merchandising bands

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merchandising bands

by arora007 » Wed Jul 14, 2010 12:23 pm
source: McGraw Hill's Conquering GMAT Verbal and writing

Most popular bands make most of their money on merchan-
dising rather than on record sales. One band, the Turtles, has
decided that the best way to increase its pro�ts is to release
new records very rarely and spend much of its time touring.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the conclusion
reached above?

A. Fans of the band will not discontinue attending concerts and
buying band merchandise if the band does not frequently release
new material.
B. The Turtles are one of the top selling bands in the country.
C. Tours are the best ways of exposing fans to new band merchan-
dise.
D. Changes in the way music is distributed electronically allow
bands to save money on record production.
E. Industry analysts predict a slight decrease in the average price of
concert tickets this year.

If you choose a choice please explain why.

OA-A
Last edited by arora007 on Thu Jul 15, 2010 2:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by debmalya_dutta » Wed Jul 14, 2010 8:30 pm
Is it C?

Conclusion - the best way to increase its pro�ts is to release new records very rarely and spend much of its time touring.

A. Fans of the band will not discontinue attending concerts and buying band merchandise if the band does not frequently release new material. doesnt support the conclusion rather weakens the argument i.e proves that the band's plan will fail
B. The Turtles are one of the top selling bands in the country. - doesnt have any relationship to the conclusion of spending more time on touring.
C. Tours are the best ways of exposing fans to new band merchandise. - This is proof that the band plan of increasing profit through tours will work
D. Changes in the way music is distributed electronically allow
bands to save money on record production. - irrelevant to the conclusion . Kind of out of scope too
E. Industry analysts predict a slight decrease in the average price of
concert tickets this year. - obviously the plan to increase profits is dependent on increased selling/exposure to merchandise and not really based on ticket prices

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by diebeatsthegmat » Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:53 pm
arora007 wrote:source: McGraw Hill's Conquering GMAT Verbal and writing

Most popular bands make most of their money on merchan-
dising rather than on record sales. One band, the Turtles, has
decided that the best way to increase its pro�ts is to release
new records very rarely and spend much of its time touring.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the conclusion
reached above?

A. Fans of the band will not discontinue attending concerts and
buying band merchandise if the band does not frequently release
new material.
B. The Turtles are one of the top selling bands in the country.
C. Tours are the best ways of exposing fans to new band merchan-
dise.
D. Changes in the way music is distributed electronically allow
bands to save money on record production.
E. Industry analysts predict a slight decrease in the average price of
concert tickets this year.

If you choose a choice please explain why.
is it C

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by kamalsinghy » Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:39 am
I believe that Ans should be A.

A. take the negation of this statement and then you will find that the conclusion is unlikely to happen. The author says that merchandising causes more profit and therefore Turtles is supposed to follow those step in order to increase merchandising. But if they don't release new records and if the fans don't attend concert nor they do buy merchandise, then Turtles plan to increase the profits will be shattered. Correct.

B. Not relevant because it doesn't tell anything why plan is good.

C. This is also strengthening the conclusion but what if option A doesn't hold.

D. Not relevant.

E. Not relevant.

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by Shawshank » Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:44 am
IMO -- C

Tours are the best way of exposing BAnd merchandise. This will directly support the conclusion. "Most popular bands make most of their money on merchan- dising rather than on record sales."

Hope this helps
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by arora007 » Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:24 am
kamalsinghy wrote:I believe that Ans should be A.

A. take the negation of this statement and then you will find that the conclusion is unlikely to happen. The author says that merchandising causes more profit and therefore Turtles is supposed to follow those step in order to increase merchandising. But if they don't release new records and if the fans don't attend concert nor they do buy merchandise, then Turtles plan to increase the profits will be shattered. Correct.

B. Not relevant because it doesn't tell anything why plan is good.

C. This is also strengthening the conclusion but what if option A doesn't hold.

D. Not relevant.

E. Not relevant.
u hit the point!
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by reply2spg » Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:43 am
Actually A is written in very confused way. Remember that two negatives make one positive.

for example - I don't know nothing (from the movie American Gngster). This means I know something

Let me rephrase option A

Fans of the band will Continue (not discontinue) attending concerts and
buying band merchandise if the band rarely (does not frequently) release
new material

I hope now A will be the clear choice for everyone. Most of the time GMAT does not give option in simple language. It uses very confusing language and we have to concentrate more and more on that option.
arora007 wrote:source: McGraw Hill's Conquering GMAT Verbal and writing

Most popular bands make most of their money on merchan-
dising rather than on record sales. One band, the Turtles, has
decided that the best way to increase its pro�ts is to release
new records very rarely and spend much of its time touring.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the conclusion
reached above?

A. Fans of the band will not discontinue attending concerts and
buying band merchandise if the band does not frequently release
new material.
B. The Turtles are one of the top selling bands in the country. - Let it be, how will it support to conclusion?
C. Tours are the best ways of exposing fans to new band merchan-
dise. - Though this is correct, you are not sure whether this band can attract people and make money. Therefore, I ruled this option
D. Changes in the way music is distributed electronically allow
bands to save money on record production. - 'electronically' some new information. Band is doing cost cutting, but how does this profit band. No information whether it is attracting more people for its concert
E. Industry analysts predict a slight decrease in the average price of
concert tickets this year. - This is irrelevant

If you choose a choice please explain why.

OA-A
Sudhanshu
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