City Stages 2006: Very silent auction

The City Stages 2006 eBay fund-raiser ended at 2 a.m. this morning. You probably didn’t hear about it.

The downtown music festival, still trying to erase its half-million-dollar debt, has tried all sorts of wild schemes to raise money. But the online auction seems saddest of all: 18 items, 12 bids (on only four items), $241 in profit and zero publicity.

Going once, going twice …

Updated

The list of City Stages charity auctions on eBay.

At least the benefit concerts — most recently the Strokes at Sloss Furnaces — have raised awareness, buzz and revenue. But other fund-raising efforts have put the festival at odds with some supporters:

• Volunteers pay for the privilege of working at the festival.
• Corporate “skyboxes” that block audience’s views of the stages and performers.
• Lifetime memberships (including VIP passes) for $250.
• A title sponsor (which backfired and ended up being two title sponsors).
• Higher ticket prices for fewer acts.
• Thursday night’s Sound Check party: $50 gets you onto the Coca-Cola Classic Stage as it’s being set up, dinner, live auction (golf cart use, performer meet-and-greet, behind-the-scenes tour with festival president George McMillan (snicker) and more).

It’s a wonder the festival isn’t going further into debt again. Maybe next year they can have a gala paint-drying event.

Three of the 18 auction items.

The most recent fund-raiser is a festival first, a charity online auction. Only four auctions had bids:

• A pair of lifetime memberships, VIP passes and private parking ($500 value). Two auctions sold a pair each, one for $660 and one for $580.
• The “Major Player” package: a pair of VIP wristbands, three-day passes and private parking. Minimum bid was $300: one auction netted one winning bid of $300, while the other two auctions raised nothing. (In fact, one page was viewed only a few dozen times.)
• Commemorative pins from 1989 to 1993. Minimum bid was $35; two bids later, someone snagged them for $36.

These auctions didn’t attract a single bidder:

• The “Party at the Hot Spot” package: a reserved table at the Tutwiler bar Friday and Saturday nights. $75 minimum bid (but if you slip us a twenty, we’ll chase away anyone from “your” table).
• The “No Line, No Waiting” package: a pair of Front of the Line passes (so you can be served without waiting in those pesky lines in the VIP area), VIP wristbands and three-day passes. $375 minimum bid. (Guess you’ll have to wait five minutes for your watered-down drink like the rest of us very important playas.)
• The “Grinds While You Grind” package: a year of coffee from Southside’s Lucy’s Coffee and Tea, plus Reg’s Coffeehouse swag. $375 minimum bid.
• The “Onstage Seating” package: a pair of seats onstage (doesn’t specify which stage or stages) and three-day passes, plus private parking. $450 minimum bid.
• The “Behind-the-Scenes Exclusive” package: a pair of backstage passes (which includes festival admission) and private parking. $375 minimum bid.
• The “Port-O-Potty” package: the sole key to a private Port-O-Let, pair of VIP wristbands and three-day passes. $350 minimum bid.

At least festival organizers didn’t lose money on the auctions, since the items were from the festival itself or donated. But not losing money is a far cry from raising money to benefit programming or erase debt.

Maybe City Stages just doesn’t know how to exploit technology and the Internet. The official site has added some nice features (such as a streaming player to preview scheduled artists and a podcast to feature performers and commentary) while retaining handy components (such as the customizable schedule and iPod-friendly schedule, although the Alabama Live version is more comprehensive).

And kudos to TechBirmingham for furnishing Linn Park with wi-fi access in time for the weekend’s festival. It’s a great addition to the park for this weekend and the rest of the year. Even the festival’s marketing director, Guy McCullough, praised the effort: “A critical part of being a technologically savvy city is high-speed wireless connectivity and TechBirmingham has taken the lead in pushing us ever forward in that regard.”

So you’ll want to bring your laptop to Linn Park for City Stages. Oh, except for one small hitch: The festival prohibits backpacks. (We’re pretty sure the festival can tell you where to stick it.)

Maybe one of Hank Jr.’s fans will let you borrow his Blackberry. And his $330 VIP bathroom pass. After all, it’s for a good cause.

Update: Curtis at TechBirmingham let us know that festival officials wisely amended the backpack rule to allow laptops. Kudos again to Curtis.

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Complete City Stages 2006 coverage.

Posted: Wednesday, June 14, 2006, 9:45 am, in B'ham, Bama, Commerce, Culture.
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