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| Cheyanne shares her OPINION on why she'll no longer be attending Shuto Con. |
I have been thinking for a few months
now about how I could write this piece and not sound like a jerk.
Conventions are hard to run, and there’s a lot of nitty-gritty
stuff we as attendees just don’t understand about the inner
workings of our favorite events.
However, I feel as if now is the time
for me to voice my concerns about one specific convention. This piece
is, at its core, my opinion. Ultimately, you may wish to support
whichever convention you want, and I will respect that.
But I will no longer attend Shuto Con.
Here’s why.
The Cost
We all complain how much money it is to
go to conventions, but we need to consider how much it takes to run
one of these events. Most conventions survive purely off attendance
and merchandise sales at the event itself. The con chair most likely
takes a chunk of money for themselves. I have never once heard of someone
making their primary living from one convention alone, especially one
as small as Shuto. Granted, the con chair does own her own plush
business (we’ll get to that one later), but it seems as if Shuto is
her entire life.
And I completely respect this. For what
it’s worth, you can tell the convention is one that she and
countless others care so deeply about. It’s the first event that I
could find that openly said it was LGBT friendly, and it was the
event that kickstarted my panel business.
But there’s a few issues with how
money seems to be handled at this convention. For starters, they
raised badge costs by $5 this year. This is nothing to us, but
everything to a convention. If every single one of the 6387 attendees
from 2017 paid an additional $5, then the convention would generate
an additional $31,935. Wow. That’s a lot of money! Enough for
someone to live off, really.
And enough money to cover the debt
Shuto was in. See, this raise in costs was due to an unforeseen bill
from the Lansing Center, where the convention is hosted. The con
chair said that they were $6000 behind in payments. Great! If you use
some of that nearly $32k generated next year from badge sales, you’re
still seeing a net profit of $25,935. Even if you factor in the
additional $3000 she said would help bring an additional music guest,
you’d start Shuto 2018 with $22,935, assuming convention attendance
stays the same.
Now, we’re gonna do some more math
here, bear with me. Shutocon.com lists their attendance numbers from year to year. I
calculated the rate of growth from year to year by simply dividing,
coming up with the following results:
1.83x growth between 2011 and 2012
1.73x growth between 2012 and 2013
1.27x growth between 2013 and 2014
1.15x growth between 2014 and 2015
.99x growth between 2015 and 2016
1.02x growth between 2016 and 2017
1.73x growth between 2012 and 2013
1.27x growth between 2013 and 2014
1.15x growth between 2014 and 2015
.99x growth between 2015 and 2016
1.02x growth between 2016 and 2017
When you average these numbers together
to get the mean growth rate of the convention, you get an average
growth rate of 1.14x per year, or a 14% increase in attendance from
year to year. Yes, growth has stagnated over time, and even decreased
in 2016. This means in 2017, attendance only just barely grew from
the attendance numbers of 2015.
But why could a convention decrease in
attendance like this? Well, one reason has to do with money. See,
2016 marked when everyone was realizing how much money Shuto actually
cost to attend. The hotel began requiring
payment before the convention, and honestly, panelists didn’t
want to attend because they weren’t being compensated fairly (we’ll
get there too, I promise).
So, if we use the mean growth rate of a
14% increase from year-to-year, we can guess that a solid number of
attendees would be just about 7,281 attendees. Heck, we could assume
last year’s growth rate of 2% growth and come up with 6,514.
For the sake of my argument, we’ll
use the smaller number. We still have an additional 157 attendees
from last year. If we account for $55 per badge (assuming some bought
early, some buying at the door), the convention should still make
$358,270 on door sales alone.
That’s… a lot of money. Obviously,
the venue is expensive, and I could find no reliable statistics on
how much it costs to run a private event there. However, there’s
another secret form of revenue we have yet to talk about.
Vendors
and Artists.
See, they pay an ADDITIONAL fee to set up shop. There are at about 80
normal artist alley tables, 26 “premium” artist alley tables, and
48 dealers spaces, according to the respective artist and dealer hall
contracts.
If you take into the $150 for the
normal artist tables, the $250 for the “premium” ones, and the
$350 for a dealers table ($400 if you want a corner booth, but we’ll
leave that detail out for these numbers), you’re generating $12,000
from the normal artist alley tables, $6,500 from the “premium”
ones, and $16,800 at least from dealers (I didn’t include the extra
for corner space, sue me).
Overall, an additional $35,300 is
generated from these sales alone. Add that to our projected budget of
$358,270 from the badge sales, and you’re at $393,570 in revenue
for the convention.
