Monday
Dec292008
December 29, 2008 Fan-Driven-Private-Concerts - the next big thing?
On Music Think Tank Open, contributor Andy Malloy has written a couple of posts about Fan-Driven-Private-Concerts. In the first post, Andy talks about the model. In the second post, he covers justification for the model and the marketplace opportunity.
Fan-Driven-Private-Concerts seems like a great idea to me. Could this be one of the next big things (revenue opportunity) that all artists should be looking at right now?
What works? What's needed? How can the vision be refined? Would you like to have all of the dates on your calendar filled by fans staging private concerts?
Artists considering this model should also be reading Steve Lawson's blog.
Reader Comments (12)
Time for my Statler & Waldorf impression, again: Nice idea, but no way is it going to be the "next big thing".
Unless every single artist becomes an acoustic soloist.
How do I begin to explain what no one seems to notice: the economics of the venture are prohibitive in the case of the majority of artists. Feel like having a 747 take off in your living room? Hope so, cause that's the SPL equivalent of Viridian playing a typical club gig. You want it quiet? No chance, mate - the drums don't have a volume knob. I also hope you have a bi-amped 4kW a side (minimum) sound system available, at least if you want to hear the vocals and keyboards. Oh, and don't forget the monitors, coz we'd like to hear the vocals, too.
Seriously, it would be nice if instead of dreaming how wonderful it would be, we'd spend more time examining the nuts and bolts of the matter. Yes, you can go rent a venue, rent the equipment, hire some technicians to work the gear etc. etc. etc., but by the time you've got that far, you might as well sell tickets and call yourself a promoter, cause in effect, you've just become one.
Of course, if you do happen to be an acoustic soloist, there's no reason why this model shouldn't work for you.
Oh, and I heard the Stones play birthday parties for five mil. Probably only works for them, though.
I have big problems with private gigs. If you're organising a private gig, you satisfy yourself at the expense of the local community.
There might be loads of people locally who want to see the band you're putting on who you've never met (and would be well pissed off if the band was playing next door and they weren't invited). Communally you could be a force for getting a larger range of great bands in for people to see. This is entirely how some genres work.
It also makes sense financially if you do a public gig because anyone who pays the money on the door is contributing towards the bands travel costs.
So yes - start yr own band night, get your favourite bands to your local city, find local bands who would work well on the same bill with them and might get a return leg. Don't horde bands for yourself. That's not how music should work.
yes, house shows are a great way to go and potential money maker for a musician. i'm a solo artist, and this has been my personal experience between playing at a house concert, and at some bar -
typical bar gig: you promote your ass off, and a few of your friends show up. the place is full of people more interested in their tequila shot than giving your original music a chance. it is loud. in fact, the louder you play/ sing, the more people talk over you. "promoter" is mad that you didn't meet their ridiculous draw demands for a tuesday night. you are paid little to no money.
typical house show: you walk in and the vibe is friendly. the host worked WITH you in order to promote... they in essence gave you a stamp of approval to all their friends by holding the event and telling them to come see you. people are quiet and respectful when you play. they LISTEN. you are paid from the door. if you are traveling, you get most or all of the money (depending if the house takes a cut, and how many other artists played that night.)
when you weigh the benefits, it is 1,000 times more profitable and fun to play house shows. it may not be as "legit," but i'll take better listenership and payout anyday over the supposed credibility of most venues here in nyc.
krzysztof, it is not just for acoustic artists. people have garages. basements. barns. in fact in this realm, i'd actually say there's more opportunity for bands. a lot of noted venues in brooklyn are diy and influential in the music scene- like market hotel and silent barn. and the people involved are in it because they love doing it, not to profit the hell off of musician's backs. there's a whole world going on out there. also see dodiyusa and book your own fuckin life. depending on what kind of an act you are, house shows might be a great thing for you.
As a former social chair for my fraternity in undergrad, I was familiar with booking regional acts. I would always target at least one big-name act per semester. The cover bands would typically run $1500-$3500, but we would be willing to allocate upwards of $10,000 for pretty recognizable acts.
I personally think it's a great opportunity for certain artists. Outside of the great money for one night's work, it's great exposure to a ton of new ears that should be pretty receptive to your material esp being liquored up.
Moving forward, I already intend to drop $10,000+ to get a recognizable artist for my wedding night in the future. I already got a list of acts in my head that I would consider that I know should take the money/opportunity if asked.
