One of the biggest event in the Carnival season, Calypso Fiesta was held last Saturday. Fans worldwide tuned in to WACK to be part of the excitement. The site saw a huge increase in visitors. The average time of visit also spiked.
The show was offered on WACKT TV free of charge with the CEO asking your support by way of donations. Sadly with all the visitors shown, we received only 17 donations on Saturday and Sunday combined for a total of $300US [$1,800TT]. Each show offered comes with an average production cost of $12,000-$15000 [TT] depending on venue.
To all who supported, thanks for your donations and continued support.
Yours in culture,
Kenny Phillips
How many times have you heard about Trini 'storming ah fete' or that 'fuss Trini like freeco' and on and on ... yes we in, we support yuh and when you give your heart and soul and expect a little respect ... FLATLINE!
Surely I will not have many who would support my comments here but then again I don't have a reputation for keeping my mouth shut to please people. I guess the CEO was disappointed that he did not get the support that he expected when he provided the feed for free. Indeed, this was a noble gesture with the expectation that people will donate to nullify the cost of the production. Well that was a wakeup call for all the support that people seem to be providing in the blabber mouth shout box. Everyone supports the station in some form and not everyone is comfortable giving money to a commercial enterprise that is in business to make a profit. I don't subscribe to donating to commercial entities and that is what Wack is, "A Commercial Entity!"
I guess you did not see that coming when you started reading the post but at the same time this does not mean that I have not supported the station. I have done so in my own small way and I don't need to state what I have done - it is pointless to do so. To be honest I contacted Kenny and told him to provide the feed free to those who contribute. There were conditions to the free feed of course. I did not expect the CEO to provide the Calypso Fiesta for free - I was very surprised! However, this venture on his part did prove that people want to see/know what is going on back home especially for King Carnival. This show should have been a fee for service - this was a big show! I expected WACKy Tuesday to be free and a few others but not the main shows.
As I said Wack is commercial enterprise and I never liked the "donate to keep the Internet fee free"; I still believe that this is the wrong approach for a commercial enterprise. Something like this would have been appropriate for a 'not for profit entity' not a commercial radio station. Wack has benefited immensely from the internet broadcast and has followers around the World. Wack was unknown in Trinidad (especially Northern Trinidad) when they already had a huge following in North America. Everyone knows that "one hand doh clap, it takes two to tango etc". Well Wack has grown in popularity in Trinidad and the advertising dollars are better indeed and still growing. The bigger the support they get at home so too will the support and numerous references to the shout box family will diminish. The problem is that they have not found a way to harness the advertising dollars that the internet has to offer. When that day comes they will still need the visitors to the webpage to keep the advertising dollars flowing (both sides have their ace to trump the other - or do they?).
No one overseas knows what the CEO of WACK has in store for the station's future but I am sure he is very disappointed that he did not get the expected support from those who used the site to listen/view the calypso feed. I don't place to much importance on any of this to tell you the truth and here is why... for those who don't know RADIO is FREE for those wanting to listen except, of course, for the paid services. The stations survive by garnering advertising dollars to support their activities. WACK can stop providing a free service and charge for the feed or just ride the wave until it crests in their favor.
Oh I forgot to state that I have already used PayPal to donate my $10.00 for WACKy Tuesday or was that for the Calypso Fiesta? Look, donate if you want to and do it because you think it is the right thing to do (no strings attached). However, don't be critical of those who don't donate.
The answer is very simple; charge for the shows then live with the results! If your product is good it will sell; if it does not succeed then find another strategy to get the outcome that you desire - just don't lament the lack of financial support!
"To all who supported, thanks for your donations and continued support."
Trust me here, he was simply being politically correct!
"To all who supported, thanks for your donations and continued support."
Trust me here, he was simply being politically correct!