There are no numbers, that I can find
at least, that indicate how much arcade companies pay (or receive?)
for setting up space and shop at the convention, and I have no idea
how much money it costs to rent the Lansing Center.
However, what I can tell you is this:
If the $6000 was such an issue, that money could have come directly
from the badge sales of the project 157 people to attend this year
that did not attend last year. Nearly $7000 would have been made on
their badge sales alone.
But instead, the con turned to
Kickstarter. Which, on one hand, I agree with. There were many people
who genuinely wanted to donate to a convention that they love.
However, stop soliciting, and start advertising.
I must point out, my number crunching
is all my own. I reached out to the con chair Stefanie Shall for an
interview and to get more information about the detailed finances of
the convention, but she declined, asking me not to publish a piece
about the convention.
The Kickstarters (And other
soliciting emails)
The con chair owns her own plush
business. Ironically, I bought my first piece of merchandise from a
convention at her booth once known as Otakumals. He was a con germ, I
hold him close to my heart.
Anyway. Back on topic. Today, she uses
Kickstarter to primarily fund her plush business. I’m going to give
you all an account of what it was like backing her Kickstarter.
On Jan. 10, 2017, I backed her
Kickstarter. I spent $36 to help out an artist, and felt like I was
doing the right thing.
I have received 65 project emails.
The Kickstarter I backed ended in the
winter!
Why, you may ask, am I still receiving
emails? Simple. She is using her former Kickstarter backers as a
potential audience to market her OTHER Kickstarters (some of which
aren’t even done under her Creepy Kawaii business, instead
advertising for her and her girlfriend’s business, Haunted Star
Studios).
And you know what REALLY gets my blood
boiling? She said, in her most recent backer email, if she doesn’t
get the last $400 needed, all backer tiers will disappear and she’ll
cancel the Kickstarter (WITH NO WAY FOR BACKERS TO KNOW FOR SURE THEY
HAVE ANY SECURITY THAT THEIR PRODUCT WILL BE SENT TO THEM!!!!).
Phew. Had to get that one out of my
system. I don’t mean to attack the con chair as a person. Quite the
contrary. She is very cordial with talking about her convention and,
in nearly every professional encounter I’ve had with her, it’s
gone well!
However, I just have a feeling I’m
going to end up on the ban list for writing this article. But, dear
readers, I have a feeling you should all know why, and the REAL
reasons why, I won’t go out of my way to go to this con again.
Now, the subhead for this section
mentions “other” emails. What are those, you ask yourself?
They’re for Shuto of course! (Ah,
there’s the tie-in!)
Some attendees
wanted a way to donate to Shuto. Great! Those attendees were also on
Facebook, so why did the donation need to be email blasted to anyone
who has bought a Shuto badge online since 2014?
Me. I didn’t
need it. Nor want it. And many (and I mean MANY) people were angry at
how this was handled. There were posts from the con chairs and staff
members, with many attendees fuming in the comments (some of them
over rather little things). Take a look at the original post and
comments that weren’t deleted here.
“Since so many
attendees have expressed an interest in donating towards Shuto Con to
help us raise money for our final Lansing Center bill, we have
decided after looking at several different platforms to open up a
donation option on our Eventbrite page. We are currently hoping to
raise at least $6,000 by Oct 11th so
we can pay our final bill by Oct 15th,”
the email asking for donations wrote in part.
Speaking of
emails, someone also hacked an outside server to LOOK like the
official Shuto Con email to make threatening and harassing emails to
attendees, making fun of the con chair and the whole donation
dilemma.
Ultimately, the
donation problem ended with just under $700 raised, and the remainder
of the balance covered from two “private”
donors. No word if those who donated got the prizes they were offered
in return for their donations, as nothing regarding it has been
posted on their social media since the fundraiser ended.
The Convention Scene
Shuto has a rather… shall we say…
unique convention scene. This convention has, by far, the longest
list of rules of any convention. Some are comedic (such as the
infamous rule banning didgeridoos over 12ft),
to some banning anything considered “lewd”. Some rules even ban
sitting or standing in large groups for long periods of time.
That’s…
that’s like, 80% of the con though.
Obviously, some
attendees were ticked off about these seemingly insane and
overbearing rules.
This rule of
large groups? That applied to even the famed dancers that entertain
us throughout conventions for free. This ban was made just weeks
prior to the 2017 event, and left many dance crews left out.
