Ultrasound @ The Arts House Chamber 13 July 12noon to 10.30pm

[vx02]

this may be biased, but this is what i feel. i think certain organisations like whatlah, psr, and the deafcon series, dont impose a number on tickets that have to be sold. imposing a number in this case refers to forcing a band to pay for unsold tickets. whenever you start a business, you're always gambling with the fact that your success will vary from the next person. by imposing such ticketing rules, well you pretty much rule out the fact that you're going to lose money. i'm not putting myself on the moral pedestal but i think its much better if these organisers understand that loss is a part of business (and life) and that its not the process of how much you gain, but how much you avoid losing.

sometimes, certain organisers include the phrase "to cover rental of space, equipment, etc" to justify the reasons for the compulsory selling of tickets. how much does the organiser really have to spend? i think music garage charges 100/hr of the gig space, beat merchants last i checked around 400 - 500 if i'm not wrong. you can check out the rates for the Arts House HERE and the Esplanade HERE. the insane cost comes from the venue and equipment rental. cost control lies with the organisers. imo, i would rather spend 500 bucks renting out maybe music garage then spend 9000 renting victoria concert hall and realise that i still have to rent equipment, tech guys, etc. and then realise that i cant lose 10k on a single show and try to cover as much as possible my either charging insane ticket prices, or imposing compulsory ticketing. yes, cost can be justified, but im sure certain bands can do without playing at the esplanade and fork out money from their pockets as compared to playing at a jam studio and sell tickets out of their own free will.

well, bands also must realise that not everyday's sunday and that their first gig should be at *scape or esple. start small, if you think you're getting cheated, its up to you to say no. if you're not sure if the organiser's cheating you, do your homework, do the calculations, the rates for venues, equipment are available to all, so yeah. and organisers have the right to decline your band a spot in a gig. having a show to present yourself is a luxury, not a right. and if you think you deserve one and you're still not getting any, well organise one!

you need two hands to shake and until we can find a line in between, this organiser vs band thing will never end. haha.

 

[harrybro]

dude, jus wandering what if we cant sell enough tix ah ?

can we "hutang" ??

haha.

 

[lepak]

lol + 13241591358931589813758915 to tharenii and JT ! hahaa but sadly this issue has been brought up many times! If u dont wanna sell 25 tickets dont work with them simple

 

[PunkyPorky]

Just....wondering...what ever happened to the good old days of playing at CCs where tickets were 5-6 bucks...

Just giving my 2cents worth:
I believe that Rockon productions or whatever shit their company is called, are not professionals. If I'm not wrong they got their equipment from Boon's Music Studio. Also, it seems that they make a lot of false promises. Guys...if you want to save yourselves...I believe you could actually read their terms and conditions, and throw the tickets back at their faces.

Lets all just boycott this so called company...seriously...

 

[Rockon]

Please state what promises we broke?

Below are the list of equipment. Bands inform me by Wednesday if anything needs to be changed.

Guitar Amplifier
Head : Marshall AVT150H
Cabinet : Marshall AVT412A

Bass Guitar Amplifier
Head : Marshall MB450H
Cabinet : Marshall MBC410

Drum Set (Yamaha Stage Custom or Pearl Export)
12" Small Tom
13" Medium Tom
16" Floor Tom
14" Snare Drum
22" Kick Drum
Double Pedal for Kick Drum
Drum Stool

Cymbals with Stands
14” Hi-hat
16” Crash
18” Crash
20” Ride

 

[PunkyPorky]

I don't think I have to state what promises were broken...it's something you and the bands that has played for your gigs know...also what the meaning of being uncontactable the week before the gig...if you're just out to make money out of the bands...I suggest you fold your company...

Another thing you fail to do...you don't promote the bands that play for your gigs...what you're doing is just asking the bands to bring their friends to watch their friends play...what the point...???

Were you even around to see gigs a couple of years back??? tickets where cheap....and the organisers promotes the bands without having the bands pay anything...plus sometimes...bands do get paid more than just 50 bucks...

I doubt anything is going into your head...to you this is just another crap comment...best advise I can give...fold your company...

 

[LadyInTears]

nice one la, yea close your company man, look at the goodwill your company has lost, its sooner or later, where all bands wont be such fools to use ure services,

 

[Rockon]

If u don't state what promises were broken how do i know what to improve on?

To shut everyone up about promoting the bands. We have actually invest alot of money into a website. Ultrasound.sg but it takes time to create. Once its done we will be able to promote events and bands more effectively.

We have never ask bands to pay to perform. If all the tickets were sold like how they agreed to when collecting the tickets then there wouldn't be a problem. The only reason why bands are being negative about this issue is because they don't sell their tickets. We also have sellers to sell tickets on top of the bands.

We are able to produce flyers as ultrasound has 21 bands. By the time 21 bands have registered flyers will be of no use. That is why we decided to do it online using a networking portal.

For reason why its $12 pls look at my previous answer.

Thanks for the advice but i see that some people still enjoy our events. Please continue to give more feedback so we can further improve.

 

[Rockon]

btw from the start of this thread i have changed a number of things for those of u that think we are still doing nothing.

