stingrayPete1977 Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 (edited) A venue we used to play regularly changed hands over a year ago, we did the first gig there after they took over and the already questionable clientele had dwindled so we decided not to try too hard to get any more. Roll on a year and they've asked us to do another so we said ok as we're not that busy anyway, a couple of weeks ago another band that plays there contacted us to ask if we know what's going on as they'd been messed around by the venue, our guitarist contacted them to check we were still booked and they said the other band were rubbish and got the audience to sing the songs because they couldn't, now I've never seen them so I can't comment on that but as the conversation progressed the organiser said that the profits are in decline, (that's in general not just the music night add it's run terribly), he also pointed out that he has found a website where he can get bands for free! Lol. Now any bands doing that will be originals expecting a typical 3 or 4 band line-up at a venue with a stage and a PA/sound person maybe even a house drum kit minus breakables surely? This is a typical pub where we take lights and PA plus the usual full compliment of amps and drum kit, it's also a 50 mile round trip from where he said the bands are based. I think we'll be seeing another closed venue that did have a popular Saturday night schedule until 18 months ago Edited March 10, 2018 by stingrayPete1977 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 Sad news, but not at all surprising! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 Sounds like he's determined to nail that coffin lid down then 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 10, 2018 Author Share Posted March 10, 2018 Certainly does, the pub is run by a committee, no one on the committee has ever run a pub before 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 For free? Not even petrol money? A free drink at the bar as a "Thank you"? Doesn't expect much from life then.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 10, 2018 Author Share Posted March 10, 2018 Yep free, gratis, nowt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 49 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said: Certainly does, the pub is run by a committee, no one on the committee has ever run a pub before Or will again probably by the sound of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 10, 2018 Author Share Posted March 10, 2018 1 minute ago, T-Bay said: Or will again probably by the sound of it. From some of the people I've met over the years I suspect sadly you're wrong! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 STOP spreading the myth that original bands play for free !!! I'm in two now, and have played all originals since the 1980s and we never play for free apart from a festival as our first show with a brand new project.. WHY should a cover band get paid more for bringing the same sized crowd as an original band? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Pay peanuts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Salted or Dry Roasted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 11, 2018 Author Share Posted March 11, 2018 (edited) 10 hours ago, bazzbass said: STOP spreading the myth that original bands play for free !!! I'm in two now, and have played all originals since the 1980s and we never play for free apart from a festival as our first show with a brand new project.. WHY should a cover band get paid more for bringing the same sized crowd as an original band? It's not a myth. Where did I say ALL ORIGINALS play for free? And can you point me to anywhere that I said they shouldn't get paid as much? Edited March 11, 2018 by stingrayPete1977 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 I thought it was "good exposure" they played for (Tongue in cheek!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 18 hours ago, bazzbass said: STOP spreading the myth that original bands play for free !!! I'm in two now, and have played all originals since the 1980s and we never play for free apart from a festival as our first show with a brand new project.. WHY should a cover band get paid more for bringing the same sized crowd as an original band? I support Pete on this. I fail to see where he "spread any myth"? I agree with you on one point. If a cover band brings in the same size crowd as many "originals" bands (half a dozen friends and rellies), then they shouldn't get paid more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 19 hours ago, bazzbass said: STOP spreading the myth that original bands play for free !!! I'm in two now, and have played all originals since the 1980s and we never play for free apart from a festival as our first show with a brand new project.. WHY should a cover band get paid more for bringing the same sized crowd as an original band? I can only speak for my little region around Milwaukee. Originals bands unless they're famous or known to some extent passing through town don't get paid. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Same goes for most venues doing multi band nights in London (it's been ten years or so but I can't imagine things have improved much), unless the band brings in a huge number of people and the venue has a policy to give a cut of the money taken on the door (e.g. £1 for every person that came to see your band, not counting the first ten). But then most bands that just bring their partners and a friend or two would be lucky to get enough to buy a pint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 People are willing to play for nothing, that’s the problem. I remember when I was a kid I used to love going along with my parents to the local football club social club on a Saturday night. They always had a band, which was the attraction for me. It was always a busy night, loads of people there. Then the guy who was the entertainment secretary left and someone else took over who was hopeless. They stopped paying the bands as much, so they couldn’t get decent ones. Some were truly awful. Just duos; an organ and drummer. Consequently people stopped going. This was late 80s early 90s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 12 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said: It's not a myth. Where did I say ALL ORIGINALS play for free? And can you point me to anywhere that I said they shouldn't get paid as much? I wasn't accusing you of saying those things, just repeating what the general