Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with gigs and music

The economics of travelling bands

Xere — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:19:49 -0800

I'm told that for bands, the money is in live gigs - not much comes in from album sales. However. I was at a concert in Los Angeles recently, full house of about 500. Three bands, of which two had recently played Coachella. $25 general admission. This, to me, seems like terrible money. What's really going on? Help me overthink my plate of beans. So $25 x 500 = $12500 in ticket sales. Split that up between the three bands, and each gets $4166. This doesn't seem much, considering that two of the bands were from middle US, and one from London. Flights, extra baggage fees for equipment, hotels, crew members...

It's about 5 members to each band. London band: doesn't it cost ONE person about $900 to fly coach from London to LA? $4166 won't cover five members and their road crew. Mid-US bands: isn't it about $400, also flying coach? That's $2000 in flights, leaving only $2000. And each band member gets $500 before the venue takes its cut.

I'm assuming more money is accumulated over the course of playing several venues, but it seems that they're only playing five. Similar general admission fees. The mid-US bands accumulate more money here, but London seems to still be playing for pocket change.

The venue's already well-established, even without rock concerts. They don't seem to need to bring bands in at a loss in order to get their venue's name out there.

Not mentioning the bands, just in case this ever gets them into hot water with Upper Management. And anyway, I'm fairly certain this is a common scenario.

How Can I Get More Students?

rossination — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:22:47 -0800

Musicians -- how do you attract students? I'm a trombonist and college student (music performance and music ed) in Seattle. I have one private student, and I teach semi-privately once a week at an area school. I'm looking to pick up a couple more students. Everyone says to put an ad on Craigslist and to talk to area band directors. I've done both, and (so far) I haven't had much luck.

I realize that I'm not teaching piano, guitar, or drums -- it's not like there are thousands of people out there just looking to get their trombone on. But I'm looking for suggestions from others who teach privately (not just music) as to how they got the "gigs" that they have now.

If for whatever reason you don't want to post here, email is in profile.

[Final note -- hope this doesn't seem like I'm trying to advertise on AskMe. I'm not.]

Want small digital camcorder, under $1000, that allows editing on Mac and will be used for filming around London.

pollystark — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:07:28 -0800

I want to buy a small, Mac-compatible digital camcorder. My budget is under $1000. I will be using the camera to shoot videos that I will project when I play gigs with my band. I will probably also use it to film other people's gigs. Requirements:
* I have a Macbook Pro that I want to use to edit the footage I shoot. (I presume that I need a Firewire-enabled camera for this.)
* I want to be able to put the camera in my rucksack so I can wander around London videoing stuff.
* From reading around, it seems that MiniDV media is the way to go.
* I want the ability to shoot in low light.
* Port (XLR?) for connecting an external microphone.

Questions:
* How good can I expect image quality to be?
* Do I want/need a HD-enabled camera?
* Do I want/need manual white balance, focus and exposure?

I've read through a lot of related threads and these two were particularly helpful.

Live music in London

gravelshoes — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 12:21:59 -0800

Where can I find the most comprehensive online listings of live music in London?

Venue reviews on the web, by and for musicians?

Artifice_Eternity — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 09:50:35 -0800

Are there any websites where musicians review venues at which they've performed, in terms of staff, crowd, sound system, payment policies, etc.? It seems like there must be, but I've not found anything via Google. In particular I'm interested in reviews of NYC venues. P.S. At the moment, I'm looking to find info on The Mean Fiddler (W. 47th St. b/t 8th Ave. and Broadway), where I might be performing soon. And I might submit a review of Club Midway (Ave. B b/t 2nd and 3rd St.) and their excellent sound guy, with whom I had the pleasure of working last week.

On the road

ludwig_van — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:48:39 -0800

Where can I get indie rock gigs outside of (but nearby to) Pittsburgh, PA? I'm based in Pittsburgh, PA, and I want to play some shows in other cities this summer. I'm willing to go as far as Cleveland or Columbus Ohio (about a 3 hour drive west), but if there are good venues in closer proximity, that'd be awesome. And stuff in other directions, too. But I'd rather not drive out somewhere just to play a no-name bar. So what cool venues should I contact? Web sites or promoter contact info appreciated.

