Ross Brown Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Ok. We have a good demo and have been hitting the pavement giving it to clubs/bars. Got one gig so far. My question is, should I be willing to offer a rate that is much lower than what we want to charge in order to get gigs and then expect to develop a reputation and charge more later? I thought about offering a free gig with the caveat that we book two or three more at regular price. I don't think our asking price is high (confirmed by one bar owner so far). We ask $400 per gig if it is a full night ie 9:30pm -1am. We figured that this was our introductory price and we could raise it if our demand goes way up. I think it is a bargain price. There are 4 of us in the band. We are not in a "big" city but there are a good number of places to play in the area. Should we offer/agree to less? Develop a following this way, or hold out for asking rate? If we don't think we are valuable why should anyone else? Does this thinking hold true in this situation? The goal is to get paying gigs. I would apprectiate experiences and opinions. What works? Thanks. "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geoff Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Our 1st gig in a new place is usually at 4/5 of the normal price. G. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the World will know Peace": Jimi Hendrix http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=738517&content=music The Geoff - blame Caevan!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Somehow I think that if you charge less than you want to get, you'll never get your asking price. If you decide to do that (or play one gig for free--which I don't recommend) make sure that you pack the place. If you want to play a gig "for free", tell them that you won't charge the club anything, but you'll charge $5 at the door. If 80 people come in, you've got your 400 dollars and the bar owner knows that you can draw people. Make sure you have your own person on the door and do not let your friends in free. If they are your friends, they can come up with $5. "Building a following" is an interesting proposition. Does it mean that you play someplace and hope that people who walk think you are great and each one of them tells a half dozen people, "you've got to go see this band the next time they play". Who are the people who walk in? Club regulars? People who walk in off the street because they hear a band playing? Can you get a cd to a reviewer for a local paper or giveaway paper so you can get a write up BEFORE you play this place? I've seen clubs fill up because someone in the paper raved about a band saying, "you've got to see them, the singer is the next Chaka Khan". She wasn't, but the room was full. One of the reasons why younger bands often have a better shot at building a following is that they have a network of acquaintances through school who might come out. My friends are all grown with families and it's like pulling teeth to get them to come out to hear a band. "I can't get a babysitter". "We're out of town that weekend" "Let me know when you play someplace closer" "It's too late at night" "etc." "etc". Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Brown Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 Thanks Jeremy, Working on getting a write up in a local entertainment paper. My friends are older too. If I weren't playing I would think it is too late too on many nights. Maybe not a following per se. how about just a good reputation.... maybe they are the same thing... I don't know. "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 You know sometimes reverse logic works. I went to the Royal Acedemy in London last night to look at this years entrants to the Annual Art Prize. All the art was for sale. Prices ranged between £200 and £30,000. Most of the artists were unknown to folk like me and so how is the art valued? If you ask £30,000 then you're making a statement about your worth and your position as an artist. Just saying ... Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Brown Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 Yes! That is the question.... in a way. Self valuation, does it apply to bands asking price for gigs? "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brocko777 Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Yeah, Davo has a point there. Did you buy anything Davo? heh Bar owners don't care if you have a good reputation, just that you can bring the people in. So it is more of a draw factor than just playing great music. (Not that it doesn't hurt to have that part of the equation) Go in with a price that you are happy with. If you are getting booked more and more tell the first bar owners that you've gotten a larger demographic and have since increased your rate. If the owner knows that he has a good night whenever you come in then paying the extra won't hurt 'em. If other clubs are paying more for you then it won't hurt not to play the lower paying clubs you started with. Thats where your reputation will start to come into play. Keep us posted on whats happening. Brocko Don't have a job you don't enjoy. If you're happy in what you're doing, you'll like yourself, you'll have inner peace. ~ Johnny Carson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Ah, the joys of negotiation theory! Tell them higher than you want, then offer a substantial discount for your first gig on the basis that subsequent gigs will receive greater pay. People believe they get what they pay for - make them pay more and they'll think you're better than if you're a bargain. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil W Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Good one, Alex! http://philwbass.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbn Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Bar owners don't care if you have a good reputation, just that you can bring the people in. So it is more of a draw factor than just playing great music. (Not that it doesn't hurt to have that part of the equation) Yeah, it is pretty much dollars and cents with the bar owners. You might find some places that have all genres (rock, country, oldies) on different nights for different crowds. Those places are actually pretty cool because if you are lucky you'll get to play for good money to larger, built in crowd. Rather than playing a free or cheap gig, you might try to jump in on an open mic with a stripped down version of the band if the bar has one. One good thing about living in a large city is that there are a ton of crappy, low paying gigs out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 Take your CD to the venue and make sure you speak to the person who books the gigs. If they are not there find out when they will be and come back or make an appointment. Get a booking there and then and ask them to listen to the CD later to make sure that you can play like you say you can. Don't just give them the CD and expect them to listen and then call you. Find out what they pay the other bands and charge the same. Each venue will probably pay differently. You may have to wait a few weeks for a slot, take a date and in the mean time leave a card and tell them to call if they get a last minute cancellation. Hassle them again after two weeks. Feel the groove internally within your own creativity. - fingertalkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhomer Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 I'd be very careful about the cut-rate idea. As a musician, it is to everyone's advantage to make sure clubs are not getting away with offering bands sub-standard pay. Like any other commodity, be it bands, food, or gasoline, if you can save a dollar by finding someone who will take less to provide what you want... Musicians/bands can soon get an unfavorable local reputation amongst their peers for such tactics.. In fact several years back a couple of local bands were doing just that. They were booking places at $150 per night.. places that normally paid $350 or better. got to the point where decent bands were traveling out of town to find money.. To this day I refuse to work with those individuals. If certain names come up I politely decline.. Annyhoo.. around this neck of the woods, bands are getting roughly $75 per member per night on average from the bars.. This is starting point, and it goes from there.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Brown Posted June 30, 2007 Author Share Posted June 30, 2007 Take your CD to the venue and make sure you speak to the person who books the gigs. If they are not there find out when they will be and come back or make an appointment. Get a booking there and then and ask them to listen to the CD later to make sure that you can play like you say you can. Don't just give them the CD and expect them to listen and then call you. Find out what they pay the other bands and charge the same. Each venue will probably pay differently. You may have to wait a few weeks for a slot, take a date and in the mean time leave a card and tell them to call if they get a last minute cancellation. Hassle them again after two weeks. I like your approach. Will definately try it. "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Brown Posted July 2, 2007 Author Share Posted July 2, 2007 Got another call tonight from a bar that heard the demo. They really liked it and wanted to know our price. They tried to undercut it by a lot. Said the room only holds 75 people. blah blah blah... Problem is, we really want to play so patience it tough. But also don't want to fill up schedule with low paying gigs... Wish I had a crystal ball. "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Another approach is to decide how many lower paid gigs you can take. Once you have that magic number, turn on the screws and don't go out for less than your high figure. Ideally we would like to gig every month, some of the band members would like to gig more, some less. Strangely though, if the gigs are well enough paid the number of members who want to play also goes up. . So we go out for minimum once a month. Once we have a gig a month we can then start turning down gigs unless they are well paid. Your figures/number of gigs will obviously differ. Obviously. Feel the groove internally within your own creativity. - fingertalkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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