I just played the largest crowd I've ever headlined too... in a cover band.

[wheresgrant3]

Originally Posted by Tele-vania65000

It may or may not. Most people are oblivious to who the band is. Most cover bands are generic.



To make money. I don't really care if I have a "fanbase"-- I want to make money at gigs. I have no recordings to peddle, no "merch".

Well I didn't want anyone to get into a 'debate' over this. But debates are good. I think there was a good point to be made that sometimes there are things that are more worthy than putting a few bucks in your pocket. Gigs that advance your name and reputation. Sure we're a cover band, we run this like a business and our ultimate in the end is to perform and make money... lots of money. And that's what we do. You're right, in the end a majority of people could care less about the band. However... that doesn't mean that a good chunk of others don't remember the band. I'm serious when I say we're the area's #1 draw... and a big chunk of that draw are people who don't go out to see cover bands, they come out to see us. Period.

So I'll break this down for you and some others. Not to change your mind or reassure you, just to illustrate how the right opportunities can advance your band, if you have the talent and appeal to increase your base.

We formed in the summer of 2002. In 2004, we decided to stop running this band as a band... instead we wanted to run it as a business. We brought on a 6th member (we're a five piece) cut in an extra share. We worked on the show... he worked on the bookings. To get our name out there we sought a local beer distributor for sponsorship, and started working with the radio station to play their events. As I said previously our goal was exclusivity. We would perform these events for little or no money, in return for free promotion and we would be the only band they would work with. They certainly didn't agree to that at the time, but we've earned that right over the years by being professional and flexible.

Our first "paid in trade" gig was in Jan 2005. We played to a few hundred people at a Budweiser Winter Carnival at a local hotel. Pay $0. Exposure priceless.




We did this gig for free... for 'exposure', but it secured our partnership with our Budweiser distributor. Again, some bands would balk at doing a gig for free in exchange for an exclusive sponsorship but for us it was golden. What does the sponsorship provide us? Posters, artwork, a huge 13x6 ft banner, having our van and trailer wrapped. Over the past 5 years I figure we've recieved more than $4000 worth of graphics design and art. We're the only band listed on their distributor page (check "Around Town" tab here here ). Most importantly it gave us some sincere clout with club owners. For the record, the CMT's at the beer distributor did their part to up sell us to clubs ("You gotta get this band!!"). They loved it because they knew they would sell more beer. They made our bookings an event. We would book a combined package.. a Bud Brew Bash. Band and beer. It was hard for a club owner to ignore us if their #1 beer distributor was humping us hard. We never do free Budwieser gigs anymore. There's no need. We get half or full pay from the bar owner or venue for special events. It's just accepted as part of the promotional expenses.



Our first radio station gig in 'trade' was about 5 years ago as well. Crusiapalooza- a river boat cruise with just 50 listeners down the Hudson River in July 2004. About 25 of those listeners still come out to our shows now and then. We've since done five of these... each year it's an annual event. One year, we had a conflict with the date, the radio station rescheduled the event to coincide with our availability. Now we book these events far in advance based on our availability. We do our best to accomodate them, but when they can't get us to provide entertainment, they simple cancel the event. They've stopped using other area bands... we are exclusive. Now we do 4-5 events a year, all in trade. They've offered money... but it's always a check, attached with a 1099. Honestly, it's just easier to take this stuff in trade rather than waiting for the check to clear, accruing taxes...etc. And they honor their end by giving us co-billing on these types of events.

Over the five years we've done 4-5 of these promotional gigs a year. I estimate between 18-20 'promotional' gigs of the 400 paid gigs we've performed. So how has this strategy paid off for us?

Well in 2004, I had to explain to everyone who I played for and what we played. In 2009, there's not a person I've come across who doesn't recognize the band and not associate it with the radio station or a good time.

In 2004, we had a following of family and friends. In 2009, we draw on average 150-200+ per show.

In 2004 we were splitting on average $500-600 six ways for bar and niteclub gigs. In 2009 we're splitting 3x's that for the same venues.

In 2004 we had to call bars and niteclubs for bookings. In 2009, they call us, usually willing to negotiate a higher rate to get on our calendar.

In 2004 we played in two counties. In 2009, we play clubs in 4-5 states on semi-regular rotation.

