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Bemoaning the lack of an audience
- Thread starter GCPENG
- Start date
Should have set up a web cam for a live streaming,
and told everyone to come on down and get famous on the internet... oh... and while you are here, buy a drink.
and told everyone to come on down and get famous on the internet... oh... and while you are here, buy a drink.
Slightly off-topic, but what do you guys think about streaming your shows on Facebook Live and the like? Gives people a chance to hear your music without getting their ass off the couch. Maybe next time they'll come down to the club. OTOH, it's also giving it away for free. We've posted short clips on IG & FB, but never a full set.
Perhaps you've missed my point? I'm an adult man who goes to all types of musical events because I had a vehicle when I was younger to be exposed to live performance. Not sure I get your point.
ha! humans have been asking this since before the development of language --- it was a thought! we have seen the enemy and the enemy are us!
i think many '2nd tier' venues have crowds/popularity 'in waves' as folks 're-discover' and then get bored. and if the venue is 'bigger' than the band = the entertainment can become the victim of that venue's current status.
offer a pound of free bacon to the first 100 fans through the door. good luck!
Man - that's a great idea! Call the band "A Hundred Pounds of Bacon". Could probably work some co-marketing scheme there with Oscar Meyer or Jimmy Dean. Everyone needs bacon the morning after a night out on the town!
I think this is a bad idea, but one of my bands is doing this in order to draw bigger crowds, so here goes. (As background, this band gigs 25-30 per year, everything from bar/ clubs to a world class casino and once this year in a pizzeria 
)
At each gig the BL hands out raffle tickets to patrons who ask for one (he advertises this on FB and at the start of each gig). On the last gig of the year he will draw a winning ticket and the winner will get $500. The more gigs you attend the better your odds of winning.
I think it's a bad idea because it makes the band look desperate, but the BL is putting up the bucks and I don't feel like questioning his decision.
Anyway, figure I'd post this to show how bad it can get out there.
)At each gig the BL hands out raffle tickets to patrons who ask for one (he advertises this on FB and at the start of each gig). On the last gig of the year he will draw a winning ticket and the winner will get $500. The more gigs you attend the better your odds of winning.
I think it's a bad idea because it makes the band look desperate, but the BL is putting up the bucks and I don't feel like questioning his decision.
Anyway, figure I'd post this to show how bad it can get out there.
I cut my teeth around the tail end of the era that we could seriously pack out a smaller venue and look great in a mid sized venue on any given night, so I really feel the sting these days.
I may be pessimistic, but the trends don't lie. It became apparent to me that people would much rather download/steal your music (if they bother at all), stay home and smoke mind-altering substances instead.
I may be pessimistic, but the trends don't lie. It became apparent to me that people would much rather download/steal your music (if they bother at all), stay home and smoke mind-altering substances instead.
^This. When was live music in abundance with nightly built in crowds? Before the internet, before streaming music, before Netflix, before video games that look like reality, before 24 hour a day watch anything you want on TV, before, before before... People just have too many choices. Most of the music I enjoy is 30 years old at a minimum. Sure, there are a few decent bands out there, but in my opinion the quality of the music that has been put out since, I'll be generous, the mid-90s, is poor to unlistenable. Why would I want to see someone else's cover of songs that were beaten to death years ago...or some crap pop tune that I would turn off if it came on the radio? Oh, and one more thing...get off my lawn!!
Unless it's for a one off show like a special event or for a fundraiser, I don't like it one bit. That's worse than "pay to play" imo. That's my honest opinion. What's the point if you literally have to lure people in to see you by giving them money over good entertainment?I think this is a bad idea, but one of my bands is doing this in order to draw bigger crowds, so here goes. (As background, this band gigs 25-30 per year, everything from bar/ clubs to a world class casino and once this year in a pizzeria
At each gig the BL hands out raffle tickets to patrons who ask for one (he advertises this on FB and at the start of each gig). On the last gig of the year he will draw a winning ticket and the winner will get $500. The more gigs you attend the better your odds of winning.
I think it's a bad idea because it makes the band look desperate, but the BL is putting up the bucks and I don't feel like questioning his decision.
Anyway, figure I'd post this to show how bad it can get out there.
I think this is a bad idea, but one of my bands is doing this in order to draw bigger crowds, so here goes. (As background, this band gigs 25-30 per year, everything from bar/ clubs to a world class casino and once this year in a pizzeria
At each gig the BL hands out raffle tickets to patrons who ask for one (he advertises this on FB and at the start of each gig). On the last gig of the year he will draw a winning ticket and the winner will get $500. The more gigs you attend the better your odds of winning.
I think it's a bad idea because it makes the band look desperate, but the BL is putting up the bucks and I don't feel like questioning his decision.
Anyway, figure I'd post this to show how bad it can get out there.
Yeesh. Don't do it, mang..
