mrboltonsmusicgroup : Message: Re: MBMG[mrboltonsmusicgroup] Gold Club gone???

Gail mentioned it on AFMB - the "all new Platinum Club" has taken it the place of the Gold Club and the "old" Platinum Club I guess <VBG> The membership dues are $30 a year and there is a very nice new membership kit being offered. The only problem is that not all of us can afford $30 at the moment! I'd hate to see any fans deprived of club membership because they couldn't afford it. At least with the Gold Club, we could still enjoy the Bolton On-Line Updates (now exclusive to Platinum Club members - the password has been changed so Gold Club members will have to join the new Platinum Club or we won't be able to get the Updates anymore). They are also going to be sending out a Newsletter to all PC members. In some ways, it would seem somewhat discriminatory to promote such exclusivity, particularly after having shared the Updates free for such a long time. I realize that it is costly to maintain such things particularly in this day and age but similarly, it is just as costly for some living on a fixed budget to afford $30 membership fees for something we used to get for nothing! I'm not sure if some of the Gold Club members, who are not on-line, have a clue as to what's happened. They'll be surprised when they try to use their defunct memberships to get their tickets to upcoming concerts. I don't think this will augur well for the Maestro's image nor for the women and children at risk that he labors tirelessly to help. One thing for certain, a woman with children at risk isn't going to be able to afford spending the $30 that could pay her phone bill, part of her water bill, a fraction of her electric bill, portions of her car payment, her food/clothing/shelter obligations - on membership in ANY club, much less one that she once enjoyed for a "lifetime" fee. Hard times are hitting all of us. Someone, somewhere is going to have to understand that choices have to be made on the fan's end, too. To join, or not to join, that is the question...but there are some pretty stiff consequences if we don't. That was one reason that I put up Bolton Boulevard in the first place - as a central location for all the news/pix, etc. that I could cull from the net and the newsgroups, the fans and the media. I'm just hoping that this latest move on the Fan Club's part is not going to cost them more than it's going to gain. The Maestro can't afford to lose fans with not one, but two, new albums on the horizon and a mini-tour (on the East Coast) in the Fall. I'm curious to find out how the other fans, particularly former Gold Club fans, feel about it. What's your take on it? <3 Linda

-------Original Message-------

From: mrboltonsmusicgroup@yahoogroups.com

Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 9:04:00 AM