By Andrew Hughes
Last month we created a survey for attendees of our last two DIY workshops. Our main goal was to gauge interest in similar events in the coming year. Today, we're pleased to share the results. We received 24 responses, which was enough to give us a general idea of how to move forward. If you were one of those respondents, we appreciate your input!
With our first question we asked the group, "Did you enjoy and learn anything from the workshop(s) you attended?"
Given the amount of work that went into each one, in addition to the funds required, we were pleased to see a clear consensus that the workshops have been enjoyable and educational. Nonetheless, we followed this up with an optional text field for everyone to offer feedback or suggested improvements. Over half of our respondents did so, and everything was positive and constructive, which we loved to see!
One respondent pointed out that we could carve out time in the week for networking between attendees. Another asked about online resources to prepare attendees for the recording workshop and continue learning afterward. We want you all to know we readily accept this feedback and hope to integrate as much of it as possible into future events. Thanks again for your input!
Songwriting Component
The second part of the survey focused on a potential workshop focused on songwriting. It's a natural sequel to the DIY workshops, which give attendees the tools to perform their work at their highest potential, create professional recordings and promote themselves. Ultimately, though, it's songwriting which brings us together in SAMI.
Our main focus was what an event focused on songwriting would look like. Could it be a standalone event, or be an additional component in the existing workshop? Still, we wanted to honor the feedback that the DIY workshops were difficult to attend because they took place during the week.
We asked respondents whether they'd attend a songwriting class as part of the existing workshop, and two-thirds answered in the affirmative. Another third said maybe. One last individual wanted the event to be on a weekend instead. The pie chart helps to visualize these results.
That leads us to the following question. We asked respondents whether they preferred an event in the Lafayette area, or a destination workshop. This was a crucial question for us to ask. Trusted members cite Cacapehon, Lamb's Retreat for Songwriters and Pacific Songwriting Camp as successful examples of destination workshops focused on songwriting. They differ slightly from our model in that people travel from across the United States to attend these events. Done well, they can be transformative, reigniting creativity and creating lifelong friendships.
In this respect, SAMI is conscious of the need to balance idealism with pragmatism. Our home base is in Lafayette, making it difficult to organize an event too far away. Tickets would have to be expensive as well, given the logistics involved. Perhaps our respondents weighed these factors too, as 92 percent of them preferred the event to be in the Lafayette area. Still, we wanted to know how far respondents were willing to travel, and what was within their budget for a destination workshop.
A third of respondents would travel no more than 50 miles, and another twenty percent had no interest in traveling at all. This showed us we risked limiting our pool of potential attendees by considering a destination event. Additionally, 42 percent of individuals did not have the budget for even the most subsidized ticket price of $250 per day.
We once again left an optional text field for respondents to give feedback, where we got some good ideas. Observing that we left the location open to the Lafayette area, multiple respondents pointed out potential destinations close by; Prophetstown State Park and Ross Hills in particular. Others, who worried about the expense of a destination event, wanted to make sure SAMI could handle such an event sustainably. This is exactly why we built this survey, and we loved everyone's feedback on this point.
Moving Forward
Now that we've discussed the results of the survey, we can address our main conclusions. First of all, we've decided not to host a DIY Workshop in 2025. We can't stress enough how much work is required to make these events happen. We rely on generous sponsors and individual donors to make ticket prices affordable, as to share the experience with as many individuals as possible; not to mention additional volunteers to balance the workload. Our hope is that taking a gap year will keep attendance high, so the structure won't grow stale. As of now, we plan to return in the summer of 2026. We hope to see you there!
In the meantime, SAMI is looking into a weekend workshop focused on songwriting in the fall of this year. The event would be either one or two days, taking place on Friday and/or Saturday. Further details will become available as the year progresses. We appreciate your interest, and hope to share an unforgettable weekend with you all when the time comes. Until then, we may see you at this month's SAMI meeting, in the basement of the Arts Federation, on February 18th at 7:30pm.