Selling tickets? Pay to play?!

[bryan_kilco]

Currently debating on getting on a show to open for The Faceless and a few others. Got offered a gig, 50 tickets presale at $13/ticket.

Few of my bandmates are all about it, while I am not so much. It's tough here with the scene and we are all about 30 years old and not in high school anymore and it's proving harder and harder to bring friends out to shows.

I don't want to have to eat any tickets I can't sell, but my band just got two new members finally up to speed and this would be one of our first shows with the new lineup.

What would you do?

 

[drew_drummer]

Fuck that buddy. Pay money so the promoter can make their profit before the nights even on? Fuck that. They take your money, do fuck all promotion, and still have the stones to get annoyed at the band when no-one turns up.

 

[Trevoire520]

Fuck pay to play,

 

[Metal Overload]

Fuck it, they should be paying you... seelling tickets is their work, yours is to kick ass on stage.

 

[Sloan]

Fuck that, it would be easier/better for you to just save your money up, contact The Faceless and pay their guarantee to book them at the venue of your choice, with you opening of course. They get their money, and you split the door with the bar, so you will recoup and the bar will love you for booking a band that drew a packed house.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I have a better idea. Sell the tickets, pocket the money, and don't show up.

50 fucking tickets at $13 a pop? WHAT THE FUCK.

 

[FarBeyondMetal]

I have a better idea. Sell the tickets, pocket the money, and don't show up.

If sold to unsuspecting and random The Faceless fans for a "discount", and not to your personal friends, this could actually be the greatest plan ever.

 

[ChrisTanakaCanwell]

My band did this last summer. Should have pocketed the $900 we made for the venue and not showed up... although we did sell a shitload of merch that night. You should just stand in front of the door and sell discounted tickets to people that are going to buy them inside, that's how we sold about 75% of them

 

[colonel kurtz]

If sold to unsuspecting and random The Faceless fans for a "discount", and not to your personal friends, this could actually be the greatest plan ever.

not really

if the band is required to sell tix @ $13/ea, the promoter made them pay $13/ea. - so selling at a discount would mean you would have to eat the difference

now, if you could manage to sell them for MORE than $13, then you could pocket the profit and tell the promoter to fuck off

 

[crillemannen]

Selling tickets to play is so freakin gay. I wouldn't do it. The promotor should pay you to play not the other way around.

 

[Mattayus]

Fuck that buddy. Pay money so the promoter can make their profit before the nights even on? Fuck that. They take your money, do fuck all promotion, and still have the stones to get annoyed at the band when no-one turns up.

This. A band who are regular clients of mine got royally arse fucked a few months ago with this exact situation. The weasely cunt even skipped the country.

 

[Pman]

Currently debating on getting on a show to open for The Faceless and a few others. Got offered a gig, 50 tickets presale at $13/ticket.

Few of my bandmates are all about it, while I am not so much. It's tough here with the scene and we are all about 30 years old and not in high school anymore and it's proving harder and harder to bring friends out to shows.

I don't want to have to eat any tickets I can't sell, but my band just got two new members finally up to speed and this would be one of our first shows with the new lineup.

What would you do?

Playing with the Faceless will be a good opportunity.
It's down to whether you think you can shift a reasonable amount of tickets.
Pay to play is standard practice. Although everyone hates it what are you achieving by saying "fuck you" to the promoter? He'll just get another band.

 

[drew_drummer]

Pay to play is standard practice.

Only because people like you justify it with responses like this:

what are you achieving by saying "fuck you" to the promoter? He'll just get another band.

If a promoter can get another band, then let 'em. Chances are they eventually wont be able to get another band eventually; if enough people stand up to these shady ponzi-style "promotion" techniques.

For a good example of this on a local level; checkout the promoter Monto, and checkout the fact that they lost their contract to the Water Rats in Kings Cross (London, UK) because so many bands told them to go fuck themselves.

 

[abt]

Play the show. Smash it. Don't let anyone walk away without knowing who you are.

 

[Grå Värld]

You need to work out what your goal is. If it is trying to get more people to know your band and sell merch then I suggest saving the money and booking a decent headliner directly yourselves and playing just before them. There is a huge risk that as openers after paying over $500 you will have a very short set time, shitty sound and not very many people turning up to see you that early and the risk of not selling all the tickets. A lot of bands would be willing to go to your town for a decent guarantee and opportunity to sell merch. Offer them somewhere to stay and some dinner and make a connection with the band. They then will be able to offer advice and information about how to get onto bigger shows. They other idea is to see if the band you bring to your city will be able to put you on one of their home town shows. Having played in bands and worked as a promoter the pay to play scheme is a way a lazy promoter exploits young bands. The promoter and headliner should be confident of pulling enough payers themselves to a show. Of course it if almost standard practise to "buy on" to big tours and the catch 22 is if you don't do this show is it the end of the road for your band as people will lose heart.

 

[Metal Overload]

Playing with the Faceless will be a good opportunity.
It's down to whether you think you can shift a reasonable amount of tickets.
Pay to play is standard practice. Although everyone hates it what are you achieving by saying "fuck you" to the promoter? He'll just get another band.

I've managed to play with Megadeth, Dark Tranquillity, big festivals with big bands and thousands of people attending, withouth paying a cent or selling any ticket...

Playing with big names is a big opportunity of course, but you can't be the promoter's whore, that´s just not good, i rather to not play and attend the show withouth any stress, to stress about making someone else work by selling tickets withouth any pay. also 90% of the people going to that kind of show doesn't care about opening acts.... i hate when promoters think they are doing you a favor by letting you sell their tickets and play in the show.

 

[Sweetnothing]

And I thought the pay to play thing was only happening in this country...yuck

 

[drew_drummer]

We supported Pelican back in April. We didn't have to pay shit. Fuck pay to play, even if it is with a headlining act.

 

[lelahel]

sincerely i'll not pay to play!
there are also some supposed to call labels, that ask you to pay more than 1500euros for releasing a cd , and promoting it
maybe i'm an old school man but i'll never pay for such things

as we say : we PLAY music ,

play = fun first not money !

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Seriously my method is the only one that really does tell the promoter to go fuck off. What the fuck is he gonna do? I've never heard of a promotor smart enough to attach a contract to pay to play beyond a verbal one, so fuck em.

Seriously gigs are so fucking fucked now a days. Either your asked to pay for free, or your asked to sell the tickets. Any other industry would be looked at cooky if you did that shit. Hey waiters and waitresses, please sell our menu items on your own time before the dinner rush happens. Hey, actually no this is a huge opportunity for you. If you wait for free maybe you can wait on the stars since our restaurant is so huge with celebrities!