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Thursday, September 4, 2008
Whose job is it to promote live music
Since when are bar owners incapable of driving traffic into their own establishments?There was a time when Halifax bars actually a) paid their bands an actual rate instead of "the door", and b) advertised to get people in the bar. These days, bars that
Since when are bar owners incapable of driving traffic into their own establishments?
There was a time when Halifax bars actually a) paid their bands an actual rate instead of "the door", and b) advertised to get people in the bar. These days, bars that do either of these things are few and far between. You hire a band to bring people into your establishment, yes, but since when is it the SOLE RESPONSIBILTY of the *act* to bring the people in? Advertise in a local paper fer gawds sake - most of the time it's freaking FREE!
And if you're going to advertise in a local paper, do it every flipping WEEK, not just when you have a bigger name act in there! Great, so Grammy-winning "Skippy the Wonder Band" is playing there on October 23rd - it's freaking SEPTEMBER!
Why should *I* have to post our gigs in the local paper when you're barely paying each member of my band minimum wage? And while we're on the topic, minimum wage has risen over the last 15 years - how come bars are still paying bands the same amount of money 15 years later? Musicians are some of the only working people who make the same amount of money or less as they get more experienced. Where's the fairness in that? (Unless of course you make it "big" - but let's not even get into the politics involved *there*).
But I digress. My main point is, my band *does* bring in 30-50 people per show. The stay, they drink, they eat, they spend money. But OUR paycheque doesn't get bigger, and you bar owners (or managers, depending), don't seem to get that maybe *you* could let a few people know we're going to be playing in your neighbourhood.
We have fans, and we ALWAYS get new fans when we play somewhere, but not if your locals have no freaking idea you have live music. Oh yeah - and by not telling people you're having a live band, you piss off people who prefer *not* to see live music. I'd be irritated by a sound check in the middle of *my* dinner too, if I hadn't been expecting it.
Point being, type up a freaking AD, or add an extra $25 into our pay for things like poster printing (not cheap), or advertising in the local paper. It's YOUR job as the bar owner to get people into your establishment - OUR job is to keep them there.
do yer freaking job and let me do mine
There was a time when Halifax bars actually a) paid their bands an actual rate instead of "the door", and b) advertised to get people in the bar. These days, bars that do either of these things are few and far between. You hire a band to bring people into your establishment, yes, but since when is it the SOLE RESPONSIBILTY of the *act* to bring the people in? Advertise in a local paper fer gawds sake - most of the time it's freaking FREE!
And if you're going to advertise in a local paper, do it every flipping WEEK, not just when you have a bigger name act in there! Great, so Grammy-winning "Skippy the Wonder Band" is playing there on October 23rd - it's freaking SEPTEMBER!
Why should *I* have to post our gigs in the local paper when you're barely paying each member of my band minimum wage? And while we're on the topic, minimum wage has risen over the last 15 years - how come bars are still paying bands the same amount of money 15 years later? Musicians are some of the only working people who make the same amount of money or less as they get more experienced. Where's the fairness in that? (Unless of course you make it "big" - but let's not even get into the politics involved *there*).
But I digress. My main point is, my band *does* bring in 30-50 people per show. The stay, they drink, they eat, they spend money. But OUR paycheque doesn't get bigger, and you bar owners (or managers, depending), don't seem to get that maybe *you* could let a few people know we're going to be playing in your neighbourhood.
We have fans, and we ALWAYS get new fans when we play somewhere, but not if your locals have no freaking idea you have live music. Oh yeah - and by not telling people you're having a live band, you piss off people who prefer *not* to see live music. I'd be irritated by a sound check in the middle of *my* dinner too, if I hadn't been expecting it.
Point being, type up a freaking AD, or add an extra $25 into our pay for things like poster printing (not cheap), or advertising in the local paper. It's YOUR job as the bar owner to get people into your establishment - OUR job is to keep them there.
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