Recently, we were interviewed by Stephen Baum of WGUC for a Cincinnati Spotlight Intermission radio segment. We chatted about our new QCC+ subscription service and our current season of digital shows. One question kept coming up--why are you charging people money to see your content?
This is a great question in an age where many arts organizations are streaming both archived and newly filmed concerts for free to their audiences, and high quality video performances from musical superstars are available for streaming at no charge. Additionally, many audience members are feeling the ‘digital overload’ after 9 months of watching musical performances on their phone or computer screen instead of experiencing the thrill of a concert hall or black box theater. So why are we asking our fans to pay a monthly or annual subscription to see another online show?
One of the biggest reasons we ask our audiences to pay is because producing high quality digital content is expensive! Whether we use our own audio/video equipment for our monthly cabarettes or hire our trusty recording engineer, Bill Brandenburgh, to create a multi-camera holiday special, video content costs more to produce and requires many more hours of pre-production and post-production work. Your monthly or annual subscription to QCC+ helps us bring you the best video and sound we possibly can. Also, when you support Queen City Cabaret, you are supporting local artists. In-person concerts and gigs around the globe continue to be cancelled and many musicians are struggling to make ends meet. We might not see the end of this pandemic for a while, and if we don’t continue to fairly employ artists during this time, there won’t be any left to employ on the other side. When QCC hires a professional vocalist or band member, your subscription helps us pay them what they are worth.
We also ask patrons to financially contribute to QCC+ because honestly, we believe it’s worth it. Our library grows every single month with new Cincinnati-inspired jazz and pop projects, and past shows are available to view any time, on any device. When a new show premieres, our subscribers have direct access to the performers via a post-show zoom chat, and occasionally receive little thank you goodies in the mail from us. We love to craft themed shows about Patsy Cline, Halloween, and your favorite TV series, and we think you will enjoy the little QCC twist we bring to every concert we create.
The important thing to remember is that when large arts organizations release content for free, they are sharing an immense gift of time and talent with us. For organizations that can afford it, this is an amazing act of love and inspiration for the community, and we should not take these generous offerings for granted. As a small nonprofit, we release as much free QCC content as we can. However, our goal is to maintain a high standard of artistry, digital quality, and artist compensation, and this is only possible if we charge for our services. Queen City Cabaret had two seasons of live, in-person shows before Covid-19 stepped in and turned the world on its head, but we are grateful to each and every one of you who enjoy this little project of ours and believe in it enough to support us through this new adventure. We love Cincinnati, performing, and you, and we can’t wait to give you the biggest hug in person soon. Until then, see you at the (online) cabaret. Cheers!
Matthew and Sarah
Matthew Umphreys & Sarah Folsom, Artistic Directors of Queen City Cabaret
Listen to the archived Cincinnati Spotlight Intermission interview on 90.9 WGUC here:
Sign up for your very own QCC+ Subscription here: