Important: Information from Steven Philipp (Libera Chairman)

[Yorkie]

As taken as I am with Libera, and I am as sure are each and all of You, in the politest sense a Quote keep surfacing in my thoughts; Humphrey Bogart, All you owe your audience is your Performance. I am not here espousing this, merely making .

Absolutely; agree with you 100%. Personally I would be too embarrassed to take part in a M&G but other people look forward to them which is fair enough. I think the thing that ruffles a few feathers is the perceived difference in treatment of fans in one country to another, but that's just the way things are sometimes. I just look forward to getting a concert.

[dani]

As taken as I am with Libera, and I am as sure are each and all of You, in the politest sense a Quote keep surfacing in my thoughts; Humphrey Bogart, All you owe your audience is your Performance. I am not here espousing this, merely making .

Absolutely; agree with you 100%. Personally I would be too embarrassed to take part in a M&G but other people look forward to them which is fair enough. I think the thing that ruffles a few feathers is the perceived difference in treatment of fans in one country to another, but that's just the way things are sometimes. I just look forward to getting a concert.

Hopefully London will get one before November.

Logic says that with this tour being a complete screw up money wise (going by a few posts AV and them saying some sponsors have pulled out) that they will want to make money somehow and London costs next to nothing as they all live here so no overheads like hotels and so on are none existent . But then Libera never do anything normal business wise so i wont get too excited just yet.

[maartendas]

this tour being a complete screw up money wise (going by a few posts AV and them saying some sponsors have pulled out)

That's a pretty harsh statement... And I'm not sure how serious to take it. The information you give seems second-hand at best. I think it's best not to draw rash conclusions without the facts.

[labbie]

Agreed, maartendas. I've always maintained that when it comes to any information, one should consider the reliability of the source. Considering that Mr. Philipp was gracious enough to take the time to clarify, through Craig, several points for the fanbase, it seems only fair that supporters should be accepting of what was made perfectly clear, at least for me, and not go back to reading in between the lines, or trying to extract different meanings from what was said. Relying on sources other than the Libera staff is at best a dubious practice and may only serve to create more misunderstandings by the time that information passes through different channels.

[dani]

Agreed, maartendas. I've always maintained that when it comes to any information, one should consider the reliability of the source. Considering that Mr. Philipp was gracious enough to take the time to clarify, through Craig, several points for the fanbase, it seems only fair that supporters should be accepting of what was made perfectly clear, at least for me, and not go back to reading in between the lines, or trying to extract different meanings from what was said. Relying on sources other than the Libera staff is at best a dubious practice and may only serve to create more misunderstandings by the time that information passes through different channels.

Well i could be wrong but it seems that Mr Philipp said that some sponsers had pulled out. That is what i got off of AV.

And its not second hand knowledge to know this tour is never in a billion years going to break even.

[dani]

this tour being a complete screw up money wise (going by a few posts AV and them saying some sponsors have pulled out)

That's a pretty harsh statement... And I'm not sure how serious to take it. The information you give seems second-hand at best. I think it's best not to draw rash conclusions without the facts.

The whole Mr Philipp interview is second hand info. So you can not have it both ways. This person who has come back and told us what was said would of put his own perspective on what was said to him and he has said that some of the sponsors pulled out by the sounds of AV.

[labbie]

Of course, it is second-hand, but compared to the suppositions and misconceptions of the past, it is the closest thing that has served to clear up those misconceptions. I would be interested in seeing quoted the part of the text from Mr. Philipp's information that clearly stated that sponsors have pulled out. I also would not care to, nor am I qualified to comment on the financial aspect of the tour since, although certain aspects were clarified in this thread, supporters are not privy to every financial detail. The important thing is that we as fans do whatever possible to support Libera's ministry (that is a good way to think of what they do). Such support could be moral, letting the group know that they are appreciated by their fans in their guestbook or comments on the blog, buying CDs, etc., or attending concerts. Mr. Philipp was quoted as saying that the organization is "very, very appreciative" of any fan support. Yes, these are difficult economic times, and I am not suggesting that people have to open their wallets or chequebooks. That is a very personal decision, no matter what charity a person chooses to support. Please do not misunderstand what I have written. All I am saying is that it seems that Libera appreciate whatever support and/or encouragement that comes from their supporters.

