One Spark 2016 Announces Dates and Enhancements

[Metro Jacksonville]

One Spark 2016 Announces Dates and Enhancements



One of the first feature changes that people will experience with One Spark 2016 is a streamlined footprint, with Creators grouped by category in Creator Districts.  The Districts include Arts & Culture, Education, Lifestyle, Health & Wellness, Social Good and Technology & Engineering.  Each District will host up to 50 expert-curated projects.  The change is a direct result of three years of feedback and survey results from a number of stakeholders.   See more after the jump!

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2015-aug-one-spark-2016-annonces-dates-and-enhancements

[johnnyliar]

No more music category.
Probably a good idea.

[Wacca Pilatka]

I wish they'd have it after April 15 again so I can go...

[johnnyliar]

Wonder if they'll start paying for musicians and entertainers instead of expecting them to do their act for free. Venues will still probably book shows with promise of "exposure" and a "chance to sell merch." 

[Local Artist]

Wonder if they'll start paying for musicians and entertainers instead of expecting them to do their act for free. Venues will still probably book shows with promise of "exposure" and a "chance to sell merch." 

As a creator I can say that there are stages in one's journey where the chance to play, where you can invite your friends to build a fan base, where you are able to sell merch, is a huge deal. Don't undersell it because it's the fashionable thing to do.

[InnerCityPressure]

Wonder if they'll start paying for musicians and entertainers instead of expecting them to do their act for free. Venues will still probably book shows with promise of "exposure" and a "chance to sell merch." 

As a creator I can say that there are stages in one's journey where the chance to play, where you can invite your friends to build a fan base, where you are able to sell merch, is a huge deal. Don't undersell it because it's the fashionable thing to do.

For newbies, sure.  That shit doesn't stick for bands that have any type of established fan base, though.

[ProjectMaximus]

Yes, Rummell reached back out to many of the original millennials from five years ago that originally incubated the One Spark concept. He was hoping to pull them back in to help salvage the festival, as one of those people put it. I learned a lot from that conversation...I had no idea how many great ideas there were in conjunction with the original One Spark concept that could really have had a more immediate and significant impact on our city/downtown...ideas which ultimately never were executed.

Anyway, I think this is a pretty solid setup moving forward. It's a shame it wasn't implemented two years ago, when there was still a lot of money available.

[johnnyliar]

Wonder if they'll start paying for musicians and entertainers instead of expecting them to do their act for free. Venues will still probably book shows with promise of "exposure" and a "chance to sell merch." 

As a creator I can say that there are stages in one's journey where the chance to play, where you can invite your friends to build a fan base, where you are able to sell merch, is a huge deal. Don't undersell it because it's the fashionable thing to do.

I'm not underselling it because it's "fashionable", I'm underselling it because I've been playing music for a long time, and playing gigs for the chance to build a fan base is NOT a "huge deal" unless it's your first show, or its a show that is EXTREMELY large- like at St. Augustine Amphitheater or the Florida Theater opening for a national act. Playing Underbelly on Friday night at One Spark might be the biggest crowd you can play in front of in Downtown, but for established musicians, it's not worth it if you walk away with just merch sales. imo.

[ProjectMaximus]

^^^ And, "original millennials"?? I was at those meetings and to say that Epoch was a bunch of Millennials (god i hate that term) is inaccurate.  Unless 40 year olds are millennials?


I just hope they get someone who knows something about good, current music to book the bands.  The musical acts have been underwhelming to the point of being a joke.

Actually, the person I spoke to certainly made it seem like Epoch was a separate incarnation that came along at a later time. One Spark came out of many ideas that included Epoch, a Tattoo Festival, and other things. Seemed like it was this unnamed group -> Epoch + other ideas -> One Spark as we know it with Elton et al.

This might run contrary to what Stephen knows, but I didnt push for details or clarity on some things that were counter to what I have heard. It was a side conversation and I'm not a reporter.

I was also surprised to learn of the very deep involvement of one of our main contributors to this site. To my knowledge (and I certainly could be oblivious) this member has never spoken about their involvement in the planning stages, but unfortunately their critical contribution to the One Spark puzzle was left on the cutting room floor.

[whyisjohngalt]

One Spark 2016 Enhancements

• There isn't a fund ($200,000+ in the past) that gets distributed by votes.  The only $ to creators comes from direct donations.
• One Spark keeps 10% of contributions to creators and takes up to 60 days to pay the creator.  If you pay the creator directly, they get all of the money and faster.
• Each category is limited to 50 creators.  If selected to be a creator, the fee is $250 to participate.
• The event is now 3 days and the unreleased locations will group creators from similar categories together. This downsizing is a direct result of Rummell's reduced private investment in the festival.  Ironically, it's his picture in the article and not Elton Rivas - who doesn't even have a quote.  Rummell is now focused on Healthy Town.

Basically, if you want to support the creators then you will still have the opportunity to do so - it will just cost $ like the traditional crowdfunding model.  Votes are worthless and a few sponsored awards may exist if they can find sponsors.  Unfortunately, it's more likely than ever that most creators will not make their entry fee back.  It's also unlikely that One Spark itself with be self sufficient on a citywide scale and that the crowdfunding model makes the most sense as a website - like Kickstarter.

The good news is that it should reduce the vote begging and instead have stickers/trinkets to buy so there's more souvenirs beside just food and beer.  Could be the coolest flea market ever!

[johnnyliar]

What are the chances that they even get 50 paying entries for each category?
This is going to be WAY scaled down this year.

[TheCat]

whoa, a $250 buy in...

W/ no jackpot (which never seemed to workout the way it was marketed...)

Breaking this down, mostly for myself:

So, this is kinda like a Home and Garden Show for ideas. It's a means of marketing to a potentially large group of people...gathering contact info...to sell something later (if not right then).

It's a walking tour of kickstarter concepts. On kickstarter, many times, "contributing" means buying something in advance of its creation. At minimum, you get a t-shirt or a sticker or something. 

Will the creators be allowed to "sell" based on contribution amounts?

Last year, nearly $95k was directly contributed to creators. I'd like to know the specifics of category and vendor.

The creator project that received the most individual contributions through the One Spark platform also received a $15,000 award. Project STUFFEE received that award for a total of $22,500.

In addition to the $350,000 in crowdfunds and cash awards, there was $93,324.45 contributed to creator projects, representing a greater than 75% increase in contribution to creator projects from attendees compared to 2014’s festival. This year, 223 projects chose to continue their crowdfunding campaigns for up to 30 days after the start of the festival, and contributions continue to be accepted for those projects on onespark.com. - See more at: https://onespark.com/festival/2015/blog/big-winners-announced-at-one-spark-2015#sthash.p5DnDaXB.dpuf

[TheCat]

I may be about to jump onto one "conspiracy" theory...

One Spark serves one purpose, it's a marketing tactic, goodwill building...in order to more easily gain the incentives wanted for healthy town usa.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

With these changes, how is this different than most any other [insert word]Con?

You pay an entry fee, set up your table and with any luck, you make more than you spent, and in the rare case, you really impressed someone and they decide they want to seriously back you.

This is done in cities all over the country every week of the year.

[Tacachale]

I may be about to jump onto one "conspiracy" theory...

One Spark serves one purpose, it's a marketing tactic, goodwill building...in order to more easily gain the incentives wanted for healthy town usa.

Ha, yeah, okay dude.