www.broadwaymusicaltickets.info
When I was a young nipper in school I read a history book by Hendrick Willem Van Loon. Van Loon was not a mainstream historian. He was, shall we say, quirky. He proposed many theories of history that other people didn't follow.
There was an illustration in one of his books which I have remembered over the decades since I first saw it. Van Loon was discussing the Acropolis, the very famous collection of ancient Greek buildings on top of a hill in Athens. Many people say the Acropolis is beautiful and one of the greatest architectural achievements of the human race. Sorry, Van Loon didn't agree.
He said one of the major reasons people think the Acropolis is so wonderful is that there's only one Acropolis. Tourists from all over the world flock to see that one great sight. But, asked Van Loon, what if there were many Acropolises? What if there were dozens or hundreds of Acropolises? Would people still think it was so great if there were many Acropolises, not just one?
To emphasize his point, Van Look drew a picture of an imaginary hilly Greek landscape with many Acropolises all over the place. He made his point. If there were so many, what's the big deal about one? If there were many Acropolises, people wouldn't flock from all over the world to see them.
I was reminded of Van Loon when I read about an upcoming domain auction at TRAFFIC. Apparently the domain www.broadwayshows.com will be up for auction. The reserve price is a hefty $800k, more than I carry around most days in my wallet. To many domainers, an $800k price is conceivable because the domain name has many virtues. It has a natural association with a popular product which many people search on the net to find. You're going to NY for vacation? Sure, catch a Broadway show or two. Google 'broadwayshows.com' and nail down your orchestra seats.
Except one writer, not a hard-bitten domainer, doesn't think the name is worth nearly the amount desired by the TRAFFIC auctioneers. This alternate opinion dude knows there's some value to a 'broadwayshows' domain, but a lot less than those starry-eyed dreamers wish.
The dissenting voice might have a point. Maybe, possibly 'broadwayshows' has limited value. How is anyone to know?
That's what made me think of old Van Loon and his Acropolis picture. There can be only one 'broadwayshows.com' domain, true. But the hills can be full of copies. And the copies might take some of the glow away from the original.
To test my theory, I hustled over to godaddy and regged some domain names that are close copies of the 'broadwayshows.com' original. Hmm. if someone from, say, Philly was about to spend a weekend in New York, what would she google in anticipation of buying show tickets? Ok, other than Broadway shows, what's available?
Which brings us to the quartet offered for sale at the head of this post. None of these domains has all the panache of 'broadwayshows.com' but each has a tad of value. The one I like best and which I think has the most value is 'broadwaymusicaltour.com.' Lots of tourists don't want to go to anything which might be a serious drama, they want musicals, tunes and songs. They might also want packages that bundle show tickets with hotel reservations and restaurant meals. This the 'tour' at the end.
OK, here's the challenge: was Van Loon right? Is something 'beautiful' or 'valuable' because it is unique or rare? If it ain't so rare, does it still attract an audience? Do people want Broadway shows, or Broadway musicals, or off-Broadway shows or musicals, or off-off-Broadway shows (there is such a thing, but it generally doesn't attract out-of-towners).
Click on any of the four domain names at the head of this post and you will be taken to the Sedo page which starts a Sedo auction for that individual name. I think it's a safe bet to say that none of the domain names listed above will fetch $800k (although I can dream). If you do bother to bid, you will be proving Van Loon's point in a very 21st century way.
You and I know Van Loon was right!
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