Hi, I'm Cliff Jaded. I play in 2 bands, Quantum Soup & Bloodstone.
Over the years, i've played in great shows and terrible ones. The terrible ones were not because of the bands but rather the planning. Sell 20 tickets to play if not pay up, signing contracts, etc. I understand the economics of it. But there was one particular show in 2009 that really was the last straw for me.
It was a show at Gossip Bar @ Parklane mall. My band, Quantum Soup, came early to watch the first band. The first band was already there, in the bar, waiting and had like an audience of 3 (i believe their friends). The organiser, just one guy, showed up late with his girlfriend. When he came, he came to me and said "I think we just move the tables and start the show". Wow. Audience was 3 people, no ticket booth set up, soundman non-existant. And all bands had to sell 20 damn tickets for this? Throughout the show, the organiser was usually outside the venue, romancing with his gee-eff (who was facilitating the tix). The soundman was missing. I couldn't even level my mic volume. And i think there were a good 8 bands and each tix was $10 i think . 8 bands x $10 x 20 tix = $1600? Wow not bad right? What do bands get? Scant promotion of the show and an audience comprising of friends.
Anyways, the annoyance that is the p2p show has been documented well on Soft. So what now? A year or 2 i saw someone on soft, in response to this, suggested that bands who were starting up should instead organise their own shows - share the cost and revenue. The onus wld be on all bands to market the show and make it a success. Even if a loss was made, it wld be equally split up among all bands and at least they get exposure and maybe sell merchandise. And to me, this was a brilliant idea! I wish i remembered the guy on soft who said this.
So finally, i'm embarking on 2 shows this year - May & July. The bands in these shows, including mine, share the cost and revenue of the shows and share the responsibility of promoting the show together. And i hope to document this effort so that other bands can follow rather than rely on a cunning organiser to leech off bands. I'm not saying all organisers are bad. Some do a great job like the guy who does the Identities series @ Homeclub.
I don't know what i'm trying to say here but what are your thoughts?
Over the years, i've played in great shows and terrible ones. The terrible ones were not because of the bands but rather the planning. Sell 20 tickets to play if not pay up, signing contracts, etc. I understand the economics of it. But there was one particular show in 2009 that really was the last straw for me.
It was a show at Gossip Bar @ Parklane mall. My band, Quantum Soup, came early to watch the first band. The first band was already there, in the bar, waiting and had like an audience of 3 (i believe their friends). The organiser, just one guy, showed up late with his girlfriend. When he came, he came to me and said "I think we just move the tables and start the show". Wow. Audience was 3 people, no ticket booth set up, soundman non-existant. And all bands had to sell 20 damn tickets for this? Throughout the show, the organiser was usually outside the venue, romancing with his gee-eff (who was facilitating the tix). The soundman was missing. I couldn't even level my mic volume. And i think there were a good 8 bands and each tix was $10 i think . 8 bands x $10 x 20 tix = $1600? Wow not bad right? What do bands get? Scant promotion of the show and an audience comprising of friends.
Anyways, the annoyance that is the p2p show has been documented well on Soft. So what now? A year or 2 i saw someone on soft, in response to this, suggested that bands who were starting up should instead organise their own shows - share the cost and revenue. The onus wld be on all bands to market the show and make it a success. Even if a loss was made, it wld be equally split up among all bands and at least they get exposure and maybe sell merchandise. And to me, this was a brilliant idea! I wish i remembered the guy on soft who said this.
So finally, i'm embarking on 2 shows this year - May & July. The bands in these shows, including mine, share the cost and revenue of the shows and share the responsibility of promoting the show together. And i hope to document this effort so that other bands can follow rather than rely on a cunning organiser to leech off bands. I'm not saying all organisers are bad. Some do a great job like the guy who does the Identities series @ Homeclub.
I don't know what i'm trying to say here but what are your thoughts?
