Pay to play...

[squank]

...

The clubs don't care. They are only in it to make $$$ and don't give a shit about your "art." There will always be a bunch of bands that are willing to do this just so they can play on the sunset strip (OMG!). As long as they can bring lots of their friends, the clubs do not care that the bands suck. Period.

This is the bottom line. And it's sooooo true. The club owners don't care one bit if they have the crappiest bands in the world playing their clubs. They only care about the # of people you bring in the door.

 

[Chris6870]

Its nothing new. My band was on a bill with Quiet Riot and another time with Testament. This was the mid 90's. We played regularly at this club and when they got national acts we got our shot to play. But of course we had to sell tickets. Basically we would sell as much as we could, eat whatever tickets were left over, hand the club owner a wad of cash and play for the other bands,their girlfriends and whoever they could rope into buying tickets. Then we went home thinking we were cool because we played on the same stage as a national act, not realizing how we just got screwed over.
Now I play in a cover band for money and fun and write and record original stuff for myself.

 

[Enjolras56]

We once played El Cid Restaurant/club in L.A. and the security guard was literally telling the bands " you guys better have at least 20 each out there for you guys or we're canceling you tonight. You're not here to practice.".

 

[Jordon]

I did something very simple. Started telling the venues "No."

This worked better when the venue or talent buyer WANTED us to play, or at least wanted us on the bill as filler or whatever.

They pay-to-play/only paid on door count/buy tickets from the venue crap shouldn't fly.

Sure, by saying no to their demands you don't get as many shows, but I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't play the same area more than 1 or 2 times a month, anyway.

FWIW, I know local, unsigned original bands that have $500-$1500 guarantees for shows. It can be done, it's all about how you go about putting your band out there. And connections, of course.

 

[joepete77]

Sad but true, most people these days could care less about live rock n roll , most kids or at least a great majority listen to rap or watered down radio shit, not like in other generations. It's hard , especially if you're not just doing a modern rock covers set. Lazy kids today would rather watch a band on YouTube or just download the stuff for free then pay to go see a show, many of the cool clubs have had to close down due to this, seems less and less cool venues every year.

 

[blackba]

man you guys are doing something wrong, my original disco band pulls in $5K a night and we are a trio. 6 nights a week and on the 7th day we count money. WTF kind of musicians are you.

Your the last person I would have suspected to be in a Disco band, but hey if you like it

 

[Mailman1971]

man you guys are doing something wrong, my original disco band pulls in $5K a night and we are a trio. 6 nights a week and on the 7th day we count money. WTF kind of musicians are you.

That was a kick ass night! I was there....I am the one in the shorts.
Some funky grooves there Brad!

 

[thiswaythatway]

In the NJ/NYC area you could make a living in a cover band 10 years ago. The cover band I was in played 3-5 nights a week and we averaged $1,000 a night for the band. And other bands made a lot more than we did. Take the Nerds for example, if you guys knew how much they made you would vomit. I talked to a club owner in Hoboken NJ who had to pay them $3500 for them to play his bar.........on a Wednesday. But the cover scene WAS big here and you didn't even have to bring people to the happening clubs, the crowds always just went to certain places. We played Jenkinsons in PT Pleasant, right on the beach, on some Thursday's in the Summer time and there's hundreds of people. On weekends forget it, the clubs like that have lines around the building and they could easily pay a band a few thousand no problem.

The trick to it all was you had to have the right managment and you had to impress certain club owners and you had to have a certain look. Fat bikers with beards couldn't play these places if you know what I mean. You had to keep 22 year old's entertained from 9:00pm to 2:00am. That meant playing stuff you probably hated.

The scene has declined even here though and I have heard the bands are not making that kind of dough anymore and the crowds aren't as big because the younger generations aren't going to bars and clubs as much. Why go out and meet people in person when you can bullshit all night for free on Twitter and Facebook!

 

[LP Freak]

Why go out and meet people in person when you can bullshit all night for free on Twitter and Facebook!

How do people get laid these days?

 

[thiswaythatway]

Why go out and meet people in person when you can bullshit all night for free on Twitter and Facebook!

How do people get laid these days?

 

[LP Freak]

Sad isn't it? I'm glad I grew up in the 80's.