General Music Chat

sorry, no dice on freebies.

like most serious musicians in possession of any self respect, i have much disdain and little patience or respect for anyone who expects musicians to give it away for free.....for "exposure".

Guess what...people DIE from "exposure".

and you're bragging about giving musicians a venue to be heard and seen? and oh yeah, sell cds??? big flying whoop! shame on you.

give me a break. what other profession would you expect to work for free? auto mechanics? plumbers? electricians? your dr? no, i didn't think so.

you're making money and you obviously believe that having live music at your venue will help you make MORE money. so, how about sharing some of that extra income instead of trying to take advantage of musicians?

With all due respect MAM, the only detail we need is you want hard working musicians to play for FREE. Why don't you try giving your food and drinks away for free geesh! How dare you! You have got some kind of NERVE!

Surely you've heard the old adage about "it takes money to make money"?

If you don't play any music at all (not a dj, not a juke box, not a band) the place will be absolutely dead and you're out of business quick. That is what musicians give you free already.

If you have bands willing to play for free, you might actually hit on one or two in a year that aren't so bad that they run everyone off. It sounds like you're hoping that a band will bring a crowd with them? If you do that, you will only have a crowd when certain bands come in but an empty room otherwise. If you have those same bands play all the time, you risk burning people out on them, especially if there is any other place your clientele could go for live music.

However, if your club gets known for always having great music (which will cost $$) you'll have an established clientele FOR THE VENUE who comes in all the time because they can expect something worth hearing. It's just a fact that the places which have established themselves as always having good live music are packed out in all major cities.

I suggest that you figure out a way to pay a band something, anything. Raise the drink prices, charge a cover, whatever works best for that situation. You'll find that decent bands will work cheap, but not free. It's more about self-respect for most of them, but this approach will start building an audience for your VENUE, and you can start budgeting more money for better bands and build it up to the point where your club always has an audience. THEN, you will have better bands willing to work cheap to play in front of an established crowd because they might sell some product too. You'll have national touring bands willing to come in cheap to fill an otherwise empty weeknight schedule.

But you won't build a lasting club on "free". You'll have amateur night every night and it will fade like dead roses.


The choice is yours....

What a joke. Note that this lady doesn't tell you the details on the venue and uses a yahoo address - real professional! Why would you not want to share who/what/where you actually are?
Look lady - if you are actually getting entertainers there, then your clientele DO expect some kind entertainment, even if it isn't very good. 9 bands in one day? Really? And just how much money did these bands get selling CDs and tshirts and in future bookings from this prestigious clientele?

There was a thing posted today on the Berklee (School of Music)'s web board for a weekly gig at the Sheraton Boston - for no pay, 'lots of exposure' - people are up in arms, and it may make the news when musicians picket the place!

looks like she's packed her tents up and split in those mighty trucks of midnight!

right on point, just this morning i got an email from someone at a local army base along these very same lines:

Good Morning Gentleman,

I am looking for a band to play our annual Open House. We are a lake recreation area for _____. This will be the 3rd year we have had this Open House. We are a military facility but this event we open to the public. Some history; The first year we only had 30 participants, the second year we had 300, so we are expecting a big turnout. We have other activities going during the band playing. We have water inflatable’s, land inflatable’s, games, hayride, boat tours (of the lake), and we give away free hotdogs and drinks. Everything is located in the same area, with exception of the tours, so visibility is high. It is a great event to get out information and visibility. The event will be held 30 May from 1100-1400. If you are interested please let me know and we can open the lines of communication.

Thank you,



i then sent back this response:

Good Morning .

Thanks for your reply and interest. You mention that "visibility is high. It is a great event to get out information and visibility."

That usually is code for...."no pay for the band". If this is the case, I'm sorry but we will not be able to help you out. We're professional musicians and this is what we do for a living. So, just like auto mechanics, plumbers, electricians, etc....we cannot give it away, but instead expect to be paid for our work. I trust you will understand that we're not looking for "visibility" or to "get out information". Those don't pay the bills! (-:

If however you do have funds to pay the band (and we are reasonable) we can discuss matters further.

Thank You,
Mark Atkins Lieberman

awwww jimmy, now ya got me feelin' all bad!

"kids"?....yeah, if only it was JUST kids playing free and next to nothing all to get out there playing in front of people. don't get me started!

update! i just heard back from the gal at the base w this....

We have funds to pay a band it is just dependent on the cost. If you can send me a rough cost, I will send it up my chain of command and see if I can get it approved. Do you by chance have anything recorded (a sample) or a you tube video, so I can send that up as well.

so, i sent her a cpl of videos and i gave her a good rate. we'll see where it goes.

$ Nailed it $

Surely you've heard the old adage about "it takes money to make money"?

*snip*

However, if your club gets known for always having great music (which will cost $$) you'll have an established clientele FOR THE VENUE who comes in all the time because they can expect something worth hearing. It's just a fact that the places which have established themselves as always having good live music are packed out in all major cities.

*snip*

But you won't build a lasting club on "free". You'll have amateur night every night and it will fade like dead roses.


The choice is yours....

It's remarkable how things have changed, and maybe it's only in the part of the country I live in now. But as I stated a new band in 2013 I went around to different venues to see about playing there and was really surprised at what they pay or not pay. Example in Springdale there is a Mexocan Restaurant that has an outside patio and basically it is packed with people eating and drinking, I found out the band gets a $100 for a 3 or 4 hour gig there? I was really surprised to hear that. Several other Bars/eatery places, said " we pay $100"

If the bands would just think about what they are doing they could put a stop to that type of pay insult to any musician, or bands. If you let it happen, it will never stop.

All it takes is a couple of 'low-ballers' to knock the payscale into the toilet. I've seen $100 for a solo performer offered recently - 3 hour gig. I'm sure someone took it. There's too many players and not enough venues - if you're making music as your only source of income, you take everything you can get.