[dani]

Of course, it is second-hand, but compared to the suppositions and misconceptions of the past, it is the closest thing that has served to clear up those misconceptions. I would be interested in seeing quoted the part of the text from Mr. Philipp's information that clearly stated that sponsors have pulled out.

That's a pretty harsh statement... And I'm not sure how serious to take it. The information you give seems second-hand at best. I think it's best not to draw rash conclusions without the facts.

To prove i did not randomly make this up

Hi All: In regard to funds, I spoke with Steve Philipp in St Louis and he tells me there are serious financial issues with this tour. Seems that several sponsors have welshed on them, one by bankruptcy and the others for reasons that were not related to me.

That was on AV

[tom413]

No you didn't randomly make anything up, Dani.

But once again you have taken the comments of a person on the AV group
(who may or may not be credible) and embellished them.
One would think that after having to eat crow when you did the same thing on
the meet and greet issue you might have changed your practice.

There is no doubt that the expense side of the ledger is smaller in the UK,
but so is the revenue side from all reports I have read.
Trying to maximize limited funds to develop and maintain a fanbase is quite
a tricky operation and I do not envy the decision makers at Libera who have to
continually engage in such a task.

[tom413]

Personally I would be too embarrassed to take part in a M&G

Excellent point on the embarrassment angle, Yorkie. Every autograph session I've ever attended has placed an
experienced chorister who is good with the public in the first chair which helps alleviate this feeling. In St. Louis,
Tiarnan was doing the honors. I was thrilled that Tom C was the first chorister I ever met, he made me feel at ease
right away.

[Yorkie]

There is no doubt that the expense side of the ledger is smaller in the UK,
but so is the revenue side from all reports I have read.

That's a bit harsh Tom - for a start we only have 20% of the population of the US! They tend to play smaller venues in the UK but the last three I went to were all sell outs (Epsom, Beverley, St George's).

[Yorkie]

Personally I would be too embarrassed to take part in a M&G

Excellent point on the embarrassment angle, Yorkie. Every autograph session I've ever attended has placed an
experienced chorister who is good with the public in the first chair which helps alleviate this feeling. In St. Louis,
Tiarnan was doing the honors. I was thrilled that Tom C was the first chorister I ever met, he made me feel at ease
right away.

Yes, I can see that would help but on the whole I would just be uneasy about it. I'm a bit shy really.

[tom413]

There is no doubt that the expense side of the ledger is smaller in the UK,
but so is the revenue side from all reports I have read.

That's a bit harsh Tom - for a start we only have 20% of the population of the US! They tend to play smaller venues in the UK but the last three I went to were all sell outs (Epsom, Beverley, St George's).

I don't think population factors in as much as your response might make one think, Yorkie. Chicago had the biggest population of any stop on this tour and the smallest gate (thus far - but I think they'll do better in Texas than in Chicago). Argued a different way, the crowd estimates at Guelph were around 1k in a city of 114k, Chicago didn't even have half that amount in a city of 2.8 million.

I don't begrudge you guys your own tour. If it were packaged up the way the Canadian or American ones were,
I'd likely go.

[tom413]

I'm a bit shy really.

Then I hope we do have that Euro tour complete with autograph sessions
so we can drag you out there to express your thanks personally. The boys
really seem to enjoy the extra recognition.

[Yorkie]

I'm a bit shy really.

Then I hope we do have that Euro tour complete with autograph sessions
so we can drag you out there to express your thanks personally. The boys
really seem to enjoy the extra recognition.

I really am a modest guy though - I don't think I would enjoy the boys recognition of my talents.