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Originally Posted by targa911S
What's up with this? Lately we have been barraged with request to play shows,
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Your gigging info must have gotten traded or sold to a mailing list.
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Originally Posted by targa911S
but ALL of them are requiring preshow ticket sales. Blocks of tickets are assigned to the artist and they are required to sell them all or pay the difference.
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Welcome to LA, 1987. And 2011.
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Originally Posted by targa911S
So anybody here doing this?
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No.
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Originally Posted by targa911S
Seems these guys are everywhere.
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That's because there's no downside for the (cough) "promoter." No shared risk. If he can find x number of bands who will each buy enough tickets to cover, then no problem.
There's A LOT of bands out there. Professional ones, and also Weekend Warriors, and that's great. But all bands want to go play somewhere, that's the whole fun of the thing. In local markets, the club doesn't want to take the risk in having Joe Blo band from down the street come play, and maybe not be very good, and maybe not bring in any customers to the bar. So, with "pay to play", there's a lot less risk for the club, and Joe Blo band can beg all their friends to buy tickets to come down to the show, and the bar will have some people in it
Unfortunately, he gets all the upside if there is any. He also gets all the walk-up sales, all the online sales, all the (non band) presales, and on and on.
Pay to Play can be a reasonable arrangement, but hardly ever. If you're being asked to pay face value for the tickets from the club/promoter, you're getting the shaft.
A good promoter won't do 'pay to play' at all, but will analyze the band's previous numbers, assess the likely sales in the market, and assume the risk, and then 'employ' you, with the spirit being that the promoter has the knowledge to choose the venue, date, and show package to generate more sales in his market than YOU can, band from thousands or hundreds of miles away. If he makes the best choices, then the back end upside can be good for him, and maybe for you.