While I appreciate the efforts of the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC) and the University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC) to bring concerts to students for a great price, I'm afraid that the letter to the editor from Al Karosas and Bernie Punt will not do us much good ("BJC's music scene in peril without students," April 2).

I've enjoyed many shows at the BJC, as well as a few other area venues (Crowbar, Eisenhower Auditorium, etc.), and I've been pretty satisfied with just about all of them. However, I think that we should look at other reasons for the low student turnout at BJC shows.

Their letter begins with "how promoters feel about" us (the students). When a promoter like Clear Channel Entertainment (they promote concerts and own billboards, radio stations, and even concert venues, among other things) has such a monopolistic control over the music industry, I don't expect them to have the interests of college students in mind.

Money is what they want, and if they aren't getting enough, the low student ticket sales should be an indication that either a) the price is too high, or b) students don't like who is playing. Sometimes, tickets for the BJC are pretty steep; $50 for a Dave Matthews Band show is pretty much the norm these days.

But when UPAC cuts the ticket costs and students still don't show up, then maybe the promoters should realize that students at Penn State don't want to see that particular artist, simple as that.

Maybe (and hopefully) it's a sign that college students are so sick of the same 40 overproduced, mediocre songs played on the radio, that they don't want to see those particular artists in concert. We don't need the same dozen or so pop-rock bands playing in State College all the time; we need a variety of musical genres infiltrating Happy Valley.

In the end, I am not all that disappointed to see concert promoters back out on the BJC and the students here at Penn State. However, I still appreciate the efforts of the BJC and UPAC to bring live music to students, as well as the rest of Central Pennsylvania. Instead of begging for students to come out and see more shows at the BJC, I think Karosas and Punt should push for more diverse musicians (maybe some we haven't seen here before) that will sell tickets on their own simply because they have variety and talent.

It's the music industry that needs to change, not the students.