This is an indie pop/rock band, i.e. The Shins, Belle and Sebastian, Magnetic Fields, Neutral Milk Hotel.

Pukkelpop Experiences? (Belgian Alternative Music Festival).

snarkle — Tue, 30 May 2006 01:35:28 -0800

Pukkelpop Experiences? (Belgian Alternative Music Festival). I'm a 27 year old Australian, heading to Europe in August. After trying to find some gigs or festivals to attend while i'm visiting, I've stumbled across the Belgian music festival, Pukkelpop.

The mostly complete line up for this year has been announced and it's a pretty incredible line up! Daft Punk live!!

I have plenty of questions I'd love to ask.. but I'll try to keep it concise. I'm mainly hoping for anything that people are willing to share. Experiences, tips for a foreigner in Belgium are all welcome!

Have you attended in the past? What was your experience? How was the crowd, the vibe? Is it packed and a massive crush? Can you take cameras? (SLRs too?)

Accomodation. The ticket includes camping and train travel as part of the ticket, is it a good idea? Are there good alternatives in Hasselt or Kiewit?

The venue... where exactly is it held? Is it easy to get to?

Thankyou in advance for all your responses!

Come join the Youth and Beauty Brigade

ludwig_van — Wed, 03 May 2006 10:03:06 -0800

I'm looking for advice on effective live music promotion and building a following. Also: flyers? I read these threads, and while they contained some good advice I feel like my situation is a little different.

This question was prompted because I got an e-mail from a promoter today saying that she'd try to get me a slot because she likes my music, but that I should be able to bring in at least 30 people, and for me that isn't usually the case.

I've been getting gigs steadily lately, but I've always had a hard time getting people in the door. I play indie-popish tunes, and though I've been performing with a rotating cast, I do all of the promoting. I concentrate mostly on word-of-mouth, in person and via myspace. I also usually make simple flyers (I can use InDesign, but I'm far from a design guru) and put them wherever I can, but I don't feel like they tend to do much good, despite sporting an attractive name and clever catchphrases. Lots of people say they'll come and generally it's only the same small group of my friends that shows up.

So what can/should I do? Help me expand my following (primarily in Pittsburgh, where I'll soon be returning, but I'd like to start doing things in nearby cities as well). I'm a college student there, as are most of my friends. I've got a myspace as well as my own domain with lots of mp3s that I think represent me quite well. At recent shows I've felt confident in my sound and people who didn't already know me have been sticking around and sometimes buying CDs. But I need to get these people to come see me again.

And with regard to flyers in particular - what makes a good flyer? What do you like to see on a flyer that sometimes isn't there? What size is the most effective? What locations? What adhesives? Where should I avoid flyering? And anything else that might help.

What's a good rackmount effects unit for a band's PA?

armoured-ant — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 15:28:54 -0800

I'm after a new rackmounted effects unit for my live PA. Any suggestions? It's going to carry two electroacoustic guitars, two mics, a harmonica, and who knows what else in the future. Having used all in ones (mixer-amps) in the past, and this being my first rack system, I'm not up to spending a lot, and fully intend to get in on eBay (I'm in the UK) I've been looking at the Zoom 1201 and 1202, but they seem a bit guitar-oriented.

The winning product will, of course, be used here.

How to organise a music tour?

semmi — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 18:13:39 -0800

How to become a music promoter? How would I organize a European tour for a well established modern jazz quintet? Where to find contacts, and how set up gigs?

Good book for inexperienced gigging band?

cortex — Fri, 17 Jun 2005 09:14:12 -0800

I'm looking for a good book (or alternative resource) full of guidance/advice/caveats for a green rock band getting into the shiny world of regular original-music gigging. The notion is to supplement, rather than replace, the punch-in-the-nose real world experience that we have already started to acquire.

Divergent, tangential, and contrapuntal suggestions entirely welcome as well.