N ow that MC Hammer has handed out his roses and 52-year-old Joan Jett has rocked Boise’s face off, let me toss out the obvious question: Will there be another Boise Music Festival in 2012?

With an estimated crowd of 70,000 people in Ann Morrison Park for the second straight year, you’d think that answer is a given.

But speaking to Kevin Godwin, senior vice president of Peak Broadcasting — the free festival’s organizer — you get the sense that it’s not quite a no-brainer.

“We’re very excited about how it went,” a still-weary-sounding Godwin said this week, noting how smoothly things ran compared to the festival’s crowded debut in 2010. Adjustments in staffing, security and layout improved the experience.

“I don’t want to sound like we’re upset at all or not excited with the way it worked out,” Godwin added.

But there’s just one little thing.

“When you put as much work into it as you did for 12 months, you hope that you’re able to get a margin on a show that is a little bit better,” he said.

Translation: For such a soul-crushing amount of time, effort and, yes, expense (“It would blow people’s mind,” Godwin said), the sophomore Boise Music Festival did not generate the sort of profit organizers had hoped for.

“It’s not significant,” Godwin said. “It’s not a thing where you go, ‘Woo, man, you hit a home run here.’

“We hit a home run on all the intangibles,” he said.

There’s value in that. It’s great publicity for Peak. It’s terrific for relationships with clients, fans and listeners. It’s excellent branding. But Peak still has a challenge to keep this thing from following in the footsteps of Boise Curb Cup: Two years of fun — and done.

“At the end of the day, the sponsors are who pay for this event, and we’ve got to make sure they have a great day, too,” Godwin said.

“We’ll figure it out,” Godwin added. “We’ve just got to be more efficient with it and find some way to make it a little bit better for business. We loved it, and we learned a lot, and we feel like we can still make it a lot better.”

Here’s the thing: Boiseans didn’t just want to see Hammer, Jett, Sugar Ray and dozens of local acts for free. They also wanted to haul in their own food, soda and beer.

Look, I get it. Times are tough. But this was not a positive development for the 200 or so vendors hoping to stimulate the local economy. And although beer-vending staff and facilities were tripled over last year — and lines sped up, consequently — beer sales were about the same, Godwin said.

How mysterious. (“Yo, dude, hand me another one of those Bud Light Cheladas out of your cooler!”)

So what’s the answer? Secure the area? Spend tens of thousands on fencing to keep the BYOB riff-raff out of the entire festival area?

Hey, what did the Boise River Festival do?

Oh, that’s right. Went bankrupt.

The Boise Music Festival doesn’t appear ready to throw in any sort of towel just yet.

“We’ll find a way to do the festival,” Godwin said. “I don’t necessarily want to scale it down, but if we can find some ways to scale down some of the expenses …”

It would help.

Maybe they eliminate a couple of side stages and have local musicians perform on two farther-apart stages instead. Maybe they webcast the event and generate a few bucks with sponsorships online. Maybe they sell more merchandise. (Sounds like coozies would be big, right?)

And maybe they try to convince Boiseans that spending a few bucks on concessions is a way to say thanks for the free concert. (Next year: Rebecca Black. Please!)

“We have to hope that the community feels good about having a free event like this for them,” Godwin said, “and that they support it. We need their support.”

ENTERTAINMENT NOTES

* Look out, Alive After Five, Thursday Thunder is gunnin’ for ya! Marshall Crenshaw, who sang the hit “Someday, Someway” in 1982, will perform free Aug. 4 at the Boise Spectrum. Details, page 18.

* Ticket reminder: Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson will perform together Sept. 26 at the Morrison Center in Boise. Tickets go on sale for $57.50-$77.50 Aug. 1 at Select-a-Seat. Or check my “Words & Deeds” blog for a presale link.

Michael Deeds co-hosts “The Other Studio” at 9 p.m. Sundays on 94.9 FM “The River”; he appears Thursdays on Channel 6 News. Twitter: @IDS_Deeds.