I can't speak with certainty, but I have a guess it has to do with a few factors:

1) Exhibitors - this part of the convention has significantly diminished since I began teaching in Texas 20 years ago. There are some recent improvements, but they make up a huge bulk of the support for TMEA that keeps those lower.

2) Membership numbers: TBA is just band directors - no choir, orchestra, general music at all, and less college division. The convention center doesn't decrease the price that much I would assume when you use less rooms. Also, I'm hopeful that the numbers increase now that TBA has been able to get the dates to pivot earlier now, but attendance other than 2021 has been falling significantly from what I've seen for well over a decade.

3) Not sure how TCDA and TODA are doing it now - they used to be more expensive than TBA and I know they had members come pay our membership fees at times and then get into the convention center with that.


I agree the fees are too much in a lot of ways. I'm also nervous that news stories like I saw of complaints of school board members spending similar amounts at TASB start getting leveled at our world too.