Thank you so much for taking the Jewel Lab Survey.
I’m flabbergasted by the results. A few people had been hassling me to play more nuevo and alternative music. I ran the survey to prove to them that if I did this, no one would come. Apparently, I am wrong. There is significant interest in dancing to new music.
I’ve summarized the findings below. The path forward unfolds accordingly.
See you Tuesday for the first Jewel Lab of the New Year!
Survey results
35 dancers completed the survey, and statisticians say that a sample of more than 30 is statistically sound.
“How important is the possibility for dancing to nuevo/alt music to you in your decision to go out dancing?” 40% of respondents gave this 4 or 5 stars.
26% of people responded that “with more nuevo/alt music, Jewel Lab would become more important to me” only 6% said that more alternative music would make Jewel Lab “less attractive” and 54% said that more nuevo/alt music would not affect their decision to come to Jewel Lab. This means that more new music won’t drive people away, and 1/4 of our friends will be more likely to come.
54% of respondents asked us to increase the ratio of alt:trad music to 50% or more and 34% said to keep it the same. (No one said to decrease it to 0%.)
How to do this? The results were a bit closer here: 66% of people selected “every other tanda” as their top or second choice, followed by 61% of people wanting the night to be divided in half (traditional music from 8:30-10:00 and nuevo alt from 10:00-12:00), 47% chose a monthly all-nuevo night, and 20% chose alternate weeks.
What kind of alt music do people like?: 58% like slow ones and 38% like fast ones. The most popular type of alt/nuevo music is alternative tangos (Gotan Project, Hugo Diaz, etc.; 49% of people put these as their first or second choice), Second most popular is modern orquestras playing traditional songs; 41%), followed by a 3-way tie between Piazzola, “anything interesting”, and modern tango orquestras playing their own compositions at 25%. At the tail were pop ballads at 18% and Jazz at 14%.
What kind of traditional music do people like?: 60% chose “familiar traditional tangos with excellent sound quality” as their first or second choice, followed by “Pugliese and other dramatic tangos” at 52%, “beautiful singing” at 34%, “rarely played old tangos” at 33%, and “old scratchy stuff” coming it just 10%.
40% of people are keen to have monthly guest DJs (but nearly the same percentage 35% said it’s not a priority for them) and 71% of people are keen to have live music, even if this means an increase in the price for the night. 48% of people think it’s wonderful to have gourmet treats at the milonga, but 54% of people rejected the idea of having a glass of wine included in the entry fee.
If you want to see the survey it’s still available here.
Changes to Jewel Lab
Starting this Tuesday 7 January, we will play nuevo/alternative music in every other tanda, taking into consideration what we’ve learned about musical tastes.
We will continue to serve treats and we will look to invite live musicians several times in 2014.
Pricing will remain the same, $12/$10 Synergy with the exception of special events with guest DJs or musicians.
The Milonga where we treat each other like Jewels
