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Originally Posted by bhd812
But I never even fathomed the Idea of you or anyone else In the trade actually putting their foot in and helping out or giving the hand..or ..well you know what I mean.
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That's a bit of the trouble, Billy, I really didn't know how to take your questions. Other comments you've made worry me because they make me feel like your ready to assume and accuse me of just manipulating this market for my own gain and some how hiding it.
So, let me speak plain and simple: I am manipulating, to the best of my ability, this market place for gain. But because I see HeadRoom's brightest future in a market that has a healthy and vibrant enthusiast activity, I choose to put some of HeadRoom's resources at work simply to grow an enthusiast marketplace. When I am doing my job as an agent for the "headphone enthusiast market" I really don't look at it from a HeadRoom perspective. I look at it more from a perspective of helping to build a working market that has things like meets/events, classified ads, enthusiast opinion making (that's reliable), vendor interaction, editorial coverage, news worthyness, etc, etc. A whole mix of things. I've often said that in the past HeadRoom has had to pay a double marketing penalty compared to other companies in this nitch because we have to grow the pond, then grow the fish. That will become less true as the market grows and HeadRoom has less effect as a percentage of the whole. But the truth is I've worked hard to do my part in making this a great market for the enthusiast. Have for 13 years; always will.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhd812
So my original question (put in different wording) is You helped out huh? How did you go about with this help? lots of time put in?
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You can go back in the threads and see how it happened that I got involved, but this is how I see it:
For about two years, I'd been seriously thinking about trying to start a headphone trade show. I could never figure out how to get it off the ground without it costing a fortune. One of the things I did figure, though, was that Head-Fi could do it organically with what I called in my head "megameets". These meets would act as stepping stones gathering interest and recognition untill the point was reached that industry players would start to think a headphone trade show was a good idea. I started thinking maybe I could get the guys on Head-Fi to organize these meets. In fact, I was about ready to make some posts.
At this point I have to stop for a moment and say that I feel trade show events are important to this activity, but in the same breath say that there are Head-Fi sanctioned meet activities that are important and not the same thing as the trade show stuff I'm talking about. I think there should be a "National Meet" that is EXACTLY what the members decide it is. I think that if there were a headphone trade show of type I am thinking, there would be little or no need for vendor participation in a Head-Fi National Meet. Frankly, I would LOVE that, and I would fully intend to have my own table as a member, and I would show only my own DIY projects and my horrible 25 year old DIY amp I used on airplanes. I WOULD LOVE THAT! But the market isn't quite ready for that yet, we need some stepping stones.
When Aaron announced out of the blue that he was doing a "National Meet" my jaw dropped. There it was, the mega-meet I was thinking about. He wanted to do it in October, and I knew vendor participation couldn't be had that quick. I also knew that if a "National Meet" happened I wouldn't be able to pull of my mega-meet idea this year. So I called Aaron.
There's a long boring discussion of trying to understand what the BEST meet possible was for Head-Fi. Number ONE on my list is that it raised money for Head-Fi. I will say it till I'm blue in the face: Jude has yet to break even with Head-Fi. That needs to change.
Number two on my list is a sort of formula that if an enthusiast market is working properly you can get the corporate entities to pay for the fun. At this meet not only are vendors paying the tab on the space and dinner and making a whopping donation to Head-Fi, most will also be willing to loan out equipment during the meet for people to try and some will have b-stock for sale cheap. Head-Fi guys could have a great time all buy themselves, but they wouldn't be generating the multi-thousand dollar dough that's it's going to now, and there wouldn't be a banquet at which Wes Philips will moderate a discussion between members of the design team from Shure, Etymotic, Ultrasone, Ultimate Ears, Sennheiser, and others. Stuff like that can only happen with corporate help.
BUT! And this is a big BUT! From the very beginning I was always at the mercy of what Aaron and the New York team decided. They had their own list of what was important. A list which I agree with strongly. The event had to be great for members to meet face to face at, and the members needed to have fun with headphones, and everything should be geared to enabe that. I advocated various viewpoints at times, but the descisions were and continue to be done by Aaron and the NY team, and I think the result is better than any one could have hoped for or achieved separately.
At this point it's probably worth noting a few things for the sake of transperancy. Jude was also consulted at numerous points along the way. Even in those cases, my experience was that the NY team still made all the final descisions. It's their meet, and Jude even sees it that way. There was one tricky bit of stuff: no one wanted all the income to flow through their personal accounts because of the tax implications (raising peoples brackets, etc). No one wanted to have to personally sign the event liabiltiy insurace. It became apperant that the event might not even happen in the face of these technical difficulties. So, I volunteered HeadRoom to under-right the event. (So for goodness sake don't blow anything up while your there!) HeadRoom is providing all the accounting services and legaleze needed for the meet. I have sent reports to Aaron and the NY team from our accounting system and I have written, sent out, and collected signatures on the event exhibitor contract, and collected, accounted for, and reported on the funds from the vendors participating, and will be paying all the charges for the event and cutting the check to Head-Fi for all the proceeds. HeadRoom is donating all the time and services rendered at no cost, and we have paid for our table just like all other vendors. The only real advantage I had in the process was that I got first pick of the table, but I would have gotten that anyway as table pick was done first in order of sponsors at the top of the page at Head-Fi and then on a first come first served basis.
So, to answer your Yoda-phrased question, "is You helped out huh? How did you go about with this help? lots of time put in?" Yeah. I've put in quite a fair bit of time arrainging vendor and press participation. We're also printing the badge blanks and table signage, and have volunteered to help with the electrical distribution the morning of and I'm bringing our PA system for the announcements and panel discussion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhd812
I must say after I spoke to Jamey on the phone about this I feel like you stepped in and helped out not as a member of the trade but as a true original person passionate about a headphone meet (just as a non member of the trade head-fi'er), I think you really showed you still got that newbie excitement to this Hobby..
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Again, the truth be told, I did what I thought was best for the hobby in a rather complex and sophisticated way. But I was always looking for a way to keep this thing vibrantly alive for the hobbyist. I do, however, have a lot of newbie exitement for the way it's turning out, though. This will be my First Annual National Meet ... it will be everybodies first National Meet. We're all newbies on this one, and it's going to be great.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhd812
thank you Tyll and Aaron and everyone else (I don't know who else..lol) for your time man!!!
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Well I'll give a shout out with you on that one. I played my part, but organizing the space, getting everyon signed up, keeping track of equipment lists, raffle prizes, lock box control, security, schedule, etc, etc was and is being done by the NY team. I also want to thank Aaron and the New York team for putting on what will become know as THE birthing event of the future of headphone enthusiasm. And big props goes to all Head-Fi members for remembering to be civil in their posts so that we create a community in which people want to meet each other in person. As I said in my OP, this meet is an incredible achievement in community building, and the majority of the credit belongs with the community members themselves. ....? I just realized I should have thanked the moderators also in this regard: Thanks, guys.
So, did that answer your questions, Billy?
