Pissing On Promotional Chips

So, there was a bunch of folks advertising for bands to play their New Year's Eve night for £50 and free beer on a local website. A discussion ensued, which I had nothing to do with, until I got annoyed enough to make an epic post on the subject. Anyway, I'm recreating it here, with some modification since the context is different.

First of all, don't put out an utterly wank flyer - if there was a band who had a singer who actually couldn't sing a note they'd get it in the neck too, and people wouldn't go and see the band. These guys sell themselves as promoters/managers, and as such I would expect them to know what a good poster/flyer looks like. I would expect them to answer questions about what qualifies them to make claims about their capabilities in the area that they are claiming expertise - just like I would expect a band to demonstrate competence in writing/playing music.

Of course, it's now fairly expected that bands should take everything that's thrown at them with good grace and for very little or nothing in return. Just because someone says this is a better deal than you'll get elsewhere, it doesn't make it a good deal. Like someone else said, consider £50, paid to a band. Let's take BBS as an example - there are five of us. We rehearse for gigs, we write material, we invest in our project. But we'll put all that to one side for now. Since it would be a local gig, we'll even class the cost of petrol as negligible.

Now, let's (egotistically) assume that BBS are headlining the gig. This means, realistically, that we'll have to turn up at 6:30 for soundcheck, and play last - let's say a half hour set starting at 11pm. That takes us from 6:30 to 11:30, and we'll be generous and throw in the takedown and loadout for free. That's 5 hours.

So far then, from £50 we have earnings for each band member of £2 per hour - ON NEW YEAR'S EVE. Without factoring in transport, food, or any other costs. It doesn't factor in the endless wear and potential damage to equipment (which we all pay handsomely for). Let's factor in the free bar - moving our gear and the band = 2 cars. So that's 2 drivers. That means 3 members of the band who can drink, and since we're headlining we have to take it easy or we'll just fall off stage. We have to loadout after the gig, which closes at 1. So three members of the band can realistically drink from 12 'til 1, unless the gig overruns, which it will. So much for the free bar.

All of this most bands would be prepared to accept all over the place. All of this bands are expected to accept all over the place. Because we should be thankful that we get to play at all, despite years of hard word and blood and sweat and tears and being in a situation that is like having a girlfriend but there are four of her and at least two of her have PMT at any given moment.

What, then, does the band get out of playing a gig? We really get paid in two ways. One, we get the chance to meet and make new fans. This is possible at established venues that folks already know about, and this is possible at venues where you can look at their advertising and say "well you know what, this might work out". Two, we get the chance to sell the merch and CDs that we have invested time, effort, and money in producing - which you can't do at a venue devoid of punters. Clearly, if you're in a band and you see the work of a venue and think there'll be no-one there there would be absolutely no reason to play that gig, would there?

So, with all this in mind, is it really unreasonable to say: well hold on a minute, you're an unproven venue, in a dodgy location, with bad advertising, making a lot of claims that you aren't backing up with hard facts?

... pause for breath ...

Promoters, on the other hand, are treated like sacred cows that shouldn't ever have a bad word said against them either as individuals or as a whole. So often I see the attitude of "well they're doing it for the music, man". Guess what - so are bands - and since music can be judged far more subjectively than promotion (one is an art, the other is a business model) then really promoters should be able to answer questions about what their business can do for bands, and back up their answers.

Don't get me wrong, there are promoters out there who do sterling work, but there are a lot more who don't, who expect bands to do all the legwork as well as providing the entertainment. There are promoters who pay bands what they can afford, and budget the whole thing properly, and who often feel bad that the market can pay bands so little. Mostly though, there are promoters who act like they are doing bands a favour, when their entire business is to exploit the market.

Obviously I'm not talking about Destiny Management exclusively here, besides my criticisms of their design work (which I think are fully justified), and my concerns about their venue (again, not unreasonable), I really haven't given them a hard time. I don't question their motives, I question their capability - and that questioning comes from observation of the visible spectrum of their business. Perhaps some testimonials from bands who've played there would help?