Some, however,
were given special permission to perform in the hallways.
… Totally fair
and unbiased…
The security
hired by Shuto Con (though not convention staff photography) enforced
these rules… and things got a bit out of hand, from the attendee
perspective. Personally, they
made me and my friends walk AROUND the Lansing Center in the cold, at
night, because they personally decided one door was shut with no
warning. I heard of people going out to smoke right outside of that
door, and not being let back in.
And don’t
forget Sunday, where at 6:01 we were getting yelled at because we
decided to pee before driving two hours I home. I know, we’re such
rule breakers. Another set of
rules that caused anger was the rules centered around photography.
The security got a bit overzealous with their weapon check policy,
and made you check any and everything. Plastic empty watergun? Gotta
check it. A tripod for your camera? Gotta check it, apparently. By “checking”
it, I mean “putting a zip tie on it so tight you can’t remove it
without damaging your equipment”. Also, the
convention changed the photography policy on the website during the
convention to prevent photographers from taking up space in the
hallways.
Just this past
week, an attendee was kicked out of the convention’s Facebook page
for posting
a photo of himself cosplaying as the
convention’s mascot with a sign asking for donations.
Paneling and
Staff Concerns
So, I’ve
mentioned a few times now that I am a panelist. At most conventions,
panelists receive some sort of reimbursement for their time, whether
it be through badges/badge discounts or monetary reimbursement.
Shuto used to
follow a similar policy. Up until 2015, you received a badge for
hosting so many panel hours. From what I heard, their panel
coordinator changed, and this policy was done away with.
In 2015, me and
my team hosted over 8 hours of panels, and received a plush toy of
the convention mascot. We could have, alternatively, opted for a
T-Shirt.
For all the work
we did, it felt like a punch to the gut. When us panelists work on an
event, we put countless hours of work into preparing it, and then the
nerves that go with putting the event on are completely, in my mind
at least, justifiable of receiving a badge or financial incentive of
some kind.
I say financial
incentive because, unlike most conventions, Shuto does not accept
volunteers. Instead, they pay their staffers minimum wage, because
Shuto is a for-profit company.
This is, in my
opinion, a bad move on the conventions part. Conventions are where
many young people get their foot in the door with volunteer work, and
volunteering for a convention is the perfect way to get an idea of
how to run your own convention or meetup. Since their
staffers can get paid to check badges and IDs at the doors to panel
rooms and vendor halls, why can’t panelists get some sort of
reimbursement?
Well, according
to a conversation I had on their Facebook comment nightmare, they
will be offering better compensation this year. However, it feels
like it’s too little, too late. My team and I have brought our
concerns up for two years now, and were ignored until other fans
brought up even more complaints about the event. Now, all of a
sudden, reimbursing panelists is a pressing concern.
However, I will
give Shuto this. Their tech crew was amazing, and their staffers were
more than accommodating and friendly to a newbie panelist. If you’re
just getting started into the world of hosting panels, check Shuto
out. It might be the perfect place for you to get your footing. My
first panel had over 300 people there, thanks to the support of
Shuto.
The Good, and
Closing Thoughts
This isn’t to
say everything about this con is bad. I love the layout of the
Lansing Center as a convention venue. Personally, I love the lemonade
stand, the walking tacos, and smoothies. There’s good food within
walking distance, and the overflow hotels are fantastic. The one we
stayed at even let their employees make a little artist alley in the
lobby.
I also thoroughly
enjoyed Mystery Skulls. I was even invited on stage by the con chair
to dance in cosplay, which was exciting, and an experience I will
never forget. This year, the
convention has made attempts to listen to panelists and fix their
reimbursement policy, but for me, this is a policy two years too
late. I guess the point
I’m trying to make with this article isn’t that I’m bashing the
convention or the con chair. I get it. Shuto is a for-profit
convention and the con chair needs to make a living. She has a young
daughter, and struggling with personal relationship issues, of which
are of zero importance to my review of this convention.
However, I think
the convention itself just isn’t the place for me. I think that, as
an attendee and as a panelist, my money would be best spent somewhere
else. If you enjoy the convention still, and you wish to attend,
that’s fantastic, and I hope you have a blast! This convention
used to hold a special place in my heart and in my convention line
up. It’s where I got my start as a panelist. And with a PR
representative to handle PR crisis situations and less of a focus on
policing every attendee action via a laundry list of rules, this
convention could flourish.
Transparency,
honesty, and a good PR team is what this con needs to get it back to
its former glory.
-Cheyanne Kramer