• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

SOLIDMAGIC

Contributions to Legerdemain

  • Blog
  • Shop
    • Shopping Cart
    • my account
    • checkout
    • login
  • Bookmarks
  • Newsletter
  • Impressum
  • Datenschutz
  • Privacy Police
  • Contact

About Lectures

11/08/2019 by decova

I am not sure whether this is because times have changed. Or people have changed. Maybe both.

I have been doing lectures for the past 30 years now. My beginnings as a lecturer in 1984 were humble. I did my first lecture explaining (in detail) precisely three tricks/routines. That was it.

In the course of the years, I improved and added more to the lecture. Because I saw what the other lecturers were doing, the ones coming from over the big pond, they showed and explained their routines, and then they SOLD stuff!

Something new at that time; the people attending the lectures willingly paid for the new ‘stuff’.

Nowadays, a lecture has mutated into the event of a sale. The only reason to do a conference seems to sell the wares that has been prepared for this.

The ‘fee’ paid for a lecture has gone down to almost nothing. The organisers insist that the lecturer has the ‘chance’ to make her money by selling. And that she should be grateful for being allowed to do so by the club/organisation.

Meanwhile, the audience at lectures has changed. What used to be a get-together of magicians (persons interested in the art of magic) now comprises ‘laymen’, that have just a marginal interest for magic. People that discovered magic as their new hobby, spare time activity and a chance to show that they are something special.

See the audience assembled in one hundred of live lectures and at-the-table events. See the DVD series of some big production companies in our industry. Inspect how magic is made ‘commercial’ in these productions. See the change?

Now it seems to be more important at live lecture events to socialise, to brush up the ego by showing up and all that gossip. Buying the newest stuff is part of that routine.

Where will all this lead?

It forces creators to ‘create new stuff’ to survive in this shark pool. Some create magic and gimmicks that are not needed. Just for the ‘market’, just for the customers (who buy the crap).

The appreciation for classical, solid creations that have stood the test of time (and are still better than most of the new stuff) has diminished.

These people talk about progress in magic and evolution of technique. But they are just interested in something ‘new’. Something that tickles their fancy and satisfies their curiosity.

Because they are not real magicians, they are not into the art, and they are just visitors on a casual level. How should they know what makes up good magic, something others needed a lifetime of dedication to discover and practise?

The industry helps in this. Tricks, ideas, concepts and routines are being ripped-off relentlessly by unscrupulous magic companies. They have no longer any respect for creators and their intellectual property.

I love the expression: 90% of everything is crap. When I take a detailed look at our industry, I have to come to this conclusion: 90% in the magic industry is crap.

Sad. But true.

Filed Under: agenda

Previous Post: « R.I.P. Don Wayne
Next Post: Move for Balls and Net Routine »

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • The Close-up Pad
  • Color Schemes For Magicians
  • The Lighthouse
  • Bag And Purse Organizers
  • Buffalo Shells
  • Stock Market Crash
  • The Scorpio
  • Deep Work
  • Google vs. Books
  • Simple, Easy and Right
  • Take Action
  • Motivation for Magicians
  • 5,000 Writing Plots
  • Themed Acts
  • The Brexit Trick
  • The Art Of Missing Out
  • TNT III – English Version
  • Eisenhower Matrix Applied To Magic
  • Ockham’s Razor Blade
  • The Negative Approach
  • Script vs. Screenplay
  • Holism
  • Three Simple Questions
  • My Wacky Old Brain
  • Think Cards
  • Magic and Short Stories
  • Working With Ideas
  • Sharing Is Not Making A Gift
  • The Book Without Words
  • The Grass is Always Greener There
  • The Spanish School
  • Jay Sankey Rules
  • Stuck in the Middle of Nowhere
  • Create a Themed Act
  • Table-hopping Chess
  • The 100 Props Challenge
  • The 365YOU! Project
  • The Point of No Return
  • The Big Chance
  • The Blank Book Test
  • The Erdnase Bible
  • Linking Pins Finale
  • The No Bullshit Bullet Journal
  • Misconceptions About Presentation
  • A Street Table or Not?
  • The Artist
  • The 80/20 Concept
  • The 12 Inch Concept
  • Teatime
  • Card in Bottle
  • Buddha Card
  • Multiplying Bottles Hack
  • A Practical Table
  • Build an Act
  • 3-Shell-Game Bag
  • Erdnase False Shuffle
  • 7-Card-Monte Handling
  • Ascanioesque Double Lift
  • Bill in Lemon in Bottle
  • Anti-Gravity Bottle
  • Pimp Your Cups and Balls
  • Multiplying Bottles Retouched
  • Checklist New Stuff
  • Glasses on the Table
  • About This Blog
  • Balls For the Cups
  • A Quote From Seth Godin
  • A Quote From Ken Brooke
  • The Container Theory
  • Props and Gear
  • The Street Magician
  • Cups and Balls Loading Sequence
  • Cracking Magic 6: Selection of Material
  • Cracking Magic 5: Note Taking
  • Cracking Magic 4: Organisation
  • Cracking Magic 3: Tools
  • Cracking Magic 2: Archive Structure
  • Cracking Magic 1: Introduction
  • How to Write Magic Books?
  • Magic as an Indicator of Growth
  • A Thumb Tip Holder
  • Quick Starters
  • The 24/7 Magician
  • How to Better The Card to Wallet
  • A Bass Player in Magic
  • The 12 In. Concept
  • A Matter of Reputation
  • A Comparison to Chess
  • The Family of Three
  • How to Save Time, Money and Energy
  • Move for Balls and Net Routine
  • About Lectures
  • R.I.P. Don Wayne
  • Mark Elsdon‘s Hidden Gems
  • The Rehearsal
  • The Morning Routine
  • Simpler Magic
  • LePaul Cards and Envelope
  • Focus
  • Trapped
  • Chase the Ace
  • Birth of an Act

Copyright © 2019 · SOLIDMAGIC

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsI ACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.