question why was this offer not sent to members who could have told others non-members about it?? uh oh...more questions...look out!!! Just looked at the page on Taxi.com about registering for the RallyTAXI Road Rally 2008November 6th-9th, Los Angeles, CARegister Before October 6thto Get Your Two FREE Tickets(Must be a Current TAXI Member to Attend)http://www.taxi.com/rally/signup2008.htmlOK I AM CONFUSED AGAIN...

[aubreyz]

Dude,Why are you so worried about this? You aren't getting screwed, and nobody is getting a free ride. Take this scenario:I bring a guest to the rally-- they decide to join afterward --$300, and then renew $200 -- so they get 3 rallies to my two. BUT, in the first rally they don't have member benefits, so it's apples and oranges. Plus, you are totally ignoring the travel and room expenses, so the "guest" actually ends up paying more to get less than I do as a full member.So somebody gets to pay $100 for a guest pass to the rally. So what? They merely get the same opportunity as any guest, with the only difference being they have to pay a nonrefundable $100 in addition to any expenses. If you are spending time crunching numbers and stressing about this, I'd hate to see how worked up you get over something that actually matters.So you didn't get to go to a rally for $100 without being a member, and you think you deserve a refund for your guest pass? You get a guest pass for free. Go try to turn any other "free" offer into cash and see what kind of results you get. Man, it's a weird world.Aub