consensus is amongst landlords/publicans/bookers the world over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 4 hours ago, Dan Dare said: I support Pete on this. I fail to see where he "spread any myth"? I agree with you on one point. If a cover band brings in the same size crowd as many "originals" bands (half a dozen friends and rellies), then they shouldn't get paid more then that is the fault of all of you for not supporting original music. If EVERYBODY played in cover bands, who is gonna write the music for them to copy? Original bands here get more than half a dozen friends, don't be so condescending. Go out and see one yourself, you might hear something new lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 5 hours ago, ambient said: I remember when I was a kid I used to love going along with my parents to the local football club social club on a Saturday night. They always had a band, which was the attraction for me. It was always a busy night, loads of people there. Then the guy who was the entertainment secretary left and someone else took over who was hopeless. They stopped paying the bands as much, so they couldn’t get decent ones. Some were truly awful. Just duos; an organ and drummer. Consequently people stopped going. This was late 80s early 90s. It hasn't changed except that a lot of the clubs have closed down. There are exceptions but not many of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 It's surely just part and parcel of the proliferation of satellite TV and internet-based entertainment - along with the huge increase in viewing and listening choice, comes the user's expectation of an entitlement to certainty. There's such a huge quantity of available content out there that Joe and Agnes Average expect to be able to see and hear what they will enjoy with minimal risk, money and effort. Less and less people are willing to take a chance on something that's untried and untested. Add to that a generation that's grown up viewing music as a virtually free commodity that they can access on any device whenever they want, and you've got the perfect conditions for the slow death of original live music, and an increasingly difficult environment for every other kind. I'm in the middle of a theatre tour with a soul/funk band who had a number of chart hits in the 70's. We're sharing the bill with another similar act, and most of the gigs so far have been sell-outs. Even last night, on a rainy Mother's Day evening in the midlands, it was 70-80% full. It's a good show, but the main factor that's bringing in the punters is they know what they're going to get. Minimal risk. Even so, the promoter's twitchy about whether he's turning a good enough profit overall, and has cut costs to the bone, so there's no way he's going to take a risk on something that isn't a dead cert to put bums on seats. The guy's been doing it for years, so put someone less experienced in your local pub/club/venue, and you've got a recipe for disaster. Add in the current economic uncertainty, and the big 'name' bands (who make most of their money from touring now) soaking up a big chunk of the disposable income of the remaining gig-going public, and it's no wonder audiences are thin on the ground further down the food chain. It's rather depressing, but I've no idea what the answer is, or if there even is one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 1 minute ago, lowregisterhead said: It's surely just part and parcel of the proliferation of satellite TV and internet-based entertainment - along with the huge increase in viewing and listening choice, comes the user's expectation of an entitlement to certainty. There's such a huge quantity of available content out there that Joe and Agnes Average expect to be able to see and hear what they will enjoy with minimal risk, money and effort. Less and less people are willing to take a chance on something that's untried and untested. Add to that a generation that's grown up viewing music as a virtually free commodity that they can access on any device whenever they want, and you've got the perfect conditions for the slow death of original live music, and an increasingly difficult environment for every other kind. I'm in the middle of a theatre tour with a soul/funk band who had a number of chart hits in the 70's. We're sharing the bill with another similar act, and most of the gigs so far have been sell-outs. Even last night, on a rainy Mother's Day evening in the midlands, it was 70-80% full. It's a good show, but the main factor that's bringing in the punters is they know what they're going to get. Minimal risk. Even so, the promoter's twitchy about whether he's turning a good enough profit overall, and has cut costs to the bone, so there's no way he's going to take a risk on something that isn't a dead cert to put bums on seats. The guy's been doing it for years, so put someone less experienced in your local pub/club/venue, and you've got a recipe for disaster. Add in the current economic uncertainty, and the big 'name' bands (who make most of their money from touring now) soaking up a big chunk of the disposable income of the remaining gig-going public, and it's no wonder audiences are thin on the ground further down the food chain. It's rather depressing, but I've no idea what the answer is, or if there even is one. +1, live music is in decline (well Rock is), the next generation, with a few exceptions, don't have the passion for it anymore, too many other things in competition for youngster's attention these days, the fact that record sales have been in decline for a long time now must say something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 4 minutes ago, PaulWarning said: +1, live music is in decline (well Rock is), the next generation, with a few exceptions, don't have the passion for it anymore, too many other things in competition for youngster's attention these days, the fact that record sales have been in decline for a long time now must say something That's so true - with so many things vying for people's attention these days, music comes pretty far down the list. Are we to be the last hurrah of 'live' music? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 So how many of you gig for free? Why? Confession time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 11 minutes ago, Twigman said: So how many of you gig for free? Why? Confession time Me - cos it always kicks off a great bass chat thread. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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