All in all, I'm with Andy, and I definitely think artists should never limit themselves to the clubs for opportunities. Private parties often turn out to be some of the best!
My favorite shows I've ever been to have been house shows. There are a few spots in Brooklyn where fairly well known touring bands will play a show to drum up support for their bigger shows in town. The risk is they could lose their guarantee at the bigger club, which in NYC usually tacks a 2 week blackout on either side of the gig onto the contract. The cool thing about that is it's really easy to get onto a house show bill and basically open for names that you wouldn't otherwise have access to.
Private concerts are great. No, it's not limited to acoustic artists. Yes, it requires more work and planning. You either adapt, or be happy with the the club + coffee shop system as it is.
Don't overlook the "fan-driven" part of the equation. These shows are meant to strengthen and expand your connection with your fans. These shows are not going to be like club shows. You might not be able to have alcohol. You might have to figure out how to run your own sound. You might have to rearrange your set or learn how to perform acoustically. You might even have to hire security...
If this doesn't appeal to you, that's fine -- there's no shame in the time-honored tradition of the Tuesday night bill with five other bands (and surprise, you're the headliner!), playing for strangers, grabbing a few new fans each time
I've played both kinds of shows, and for my money the fan-driven shows are where it's at. It's kind of awesome because you're basically creating your own little underground scene, outside of the club circuit and local press. When you think of it as something fun, rebellious -- like a conspiracy between you and your fans to do and end-run around "the scene" -- it can be a total blast and totally worth the extra effort :)
Most of my favorite gigs were private parties. I have no problem with taking rich people's money, liqour and women. Considering how much fun a "normal" gig is, I would much rather pass out naked in a guest house and wake up to breakfast by the pool.
Besides, let's be realistic: the yahoos who come to your gigs for $3 cover and $1 beers don't buy your shit anyway.
Krzysztof -- believe it or not, there are people with living rooms larger than your house. There are also people who built entire separate houses just to throw parties in.
Your patrons can also "rent a club" -- I don't know if that technology exists in whatever corner of Old Europe you hail from, but you should investigate that.
"Legit" is anything that makes money, in my opinion. There are plenty of established acts doing house concerns and corporate gigs for big (six-figures and more) money.
Confused as to what you mean by "fan driven." If you're waiting for fans to book and promote you, for most indies, that isn't going to happen. If you're established, it happens at times. Rik Emmett of Triumph has been doing it successfully for years.
^^I was introduced by an early bandmate/mentor to the radical technique of Specifically Asking For Stuff. He was handing out demo CDs with an email address and an invitation to book him at your house for a party. That summer, to my jaded surprise, we got booked for 11 different house parties, from Washington, D.C. to the coast of Maine, all of them a wild damn time, all of them through this demo he was handing out. It also helps that we're all handsome bastards in Vermont, but I firmly believe that the Specifically Asking For Stuff method works for anyone who applies it honestly.
Plus, it's more fun and challenging to adapt to radically different live environments. I always love a new context to feel uncomfortable in and start learning again. And, get paid for it.
I'm not sure if it'll be the new big thing as in 'were the money is at'. However I think it's about enabling such gigs to go ahead. There are some people who probably have the wherewithal to hire a musician they like, but don't know of any straightforward way to do that. Ditto for musicians who would like to play private parties. There's a company called MPTrax who have a solution for this and combined with a service like ours at GigPay, private concerts are easily booked.
Lastly, fans are fans. It doesn't matter whether they are want to book you for a private gig or come to a public concert. If they want to see you, they are fans or potential fans for you to reach out to. Don't be fooled by the whole 'keeping it real' or 'this is what music should sound like' attitude. There's a lot of crap music out there, so best believe that if a corporate suit or party guest is giving you time to listen to your stuff you shouldn't mind doing the same for adequate remuneration.
"There are some people who probably have the wherewithal to hire a musician they like, but don't know of any straightforward way to do that."
...because it's on the artists, not the fans. Artists make themselves accessible, and they will get accessed. It's also on the artists to be very clear and upfront about the detailed terms under which they will come and do a show. Most fans don't have the experience or logistical brainpower to think of the key details -- sadly, most artists don't, either, so I guess this is yet another case of Digital Darwinism.
No sympathy for the stoopid in 2009.