General Music Chat

We have local businesses looking at us to help promote them, and vise versa. Such places would be 2/3 music stores in the area, and a place called food factory (dining establishment).

Honestly this is a hard one for me ive done the pros and cons list but its still even as some things weigh more than others.
(*I am not going to list the names of the stores besides the dining place becuase we already have a small deal with them. The reason why is becuase promotion is a two way thing, and if we arent promotoed by them, i feel its wrong to promote them.)

Music Store 1 (MS1) Has great venues to play at (yes they own some venues) Steady crowd, and great overall package. (recording, instruments, venues, photos, video.) But they only sell Fender products which none of us play. However, they are the only store up here that offers a marvelous drum selection. so only 1/3 of us could really benefit off of instrument savings (a big weight as mentioned earlier.) Plus, they are a great media source.

MS2 Has no venues, a small recording studio, and no photo service. However, they are exclent luthiers, sell instruments that me and our lead guitarist use, and are very friendly people. Of course this helps me out but it screws our drummer. the venue that MS1 owns would become unavailable to us becuase of us being sponsered by MS2. Thus narrowing off some media selection in exhange for better (in our opinion) instruments.

Whats the better of the two evils?
Instruments -drum > +drums Media
Instruments -drum < +drums Media

Who needs you the most ????

That's what I would use as my guide not what I can get from them.

Not only from a "WWJD" standpoint. But because great things can happen when people truly work for each others benefit. Not just their own.

The drummer could make his own sponsorship deal with that particular store. He then gets the discounts, and the band still gets promoted...

"MS1 MUSIC is a proud sponsor of John Doe, drummer for...."

Individuals can get sponsorship deals just as a band would.

You never brought up the most important questions....FREE BEER AND PRETTY WOMEN.
That was the main concern of my band 4 years ago.
We were called "LOOSE WOMEN TIGHTENED HERE" It didn't go over with alot of MOMS,,,,,,untill they found out how old we all were.
Perks man, you gotta think of the perks, hell , do you think MICK is still out on the road for the money.

Ya know, these days, when I think of sponsorships, I keep thinking of the MMA sponsors. They crack me up. There's always at least 5 guys on any given fight night in the UFC who have a condom advert on thier butts.

I can't help it. I have a 14 yr old sense of humor sometimes. I think that ad would be better placed on the FRONT of the shorts, but that's just me, I guess...

Bottom lines for me - is it a product or service that would embarass me? and - Who's gonna back me with the most moolah?

They don't really have to advertise me if they're paying me money, though it's a plus if they do.

As far as your particular situation, I think if you had two sponsors who are in competition, you'd have a conflict of interest. You seem to really like MS2, but will they be a better sponsor for your band? In this case, I'd be looking for who does THE BAND the best service. I doubt anyone would get PO'd if you also had the restaurant as a co-sponsor, since they aren't in competition with any music store, but I'd talk with all of the estabishments & make my decision based on who is best for the entire band, rather than 1 or 3 members.

Oh FLOCK, there you go again Phil being realistic and trying to figure out a good way to win.
I like that thing about apples.

Ya know, these days, when I think of sponsorships, I keep thinking of the MMA sponsors. They crack me up. There's always at least 5 guys on any given fight night in the UFC who have a condom advert on thier butts.

I can't help it. I have a 14 yr old sense of humor sometimes. I think that ad would be better placed on the FRONT of the shorts, but that's just me, I guess...

Bottom lines for me - is it a product or service that would embarass me? and - Who's gonna back me with the most moolah?

They don't really have to advertise me if they're paying me money, though it's a plus if they do.

As far as your particular situation, I think if you had two sponsors who are in competition, you'd have a conflict of interest. You seem to really like MS2, but will they be a better sponsor for your band? In this case, I'd be looking for who does THE BAND the best service. I doubt anyone would get PO'd if you also had the restaurant as a co-sponsor, since they aren't in competition with any music store, but I'd talk with all of the estabishments & make my decision based on who is best for the entire band, rather than 1 or 3 members.

That is some funny shyt !!

I must be 14 going on 50.

Go with MS1.
Buy a Fender P Bass.
Be happy.

Go with MS1.
Buy a Fender P Bass.
Be happy.

I dont wanna get chased off this forum like i did Talkbass,
but a fender would be a MAJOR downgrade in playability, tone, and overall performance, from my current set up.

Theres a reason Mesa came to be, and its becuase fender was/is so bad for tone that something had to be done. But then again like I said before, they dont cater to my bass needs. Just my opinion.

I'm going to reiterate my point here.

If you want to succeed you need to work with people whom can succeed with you.
The best sponsorship IMO is a form of partnership for success.
If your just a disposable asset as in advertisement alone, you might as well just buy a Sharpie and go around writing your bands name on bathroom stalls.
Hate to be replace because they get a good deal for putting their store logo on some Frisbees.

Im curious what do you mean by sponsorship.

Generally its just a discount, our basssit had a dean sponsorship and they gave him a 40% discount off MSRP, the sad thing was if you hunted around you can get a better deal by shopping around.

The word sponsorship always bothered me as I have a background in racing motorcyles, It generally didnt mean much.

Our bassist is currently working for Playboy Energy Drinks they will provide product for our shows, no money but it kinda looks good having Play boy on board with Aint Yo Mama, they kinda go together.

I have gotten some local business to pay us to advertise them at gigs. I had a bike shop, a car dealership, and a bank. A couple of stores.

More bands should take this approach, if you know folks that own local business's approach them about backing your band. Tell them you have an audience, you can put their services or products in front of people. You will do this for X amount of money per gig. They give you some calendars or promotional stuff to destribute to your audience. This is what the big boys do, theres no reason youc ant do it on a smaller local level and it might be the difference between being paid and not being paid.

Damn, JW! That's what I thought "sponsorship" meant - monetary backing.

I never would advertise anyone just for a questionable "discount" on thier products.

Philby, In motorcycle racing, every kid has hundreds of sponsors, but they arent getting anything out of it. I won a couple of big series and got a couple of contract deals that did make a difference money wise if you were going to use their product. But in bike racing there are place called sponsorhouse tht you pay a fee and then the companys caome at you from everywhere, but youhave to buy a certain amount of product in order to get the discounts.

Just watch what you are geting into with a sponsorship cause the meaning has been blurred some over the last few years.

Thanks for the heads up, JW. Things sure are changing...& not for the better, I see! Seems like everyone wants a piece of our income, doesn't it?

So what Im getting from this is just do individual sponsorships?
Thats sounds like the best idea ive heard yet, that and approching any business with marketing ploys. These are all really great ideas everyone.
I dont have a firm deadline, so im gonna keep listening for golden ideas, take advantage of all i can ya know?