MBC Musical Bash – Highs and Lows

The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) which organised music bash, equally succeeded with this feat as much as it goofed.
It succeeded because Dan Lufani, Ben Michael, Tygrin, Edgar & Davids, Black Missionaries and then Yvonne Chakachaka never disappointed.
The performance was not only weighty but it was captivating as well. The few that patronised the show were indeed sent spell bound by unstopping link of music that transcended the genre boundaries.
It left everyone an aftertaste that makes the desire yearning for more and let you helplessly salivate because the curtains have fallen and the show cannot go on.
MBC goofed because; it was like those that had organised it at the corporation were strangers from elsewhere; considering the restriction that went with the patronage of the bash one was left totally amazed.
First, they lied that, the bash will start at 8 in the morning and that advance ticket sales demanded that an individual part ways with a ‘whooping’ K1, 500; while if the same person wanted to buy it at the Stadium on the day of the show then it would be K2, 000.
This is unrealistic. Had MBC pegged a price to watch Dan Lufani, Ben Michael, Tygrin, Edgar & Davids, Black Missionaries and then Yvonne Chakachaka at below K500, the turnout would have been great. But instead, a handful patronised the event.
The time I made my entrance past the gates was around noon. At first, I reached the VIP side and produced my K2, 000 but I was told these ‘sacred gates’ were left for ‘special people’ and that I was supposed to cough up to K3, 000 if I am special as well.
I said in this case then show me the gate where all the commoners like me were gaining entrance; meanwhile thousands youthful would-have-been-patrons were crammed outside pleading with the personnel manning the gates to lower it a little bit; I overheard some saying they only had a K1000, others said they had K800 while others said they had literary K500.
None of the personnel manning the gates was close to fathom any language that these people were using to plead for their entrance. Late in the show though after seeing that only a handful of us had made it in, did they start getting the smaller kwacha bills which was already late though. And even the usage of the media they operate to communicate the same yielded nothing.
In the first place, organisers should by now have realised that most of those that will attend such shows will have to ask for such money from their guardians who would not be convinced that a show, a musical show at that, had to demand that much.
I have ever discussed the issue of gate collections, or is it gate charges where I wondered why some big and well organised musical shows, and at very expensive venues, only demand peanuts from prospective patrons.
We looked at a show at the Blantyre Sports Club which has an uptown price tag only wanted anyone entering into the show to part with a meagre K800; and that when Makhirikhiri from Botswana lined up against Lucius Banda and Zembani they only charged K500?
The people that organised the MBC bash would argue that Mtebeti Wambali Mkandawire has had ticket sell out when he had charged around this range. But I still believe it also goes down to the choice of the venue. In this case at Civo Stadium you would not charge this much.
Now some poor chicken mathematics; let’s say 100 of us entered the show and on average each paid K2, 000 what it means is that MBC managed K200, 000 in total.
But say if the gate charge was pegged at K500 may be 5000 people would have turned up and the money MBC would have carted to Mema Studios would have been K2.5 million if my mathematics is perfect.
Do we understand the audience that we work for in this case?