We’ve played a few empty venues in our time. What I’ve come to realise is that if the bar staff like you, you’ll probably get another gig. Instead of looking at the total numbers in the venue I look for familiar strangers..i.e someone I don’t know, who was at the last gig and is now at this gig. Sometimes it’s a coincidence and the person is just always at the bar, but usually that person has come especially to see you. I’d rather have 3 familiar strangers at my gig by choice than 10 family & friends there out of obligation.
Playing the rooms with built in crowds is fun and a bit an ego boost, but playing to a small group of your crowd is a different kind of fun.
Playing the rooms with built in crowds is fun and a bit an ego boost, but playing to a small group of your crowd is a different kind of fun.
Should we all just accept that the scene, as a whole, isn't what it used to be and just try to adapt and have fun with it regardless?
I mean between the vast entertainment choices overwhelming our former and potential audiences and the trendy asswipes who move next to venues and then proceed to make noise complaints, we don't exactly have a fighting chance..
I mean between the vast entertainment choices overwhelming our former and potential audiences and the trendy asswipes who move next to venues and then proceed to make noise complaints, we don't exactly have a fighting chance..
maybe try some busking of some sort ? like local farmer market? maybe a car show ?
try to get in on events that have built in crowds so you can expose yourself.
I do the local air show every year, and thousands of people show up. We always have a big sign with our name in sparkling letters, and I tell ya, we always get a bunch of new fb followers after that and they show up at shows. the merch sales and tips are pretty good as well.
try to get in on events that have built in crowds so you can expose yourself.
I do the local air show every year, and thousands of people show up. We always have a big sign with our name in sparkling letters, and I tell ya, we always get a bunch of new fb followers after that and they show up at shows. the merch sales and tips are pretty good as well.
- Oct 18, 2012
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The fact is that people just don't go out as much as they did 20 or 30 years ago. You are not only competing with other bands, you are competing with more cable and satellite tv channels than ever before, online movie services such as Netflix, video games and many other ways that people can spend time.
I have a good friend who is a published author. She recently did an event at a library where the plan was to spend about 30 minutes speaking about her writings followed by a meet and greet. She posted the event on social media and more than 40 people responded that they were going. The only people to show up were her sister and my wife and I.
I have a good friend who is a published author. She recently did an event at a library where the plan was to spend about 30 minutes speaking about her writings followed by a meet and greet. She posted the event on social media and more than 40 people responded that they were going. The only people to show up were her sister and my wife and I.
it is hit and miss here but i must admit our last 8 or 9 shows have been very good.
500ish this past saturday in quebec city.
pic of the band that played right before us. we closed out the night. by the end of our set it thinned out a bit but still a few hundred stuck around and there was even a nice moshpit.
500ish this past saturday in quebec city.
pic of the band that played right before us. we closed out the night. by the end of our set it thinned out a bit but still a few hundred stuck around and there was even a nice moshpit.
As I said, I don't like the idea and it's not costing me a cent.
I figure the BL make about $6-10K per year gigging so $500 at the end of the year is just investing in the business.
Someone once explained to me the "five year rule" and I'll be damned if it didn't turn out to be true.
He said (as he formed the band after having lived abroad for 15 years) that it takes five years from a scratch start to gain notoriety and become an A list area band, assuming your music and musicians are quality.
During that time the goal is not to bring your crowd to gigs but to get in front of as many people as possible, in front of other people's crowds, and impress them. Then you gain profile, people talk about you, synergy happens and you hit a critical mass where the notoriety becomes more self-sustaining.
Sure enough, exactly five years after forming, we were voted best blues band in Kansas City (and there are some damn fine blues bands there, it's a great blus/jazz town.) It happened 2 other times for me-- 5 years seems to be the time frame.
So-- work hard, get good, pay dues, seek to put yourself in front of pre-existing audiences, and in 5 years you'll be there.
PS -- your lame ass facebook friends aren't coming. Tell 'em but dont waste your breath beating that horse. They aren't going to "make" you; strangers who have never seen you play will, once you play for enough of them.
He said (as he formed the band after having lived abroad for 15 years) that it takes five years from a scratch start to gain notoriety and become an A list area band, assuming your music and musicians are quality.
During that time the goal is not to bring your crowd to gigs but to get in front of as many people as possible, in front of other people's crowds, and impress them. Then you gain profile, people talk about you, synergy happens and you hit a critical mass where the notoriety becomes more self-sustaining.
Sure enough, exactly five years after forming, we were voted best blues band in Kansas City (and there are some damn fine blues bands there, it's a great blus/jazz town.) It happened 2 other times for me-- 5 years seems to be the time frame.
So-- work hard, get good, pay dues, seek to put yourself in front of pre-existing audiences, and in 5 years you'll be there.
PS -- your lame ass facebook friends aren't coming. Tell 'em but dont waste your breath beating that horse. They aren't going to "make" you; strangers who have never seen you play will, once you play for enough of them.
It's already being done.
As I said, I don't like the idea and it's not costing me a cent.
I figure the BL make about $6-10K per year gigging so $500 at the end of the year is just investing in the business.
