I posted in this in another thread over at the PPUSA forum earlier, but I thought I'd post it here as well, as I often get asked why PQ don't tour as much and as far afield as other bands particularly as support to bigger bands. Just a few thoughts for discussion........
It's a tough old business that's for sure being a support band/opening act, probably more so now than ever. If you consider tour support is not available to a lot of bands. Buy ons can range amazingly depending on the tour....from £100 to £1000 per show in my experience so if you then multiply that out it is already significant before you have even costed out the other inherent costs ie transport, fuel, drivers (if you are taking a nightliner), road taxes, flights/ferry costs, agent fees etc. You are going to have to shift an awful lot of merchandise to even cover some of those costs, and then venues will potentially take a cut (10% - 25% in my experience) so all in all it's a massive financial commitment. You may also have to "price match" your merchandise to that of the headliner, which may mean having to sell a shirt for £20 when you would normally sell it for £10.
The other side of the merchandise situation I have noticed is that kids don't have as much disposable income and therefore if they go to a show they are likely to, on the whole, spend the money they have on headliner merch....even if they happen to like the opening band as well.
In addition there is no fee/payment to be had an opening act, unless you have a particularly friendly agent or tour manager. Even if you are lucky in this respect, that payment will not cover the cost of the buy on more often than not.
I guess the reality is, as has been mentioned elsewhere in this thread, that luck plays a big part as it does in a lot of walks of life. But do we, as fans and/or musicians, determine success by purely financial markers? As bands, do we make music to make our fortune and become "rock stars" or do we do it because it is what we need to do creatively?
It is a tough business, particularly in the digital age. If tour support is calculated on physical sales (and legal downloads) that doesn't help the smaller band particularly either as, although file sharing may spread the word, nobody officially knows where these fans are.
At the end of the day though.....I'll tip my hat to any band, irrespective of whether I'm a fan, who are prepared to put their hands in their collective pockets and try to get their name out via sheer hard work, no matter what the sacrifices are.
It's a tough old business that's for sure being a support band/opening act, probably more so now than ever. If you consider tour support is not available to a lot of bands. Buy ons can range amazingly depending on the tour....from £100 to £1000 per show in my experience so if you then multiply that out it is already significant before you have even costed out the other inherent costs ie transport, fuel, drivers (if you are taking a nightliner), road taxes, flights/ferry costs, agent fees etc. You are going to have to shift an awful lot of merchandise to even cover some of those costs, and then venues will potentially take a cut (10% - 25% in my experience) so all in all it's a massive financial commitment. You may also have to "price match" your merchandise to that of the headliner, which may mean having to sell a shirt for £20 when you would normally sell it for £10.
The other side of the merchandise situation I have noticed is that kids don't have as much disposable income and therefore if they go to a show they are likely to, on the whole, spend the money they have on headliner merch....even if they happen to like the opening band as well.
In addition there is no fee/payment to be had an opening act, unless you have a particularly friendly agent or tour manager. Even if you are lucky in this respect, that payment will not cover the cost of the buy on more often than not.
I guess the reality is, as has been mentioned elsewhere in this thread, that luck plays a big part as it does in a lot of walks of life. But do we, as fans and/or musicians, determine success by purely financial markers? As bands, do we make music to make our fortune and become "rock stars" or do we do it because it is what we need to do creatively?
It is a tough business, particularly in the digital age. If tour support is calculated on physical sales (and legal downloads) that doesn't help the smaller band particularly either as, although file sharing may spread the word, nobody officially knows where these fans are.
At the end of the day though.....I'll tip my hat to any band, irrespective of whether I'm a fan, who are prepared to put their hands in their collective pockets and try to get their name out via sheer hard work, no matter what the sacrifices are.
so this is revealing to me. I didn't know supporting bands had to "buy on". Pay for the privilege of opening for a headline band? How odd. I suppose I'm not surprised but in my naivety I sort of hoped that there'd be a pot of money from ticket sales and the money was distributed among the bands who played (maybe 40-60 for support and main act, respectively). It's not an ideal world we live in, that much is patently clear!
