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Printer-Friendly Mode'Luda' concert much too counterproductive
March 21, 2005 —
Ludacris is coming to SVSU April 22, a move that, for the most part, is not a step in the right direction. It isn't that 'Luda' often degrades women in his songs – he does – and it isn't that is an extremely profane and explicit artist – he is. In fact, it has absolutely nothing to do with that. We are all college students; we can handle that stuff. Bringing Ludacris to campus, while a nice promotional tool for the University, is realistically counterproductive to what the concert is supposed to achieve.
First of all, the cost of bringing the Atlanta-based rapper to perform is, well, ludicrous. It is going to cost SVSU $85,000 for a Ludacris concert. Additionally, 'Cris will be keeping 80 percent of all merchandise sales and 100 percent of all CD sales. Simply put, this concert will not be making any money, and while that is not the goal of the SVSU Program Board, it should be. If this concert is truly for the students – we realize it certainly is not for the staff or faculty – then the concert should bring in a justifiable profit. The profit would then in turn allow for another concert, giving the students more. It's a win-win situation; make money, use it for another concert for the students.
It would be worth it, however, if the concert were in Wickes Stadium. We managed to fit 11,000 people for a football game against Grand Valley; suffice it to say, we could easily get that for Ludacris. But because the field needs to be nice for the football team, Wickes was out of the question. A concert in the stadium with a big name like 'Cris would be near surreal for this still up-and-coming university.
One must also wonder whether the University was caught up in hype of bringing such a big name to campus. Considering how bad of a move this is financially, what other possible reason from the administration's perspective is there to bring Ludacris? Are we that desperate that we need big concerts to better solidify ourselves?
This is not to say there are not any positives to having Ludacris. The concert will be good promotions for the University; radio station Club 93.7 will be on campus today, possibly the first time SVSU will be mentioned on that station since its inception. 'Cris comes off as a laid-back, fun individual, and will certainly provide a good concert to his fans. The concert will do what it's designed to do, but it won't do what it's supposed to do. Let's find a win-win situation for the entire University before jumping the gun on a big concert again.