I heard this on NPR and I just had to tell you guys about it.
It seems that the Houston Symphony Orchestra is trying a new, hip marketing campaign to raise publicity and interest. Their great idea? Trading cards for their orchestra members. Like baseball cards, the orchestra cards will have stats about the performers, as well as a picture, and a signature.
So how is this Germany’s fault? Well, not surprisingly, it was their idea in the first place. The German record company, Deutsche Grammophon, created a series of trading cards for classical music’s greatest stars a few years back. I mean, it was a miserable failure, but why let that stop you from adopting it here in the U.S.? Everything ridiculous can be traced back to Germany!!
The best part of the NPR report was a guy claiming that eventually, if more orchestras around the U.S. began making trading cards, people could eventually play “fantasy orchestra”, the same way we play fantasy baseball or football.
Are. You. Fucking. Kidding? How would you play? If someone moves from second viola to first, you get a point? You could play for 4 years, and the score would be 3-1-0-0-0 in a 5 person league. Jesus christ, did no one even EXPLAIN to him what fantasy sports are, before he had an interview with NPR? Sigh…
3 responses so far ↓
1 Mitch Martin // Sep 13, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Who is that chump with the jazz flute? Is that one of the actual trading card photos?
2 Laughing all the way to the bank // Nov 4, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Not sure why I’m replying to a post where the average visitor’s IQ is around 60, but make all the fun you want you block-headed bozos– Those Deutsche Grammophon trading cards are worth $75-100 for the 38 card set.
3 Mr. Wonka // Nov 4, 2008 at 2:56 pm
a) just because a book store is trying to sucker someone into buying a set for $99 on Amazon and eBay, does not mean they are worth that. a bookstore puts that up and leaves it there forever, in the hopes someone will actually pay it.
b) just because someone writes for tastybooze.com does not mean he is a “block-headed bozo.”
c) if you’re the guy/bookstore trying to sell them, I wish you luck in “laughing all the way to bank”, but I think the laughter is going to die out before you make a deposit…
d) these were originally sent out as “press trinkets”, so if you really went to the trouble of collecting them al separately, it would take a serious bit of work, and in the end, you’d end up with less than $3 per card, even IF someone bought them. and if you have a complete set because you were involved in making them in the first place, and some were never sent, well congrats, you spent money on MAKING them.
e) the Itzhak Perlman one is pretty tight though…
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