The HCC in Wyclef’s Wake

In light of the cancellation of the Wyclef Jean concert, we, members of the Harvard Concert Commission (HCC), would like, first, to apologize for not successfully delivering the concert we planned. Like many members of the Harvard community, we are disappointed with the cancellation. In the three weeks before the show, we spent hundreds of hours promoting, while critically evaluating how we ought to improve in the future. Secondly, we would like to present some information about who we are and the constraints within which we operate in working for you to bring great entertainment to Harvard. We hope that by increasing our communication efforts with the student body, we will ensure the success of future HCC events.

The goal of the HCC is to foster a sense of community through campus-wide entertainment events. Recent initiatives have included rock concerts in the Gordon track, free hip-hop events in Lavietes Pavilion, and comedy shows in Sanders Theatre. After each of these shows, we received positive feedback from students.

Three years ago, administrators believed that students could not produce a concert. Now, they are more supportive than ever, but we still face many obstacles in bring a concert to Harvard. Challenges we face with each show include monopolies in the college market, artist availability, short ticket sales windows, and venue limitations.

Simply, most college concerts are heavily subsidized. Whether through administrations’ budgets or large term-billed fees, other colleges support their shows through subsidies in excess of $100,000. In contrast, our negotiations with artists are made possible by a $30,000 allocation from the Undergraduate Council (UC). This sum is one half to one third of artist fees and total production costs can easily exceed six figures. Also, to pull back the veil of secrecy, here’s a picture of how much artists charge: Wyclef asks $45,000; Bob Dylan, $105,000; The Killers, $150,000-plus; Kanye West, $150,000-plus. To get bigger names, we would need to charge higher ticket prices ($30 or more), and in the past, we have had reason to believe that students would not be willing to pay this much money.

Subsidies provided by other college administrations also drive artist fees higher and place student-run production groups, like the HCC, in a disadvantaged bargaining position. Specifically, the HCC does not enjoy financial support from the administration and instead works within the necessarily restricted allocation from the UC.

Unfortunately, these constraints are irrelevant to the artists with whom we negotiate. Artists expect inordinately high fees simply because Harvard has a $27 billion endowment, and they enjoy such high demand that their availability changes on an hourly basis.The HCC must respond to their inflated prices quickly or risk losing out on opportunities. This shapes our artist selection process—the single most difficult part of our job.

Consulting tour data, name recognition, and our counterparts at other colleges, the HCC evaluates a myriad of prospective artists in a matrix relating venue sizes and ticket sale levels. Artists deemed viable are then considered in the context of both national and Harvard-specific music preferences. The resulting “short list” is ultimately constrained by venue and artist availability. Moving forward from Wyclef, we believe that the most important and perhaps most difficult area to improve is the way in which we communicate with the student body in the artist selection process.

The earlier in advance the HCC can begin this work, the more flexibility there will be in artist availability. Before we can proceed, however, the UC must grant permission for an event, as well as allocate funding. In the past, we have not received authorization from the UC more than 2.5 months prior to the show, while most college concerts run by a professional staff are planned at least six months in advance. Despite this, we have produced four successful shows.

The final constraint faced by HCC is the limited availability of appropriate venues at Harvard. There is no ready-made concert venue, but merely spaces used for other events that the HCC must convert. Sanders Theatre’s seating is limited; Lavietes and Gordon Track are first and foremost athletic arenas and are only available through the kind cooperation of Harvard Athletics. The primary use of these venues requires that concerts happen on off-days, namely Sundays.

While the planning process can take over six months, the success of the show is based on the execution of those plans within a tight window. The HCC is always looking for ways to improve and streamline this involved process. The events of the past few weeks have only strengthened our resolve. Now—more than ever—the support of Harvard students is needed.

We are fully confident that by increasing the time that the HCC has to produce concerts, which the UC agreed to do for this spring, and by gauging Harvard’s opinions through extensive polling, we will move from this cancellation back to the previous successes we created with Guster, Busta Rhymes, and Bob Dylan. It has truly been a pleasure working with you to bring professional entertainment to Harvard, and we look forward to continuing our evolving partnership with the student body.



Samantha H. Fink ’07 is a psychology concentrator in Dunster House. Tyler O’Brien ’07 is a government concentrator in Winthrop House. Zak Tanjeloff ’08 is a government concentrator in Currier House.They are all members of the Harvard Concert Commission.