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Perform Live at Las vegas!
Once upon a time...
An unknown band got in contact with a venue
manager and asked to be contracted to
perform. The manager listened to the bands'
demo, thought that the music was good and
agreed that the band could play on a
determined day.
The manager, wisely, offered the band two
options:
In the first option, 300 tickets will be
made and sold to the band by the venue. The
band would resell these tickets to its'
public and would promote the show so that
even more public would know and appear to
appreciate the show. It was in the bands'
own interest to sell to recuperate the
initial investment of the purchase of the
tickets, if not, the band would end up with
a loss.
The second option offered was a contract
which would be signed between the two parts
where the band would be obliged to bring a
minimum number of paying customers to the
show venue. If the public was below the
stipulated number in the contract, the band
would need to pay the venue the cost of the
non purchased tickets.
For example, if the minimum number was 200
people and only 150 people appeared to
watch, the band would have to pay the venue
the value of the 50 tickets that were not
sold.
Now, you may be thinking: "Whaaaat? Pay to
play? Never!"
But, hold on! Any band wants a cachê to
present their show. But an unknown band
still hasn't got its' share in the market.
The venue manager is measuring the bands'
share in the market by the number of tickets
the band is capable of selling for its'
show.
If the venue manager in our story was to
hire U2, he would be sure of a full house,
and so could invest in a cache for the band.
He knows that U2 has a lot of loyal fans and
that these fans would turn out to see the
show, which for the manager would mean
elevated ticket sales and in house
consumption.
A new band doesn't offer this same guarantee
for the manager. So, the band needs to take
the risk involved for the event. A lot of
the time, bands end up being hit (in the
pocket) in their first presentations, simply
because they can't draw the attention of the
public and the investment ends up more than
the return.
It's simply this. Music is a business and
should be treated as such. A product (music
and band) needs to be proven before anyone
will want to invest in it.
So, it's important to understand: You need
to start "small". You need to work to expand
your fan base. Once you have this fan base,
you will be able to close better deals with
our friend the venue manager in our story.
To start your fan base, begin with a fan
base within your neighbourhood, and
gradually widen your space to your town and
neighbouring towns. Only begin with the next
stage after consolidating the previous. Your
path will be long, but, done in the right
way, with patience, you will arrive at your
destination.
Once you have your share in the music
market, the venue managers will look for
you, who knows, even to perform at Las Vegas
!
Success
Steve Allen
Steve Allen is
consultant and music producer.
Author of "Marketing Your Music – Success
Strategies", "Personal Management in the
Music Industry" and "Street Teams – Expand
your Fan Base"
http://www.marketingyourmusic.net
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