I received an e-mail today. (Pay for play rant + proposal)

HeartShake

Some of you may have also received it, but I'm not going to name names.

It was from a promoter offering my band, and others, the "opportunity" to buy €100 worth of tickets from him to play Shebeen Chic, with the promise that "if we brought a crowd", we stood to make money on a future gig in Whelans, The Village or Button Factory.

Now I've been gigging long enough to know that pay for play is a bad idea so I asked the promoter what exactly he did do, if not sell tickets, provide a backline or make any effort to draw a crowd himself.

So, rather than just annoy folks on a message board with a story of an email I got, I decided to do something.

So here it is; I'm offering to collaborate and organise gigs with anyone that wants to, anywhere in the country.

3 or 4 bands splitting costs, promotion, backline and the door sounds a lot better than paying a middle man to me.

The fact is, the only thing guys like this get is the venue. Back in the day, this was a problem because some venues were fairly exclusive about who they let book them, but the death of the pub has given that power to bands.

If each band committed to getting the same 20 people to show up on the night as they would have to sell tickets to, that means 60 or 80 people at a gig, the majority of whom have never heard you.

If the running order is decided on the night, with everyone told to be there at 9pm, the dreaded walkout after your mates play can be avoided and people can be exposed to new bands.

Merch sales wouldn't be split as they're a band-exclusive expense.

Anyone interested in this system? Sound a little more equitable?

If you are drop me a PM.

igradar

lol

HeartShake

igradar wrote: »

lol

Thanks for your input, very constructive!

Malice

igradar if you have nothing relevant or constructive to add please don't bother posting. This isn't After Hours.

Fandango

HeartShake wrote: »

Some of you may have also received it, but I'm not going to name names.

It was from a promoter offering my band, and others, the "opportunity" to buy €100 worth of tickets from him to play Shebeen Chic, with the promise that "if we brought a crowd", we stood to make money on a future gig in Whelans, The Village or Button Factory.

Now I've been gigging long enough to know that pay for play is a bad idea so I asked the promoter what exactly he did do, if not sell tickets, provide a backline or make any effort to draw a crowd himself.

So, rather than just annoy folks on a message board with a story of an email I got, I decided to do something.

So here it is; I'm offering to collaborate and organise gigs with anyone that wants to, anywhere in the country.

3 or 4 bands splitting costs, promotion, backline and the door sounds a lot better than paying a middle man to me.

The fact is, the only thing guys like this get is the venue. Back in the day, this was a problem because some venues were fairly exclusive about who they let book them, but the death of the pub has given that power to bands.

If each band committed to getting the same 20 people to show up on the night as they would have to sell tickets to, that means 60 or 80 people at a gig, the majority of whom have never heard you.

If the running order is decided on the night, with everyone told to be there at 9pm, the dreaded walkout after your mates play can be avoided and people can be exposed to new bands.

Merch sales wouldn't be split as they're a band-exclusive expense.

Anyone interested in this system? Sound a little more equitable?

If you are drop me a PM.

Got the very same email and just deleted it. My question is, they say if you dont sell the quota, you are not guarenteed a slot on the night. What if you sell 10 tickets to mates, they say its not enough and so you cant play. You now have 10 people who bought tickets to see your band and your not even playing. I do have to hand it to them on being up front about it tho as most people involved in pay-to-play will string you along for a while with promises of a paid gig before dropping the bombshell but decided a long time ago not to do those gigs as the band rarely make enough for a pint from them.

Kenickie

Not in a band at the moment but it's the best idea I've heard for a long time. Nice one and best of luck.

RC88

that email sounds dodgy to me, would'nt jump for it myself if i had to buy a ton of tickets to an unknown's gig and had no garentee that i'd sell em all

other idea sounds alright though, could do well but u wanna make sure that the gig pays enough for all the bands in the sydincate and that none of the acts decides to back out at the last minute to do other gigs

drumdrum

Yeah avoid those scammers man. Sure most of them have never been in a band themselves and dont understand the true logistics of running a night from both sides of the fence.

Your own idea is decent, but there is one problem I foresee. Deciding on the order when you get there is one thing, but there is no way to guarantee that the people wont leave when their mates band has played. You can never guarantee this with people often citing "last bus/luas" as the reason for leaving. In my experience the "headline" slot is often the worst slot of the night, with band 2 or 3 being the best slot you can get. I know that sharing the backline can alleviate some of this, but Ive known bands to leg it when their done and return at the end to pick up their gear. Then you get issues with bands "forgetting" to bring gear, or saying that they will bring an amp and turning up with a piece of **** amp that makes all the bands sound crap on the night.

All the best though with running your night though....