Why Conventions Don’t Love You

The writer Warren Ellis speaks wise on the issue of the New York Comic-Con setting limits on free passes and charging professionals at the same rate as con attendees. The reason Ellis is spot on isn't because conventions shouldn't give free passes to professionals but because he correctly frames the issue not as one of rights and obligations but as one of strategy and planning.

Until I hear of a successful, profitable comics convention closing shop because they can't do right by their pros, I think it's pretty clear these cons are businesses, with a bottom line, to which all policies are in some way answerable. Some cons, like CR advertiser Comic-Con International, choose a looser freebie-pass policy. One would assume that this doesn't interfere with the bottom line, or does so in a manageable way that allows organizers to facilitate some of their other, festival-ish aims. Heck, it may even enhance profits by giving the Con a "place to be" vibe because of the enormous number of pros encouraged in part by such a policy to take advantage of attending.

Other shows will choose a restrictive policy, one they feel makes more sense to them. They may gain from a policy that allows them to negotiate with companies in terms of free passes, and perhaps they can push themselves as more of a pro's show by restricting access to part-timers and hobbyists. Or maybe they think this will help them shape the show in the direction of fans and merchants doing business over pros and publishers networking. Or other ways I haven't figured out.

It sort of reminds me of the paid-attendance Harveys flap a couple of of years back, where I also didn't agree with the policy. It seemed to resolve itself in a logical manner.

"You want me to pay for X-Y-Z tickets?"
"Yes."
"Even though I've performed this task for the show and enjoy this status relative to the show's history?"
"Yes."
"Even though it doesn't make sense for this, that and the other reason?"
"Yes."
"No thanks. I'm going to Art Spiegelman's roof party. Have a nice show."

What else are you going to do except make your objection known and then act according to the new situation? I've paid at several cons for various reasons. I figure if it's not worth an unexpected $40 charge, I probably shouldn't be going. But that's me. Granted there will be some aggravation if people who are supposed to pay don't pay -- comics people take special delight in bending those kinds of rules -- but sooner or later you shrug your shoulders and either go for your wallet or your car keys.

Cons are a significant adjunct to modern comics for a variety of reasons, everything from networking opportunities to corrective buying by people not in a position to purchase certain items because of direct market coverage issues to the consummation of social contacts made and reinforced on today's on-line venues. What's going to be interesting is to see what choices cons make in how they want to present themselves to the world, how they'll meet their non-business goals if they have any and how those do battle with business concerns. With Angouleme apparently narrowing its focus to better serve the sales needs of big companies to Mocca closing in on a space crisis, to San Diego maybe cutting some artist's alley space and the usual dance with housing, to SPX spending another year at a more suburban location to better house its exhibitors, it should be a long and interesting year of seeing how these entities hash these kinds of things out.
 
posted 2:10 am PST | Permalink
 

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