Letter to the Editor: SPEC's take on concerts

To the Editor:

Though many of us would love to see a huge show featuring a Dave Matthews Band or comparable-sized act, the Penn community should not get its hopes up for two reasons. The first, quite simply, is that SPEC cannot afford a show of that magnitude. Suitable on-campus concert venues are limited, and the logistical costs of producing a show are astronomical and unavoidable. Because SPEC works with a limited budget, we cannot afford to pay these costs and hire a superstar entertainer. As we are a branch of student government and dedicated to making our events affordable for all undergraduates, charging outrageous ticket prices is also not an option.

Secondly, you will not see Dave Matthews at Penn because Philadelphia is a major market for large-scale concerts. It does not make economic sense for artists to perform at Penn for several thousand undergraduates when they can sell out the Wachovia or Tweeter Center and make 10 times as much money. In order for Penn to compete with a show of that size, we would need to generate revenue in the six- to seven-figure ranges, which we are unfortunately not able to do. SPEC is not in the business to compete with Clear Channel, which controls most of the Philadelphia concert venues and exists solely to profit from its entertainment ventures.

Our perceived secrecy is to prevent fallacious or incomplete information from reaching the student body and creating ungrounded excitement, like the recent incident has done. Our purpose is not to keep secrets, but confidentiality between SPEC and artists and talent agencies is absolutely essential while in the negotiation and contracting stages of our planning. SPEC members work tirelessly and, often times, thanklessly to bring the best entertainment to campus. However, we value feedback for all our events and encourage undergraduates to become active members of our organization.

Though our Spring Fling Concert is certainly one of Penn's most anticipated annual events, SPEC has a variety of other live music shows that we encourage students to take advantage of, including our upcoming Battle of the Bands and our spring Jazz concert. Please visit our Web site to find out more information on any of our approaching events and stay tuned for the official Spring Fling and Relays Concert announcements.

Darryl Wooten, College '05

The author is chairman of the Social Planning and Events Committee

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.