you don’t need to do this.
Posted on | December 1, 2009 | 1 Comment
Hey there, aspiring performers of NYC! Let me introduce you to bullshit.
Now that my one man show is done, I’m out looking to get booked at bars for music as I prep my songs to record my album. I decided to troll craigslist because I’ve gotten lucky there before with people needing to fill slots. I saw an ad for “Acoustic Musicians wanted” so I emailed them to find out what the deal was.
I’m not going to post names of the bar or the production company because my intent here isn’t to smear anyone, it’s to educate. To tell people You Simply Don’t Have to Do This.
Hi Joe,
I can put you on for THIS Friday, December 4th, at 11:30pm….. or the 18th …8:30pm. I just ask that you bring at least 6 people down to see you please. (we ask for ten but I’ll be lenient)
There is a $10.00 cover on Fridays and there are usually about 7 acts that play on a Friday night. The club keeps the first ten people that pay to see you, everyone thereafter to see you you keep.
go to xxxxxxproductions.com and hit [name of bar], then hit backline, photos, calendar etc…
I’ll need to know ASAP ok???
thanks and hope you’ll join us!
J
Ok…
So I am expected to bring 10 people, at ten bucks a pop, to see a night of musicians pulled from Craigslist? I saw two touring bands and a local opener last week at Cake Shop for eight bucks. That’s problem one.
Secondly, Ok, so I bring ten people. Let’s say those people average a drink each. I have now brought $160 bucks into the bar and I still haven’t made anything. If I bring the magic 11th person then I make ten bucks.
This is a great deal if you bring 50 people into the club, but let’s face it… these kind of small bar, shitty PA nights are geared towards people just starting out. They don’t have a real following as a performer. If they did they wouldn’t be playing nights like this. And when they’re set up this way, they’re a scam. Because if they were really trying/expecting to get 50 people into the club, it would be a % of everything past ten, not all to the performer.
Bars don’t need creepy “production companies” to have a night of fucking acoustic music. Get a half decent PA and have a musician come in and run a night. Try to build a community instead of trying to scam fifty bucks out of some artist who doesn’t know better. Communities STAY and DRINK.
Bars are fucking lazy. There’s so much great music in this town, charging ten bucks for a bill of thrown together singer songwriters is like practically begging for it not to happen. Have a headliner, at least. Doesn’t need to be a name but at least someone GOOD.
If you see something like this, run. I dealt with this shit all the time when I was in bands. You bring 9 people, they count them all. You bring 17 people, all of a sudden it’s 12. I don’t know this bar they’re talking about, looks like a little place on the LES. But there are TONS of places like this where you can play for free. Or put together a really great night, charge five bucks, and everyone makes money. If there’s three parties involved, and only two are guaranteed money, you’re fucked.
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December 1st, 2009 @ 2:36 pm
Yep!
and Yep!