1) Ultrasound.sg portal almost up and ready
2) Rented better equipment
3) Reduced number of tix from 25 to 20

 

[super_punk]

Whenever i see a pay-to-play gig forum thread like this get blown up this big to the point where there are 11 pages, I always think the organiser is at least kinda happy that he's promoting his gig pretty well. I mean c'mon now half the world knows of Rockon the gig organiser with his gig at the parliament chamber place more than the gigs that are coming up soon which maybe AREN'T pay-to-play. But oh well, just some food for thought, are you part of the solution or the problem? i'm being part of the problem, because i'm writing a post in this thread. Fukk, if i'm gonna organise a gig, i'll make sure it's pay-to-play so at least my thread is 10 pages long from all the people who hurl lao jiao advice at me. K actually no, pay-to-play is a crap system.

Anyway, here's my life story in an effort to step lao jiao even though i'm only a 19 year old loser in a semi-crappy band cos we're in Ns. I've played in the Xtreme productions gigs a coupla times like Music Mania and stuff and we definitely made a loss. No 30 tix, no money pay money. Played in a few gigs where they've not forced us to sell a min number of tix, and that was cool, but of course you're not gonna have a very big crowd and you're def not gonna make any money. Hell, i even organised my own gig with my bandmates (Ministry of Thrash plug plug), made a big ass loss, nowhere near breaking even, dint force bands to pay but dint pay them either. but it was pretty fun haha.

The only time my band has ever been paid for playing a gig was the In Grind We Thrash gig by Prohibited Projects. And that was pretty awesome, not cause we got money, but cause we met one of those organisers that really didnt give a shit about whether he made any money or not, but that he got to do something that was good for music. it's sounds kinda gay, but organisers need to be like that and not some money-oriented organisation.

Let's stop whining, let's stop complaining, but also let's stop organising gigs so focussed on making money, but rather let's organise gigs that are focussed on showcasing good music.

 

[myner]

talk about that. you guys seem not to read posts before posting. that was what i was driving at in the earlier posts.
then i saw the matter escalating then i didn't bother anymore.

 

[harrybro]

.

We are able to produce flyers as ultrasound has 21 bands. By the time 21 bands have registered flyers will be of no use. That is why we decided to do it online using a networking portal.

.

so bro where's ur netwroking portal man?
WHY CANT THE BANDS SEE IT ?
and why cant u print the flyers ? it do makes a lot of difference even jus for one day.
if u put up flyers even a day before the gig, at least 30 percent will come.

 

[harrybro]

and PLAGUE OF THOR is not playing bro.



why is their name stil up there???

 

[wantonne]

It seems that no matter how many gigs you see happening every week, bands are still very desperate to find a slot.

Could it mean that the bands are just barking up the wrong tree?

From experience, I've seen bands who act like rockstars who bring in 1000s of people when they bring less than 10 and yet demand organisers to change their slots, make them play later, purposely push their slots beyond their timings and expect the organisers to push the timing further.

And at the same time, I've seen bands who I've never heard of but sound really really good and eventually brought in more than 30 peeps.

The music industry is all about networking and knowing people. New bands who intends to make it big shouldn't just stick to one organiser and wait for them to do another show. Organisers just organise shows and promote them. Bands should look for more shows to play in.

Go for other band's gigs. Talk to the organisers. Talk to the bands. Mix around with them. Get to know them. Add them on your MySpace. Go for their shows if they're having one.

If you don't support other bands and other shows, then who's gonna support you?

But even before you start playing shows, make sure you sound good. Most of the more well known bands out there made sure they know what they're doing on stage before going on it. They made sure their sound is tight and they made sure they've already have friends who will support their VERY FIRST SHOW.

If you're really that good. If you're really that tight and you know how to make a crowd sing a long and enjoy themselves, you know these people will still want to come to your show if you ask them.

Being in a SUCCESSFUL band is not about the fame and glory. It's about treating your band as a business entity, and always improving and always expanding. A band is a business. You don't just go into it and just expect to play the Esplanade Powerhouse without all that effort.

So yeah. just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Rockon]

I still have 3 more slots. Bands interested please contact 97971684.

Also please comment on the equipment.

Thanks

 

[nickyvolition]

Hey Rockon,

No keyboard?

NV

 

[Rockon]

Yap

So far no bands need a keyboard amp

 

[j_m_s]

hey man, i think having two guitar amps would be best as most bands have 2 guitarists aye.

 

[evodia]

u know wad.. its kinda funny..

most of the audience came for the shows just to support their friend's band.

u know why they wouldnt' walk out after their friends perform? simple, its kinda wasted if they paid $12 just to see their friend, so they stayed to watch other bands too to make the $12 worth while. Isn't that the organisers motive? ( they even stated that lol. ) its not only abt the amount of selling tix, its more abt the price that they are selling. true?

i mean.. more people might turn up if the prices were lower right? even though its 25 or 30 tix.. i dunno.. lets say.. minimum $5?

the question is.. if the organisers are willing to reduce the amount of selling tix, why arent they willing to reduce the price of the tix? is it because they have to pay the rent of the equipment? hmm..

well.. i think most gigs = PAY - to - PLAY...


i wonder if there are clubs.. who really allows band to perform free to entertain their customers.. if they are abv 18..

but if they are not.. maybe they just should join those gigs at beatmerchants and music garage.. they also sell tix.. but cheap too.. i'm sure many ppl turn up.. =)


well.. if this is the way to promote local music.. well so sad.. it suck.

Bottom line.. thats the music industry.. xD true?

anyway.. its just my opinion..
nobody does have to reply this..


so.. take care..

and goodluck !

 

[nickyvolition]

hey, so what's the final band lineups?