After compiling results and contacting artists over the past several weeks, Student Association Productions (SAP) plans to administer a new survey concerning the SAP Spring Concert within the week.
Due to complications booking the top four artists on the survey as chosen by the student body, Vice President of Programming Esthephanie Peralta said she hopes to have a new survey out by the end of this week with a new set of artists.
Peralta said pricing and changing schedules are what ultimately led to the need for a new survey.
“The first four artists on the list were the ones we obviously went after first, but right now the only realistic options are the last ones on the list,” Peralta said. “It sucks because we want to give the students the best possible concert we can. SA doesn’t believe it’s fair to make students settle, so we want to continue to find what is best.”
SAP met on Monday, Jan. 21 to pool together the results from the first survey. The survey showed that musician Lupe Fiasco came first in voting, and was followed by Panic! At The Disco, Matt & Kim, Brand New, Say Anything, Kendrick Lamar, Fabolous and Talking Heads, respectively. SAP Vice Chair Molly Thurston-Chase said after the first meeting, SAP’s agent contacted the higher-ranked artists first to see who would be available and affordable for New Paltz.
Thurston-Chase said pricing and scheduling conflicts quickly became a problem and made the selection process difficult.
“It’s been a complicated process so far because between the top four artists that were selected, there have been issues with the price and issues with scheduling,” she said. “The prices some of these artists have been asking for are out of our range and touring for some have made it impossible for them to come to New Paltz when we’d want them to.”
In the past, SAP has spent between $40,000 and $45,000 on artists. Peralta said SAP is looking to spend around that much again this year, and that finding a big-name artist for that much amount of money has been a challenge.
With the new survey, Peralta said the current plan is to keep Say Anything, Kendrick Lamar, Fabolous and Talking Heads on the list while adding a few other names. Another idea Peralta said SAP is interested in pursuing is hiring a comedian and instead of having a concert, having a comedy show.
However, this will be based on what the student reaction is to the options.
“I’m hoping we’ll have a full list by the end of the week and we can give out the survey as soon as possible,” Peralta said. “I know it has been an issue in the past, but we want to be as transparent as possible with the students, and we want them to know that what we want most is for them to have a concert that they want to attend.”
Last year, the SAP Board chose rapper Wale as the headliner for the 2012 spring concert. Despite the selection, Wale came in fifth out of eighth in the survey, causing disappointment among members of the student body who felt the board disregarded their desires.
Peralta said the board this year is looking to avoid this sort of disappointment, and that she hopes the second survey will help to find someone the majority will enjoy.
Thurston-Chase said once the new survey is ready, it will be emailed to the campus community and will be available for a week. Survey Monkey will again be the venue the survey is available through.
With the survey results changing and the top four artists being taken off of the list, third-year secondary education major Faiqa Amreen said the absence of one of the top choices is disappointing.
“I was really excited about the possibility of some of the artists playing in New Paltz,” Amreen said. “Even if there is a new survey coming out, I don’t understand why certain artists would be on there if we couldn’t afford them in the first place.”
Peralta said she hopes with a new survey, SAP will be able to find a balance with getting an artist who’s accessible and liked by the student body.
“This concert is for the students,” Peralta said. “We want to do what’s best for them and we want to give them something they can enjoy.”