Greetings!
we’re CAVE, a new organization focused on bridging the gap in the local music scene by building a strong mid-level scene!
I’m sure many of you guys who play in bands have faced the following scenario: you want to play in a gig, and the organizer/promoter says “I’ll let you play even if you suck, as long as you sell a minimum of X tickets at $Y”.
Some bands do this effortlessly, others struggle to meet the quota and end up forking out their own money for unsold tickets. This is according to what was agreed upon.
Is it any coincidence that these gigs never seem to make much impact or help the scene?
Let’s look at it from the organizers perspective. Suppose we organize a gig. We book a venue, such as DXO, Phunk Bar, etc. And we rent equipment. Then, we simply advertise: 12 bands wanted for gig at -insert venue-! Minimum ticket sales 15 tickets at $15 each!
It’s not illegal and it’s not unfair- if all goes well, there will be a crowd of 180 people + the other bands, which might be about 11 other bands x 4 members per band, so a expected turnout of +220 pax.
But what actually happens? From the organizer’s perspective, the show is over before it already begins- every band HAS to pay him their $225 no matter what, whether or not there is a good crowd, whether or not the equipment worked at all, whether or not the event was successful.
Do these organizers deserve to be given 12 x $225, or $2700 upfront?
What would you do if you were such an organizer and had that kind of money in your hands, even before the show happens? Would you bother to put in much effort in running the show smoothly? Would you bother promoting the events to the public to boost ticket sales, having the knowledge that no matter what you’d be making the same amount of money?
What this scenario ultimately creates is the organizer who doesn’t have to give a crap because he’s getting the money anyway. This leads to sub-par gigs, unhappy bands, uphappy crowds- and this, we believe, is hurting our scene.
We believe that it is the organizer/promoters job to hire good bands that can naturally draw crowds, and to promote and publicize the event to the general public and target audience so that the crowd will be a good one. By hiring only quality bands, you won’t see the crowd getting bored and lazy watching sub-par bands play. A good crowd energy coupled with good quality bands will result in a good show! If an promoter builds a reputation for organizing good, quality shows, everybody benefits!
Why isn’t this happening today? It involves alot of hard work on the organizer’s behalf- work which they don’t need to do, because bands are willing to simply put the money in their pockets.
I’m not asking you to support our events simply because we don’t force bands to sell tickets- i’m simply asking you to choose the gigs you want to support wisely. Your collective effort can make or break the scene.
Cheers!
-Visa
http://www.myspace.com/armchaircritic
http://www.myspace.com/CAVEvents