In 2004, we were playing private backyard parties for $600-800. In 2009 we're playing corporate parties, private events and weddings out of state, for $3k-7k.

I could go on... but I think you get the point. Our strategy was to grow a fanbase to increase our pay with club owners and name recognition from club goers. And promotion was a big part of that strategy. Clout equals pay... anyway you slice it.



Seriously... if anyone has lingering doubts how this type promotion will increase your visiablity with club goers I invite you to stroll through our pictures. We have over 250 gigs documented over the last 7-8 years. I think you can see from 2003- 2005 and onward the types of crowds we've been drawing.


Again, I'm not telling you what will work in your market. This is what we were able to achieve in our market. I understand the hesitation, and frankly I'm glad that some have that hesitation. It's that hesitation with bands in my market that helped pave our way to exclusivity with our sponsors. For them, the value of playing the event was measured in only what they were going to pocket for their time and effort.

Every band manages their business differently. We're certainly not the best band in the area but we're the highest paid cover band in our market, with the largest draw. And we have been for 3-4 years now. Our setlist, stage presence, and performance certainly keep people coming back to see us. Getting, in front of them is the hardest challenge. And our sponsorships get all the credit in the world for delivering us new blood.

[sorocknroll]

Originally Posted by wheresgrant3

Well.. to be honest. I'm sure the radio station probably lost money on the event. After all they sold 500 tickets at $10 a pop... gave away 600 tickets. That's $5000. I'm told the venue was just $4K to rent for the space. Add security... insurance, electric. They recieved a percentage of the concessions... still in the end for the costs they incurred they probably lost more money than they made. They were already way over budget when they notified us they could provide a PA. We originally negotiated $1000 to play. We make nearly twice that mount for a regular gig, so pay wasn't important. Instead we opted for free advertising. In addition to getting on air mentions by every DJ promoting the event in the months leading up to the event, we're actually creating our own commerical and concert calendar to broadcast a few times per week. We make $500-600 cash every weekend per band member... advertising like this is something we could never afford to pay for. Worth more than $150 in our pockets. Doing a gig like this, with the exposure it brings is just good business sense.

That seems silly to me. Am I missing something? Who are the marketing/promotions people at this radio station that didn't see the change to turn a profit with THAT many drinking party-goers attending? At least you got exposure to that huge crowd. I don't quite get what the radio station got out of it, though.

[Tele-vania65000]

Originally Posted by wheresgrant3

All you guys need now is to learn how to dress like adults and the sky's the limit!





I keed, I keed.

Glad your plan is working out!

[wheresgrant3]

Originally Posted by sorocknroll

That seems silly to me. Am I missing something? Who are the marketing/promotions people at this radio station that didn't see the change to turn a profit with THAT many drinking party-goers attending? At least you got exposure to that huge crowd. I don't quite get what the radio station got out of it, though.

I guess no one here has every worked in or around radio? Radio stations have almost $0 promotional budget. They're revenue is based off of advertising, which in a declining economy plus competition from the web and satelite radio... well you can imagine where they're budgets are headed. Many stations will do things in trade because, well air time is relatively cheap to manage. Still you have to pay operating costs, payroll, FCC fees, licensing, ...tec, plus kick some upstairs to the parent company. Radio is a very '$poor' business to be in. Ever see a DJ driving a new car or living in a new house? Most have second jobs to make ends meet.

Regarding the event... it's not so hard to figure out. It's the first year they've done this... had a huge concert event and opened it to the public. They had a budget to work with and quickly got over budget. They share ticket cost and concessions with the concert venue. They had to pay for insurance and security. In the end. if they were in the black it wasn't by much. This was basically an experiment to see how they could manage an event this size and whether or not it would be profitable. Again, I'll reiterate... after cashing a $1000 check, reporting the taxes, we'd pocket a $125. On average, I make $450-600 on a regular gig weekend. Do you think I'll really miss that $125? I'll gladly take my name on the radio in regular rotation in trade.

[wheresgrant3]

Originally Posted by Tele-vania65000

All you guys need now is to learn how to dress like adults and the sky's the limit!





I keed, I keed.

Glad your plan is working out!

LOL...
If we dressed like 'adults' the 'kids' would stop coming out to see us.

Age range in our band is 35-44. We all keep some 'Just For Men' at home just in case. No grey hairs allowed.