Bridging the Music: Scam or legitimate?

[David Wilson]

opening up again.

I can't blame TB'ers for being suspicious of people who join up just to defend / promote something, especially when it's a commercial venture, and so anyone doing so should be aware of how it will look to the community.

We have a number of means of detecting spammers, when they are legitimately so they will be taken care of.

 

[mellowinman]

Hi, I am with Bridging The Music. None of these artists or bands are interns or are anyway affiliated with working with our organization. Yes, there has been an increase in the bands posting here because we have starting giving this link to bands that have had good experiences with us. It's time the public hear's the positive ways in which we can help bands grow from bands themselves instead of from people who are jaded due to experiences with other companies. We are open to intelligent positive ideas on this board. Thank you for your suggestions and we will always strive for better!

Explain the apostrophe in "hear's."

 

[Joe Louvar]

Hi, I am with Bridging The Music. None of these artists or bands are interns or are anyway affiliated with working with our organization. Yes, there has been an increase in the bands posting here because we have starting giving this link to bands that have had good experiences with us. It's time the public hear's the positive ways in which we can help bands grow from bands themselves instead of from people who are jaded due to experiences with other companies. We are open to intelligent positive ideas on this board. Thank you for your suggestions and we will always strive for better!

What do you mean by "with"? Are you the owner, what is your job position?

Also, out of curiosity - if you're a concert promoter, as a promoter what are your job duties (besides paying the bands), in other words - do you handle ticket sales, advertising on TV, radio, news papers, flyers etc - what exactly do you do? Thanks

 

[Right_Butterscotch64]

Hi, I am with Bridging The Music. None of these artists or bands are interns or are anyway affiliated with working with our organization. Yes, there has been an increase in the bands posting here because we have starting giving this link to bands that have had good experiences with us. It's time the public hear's the positive ways in which we can help bands grow from bands themselves instead of from people who are jaded due to experiences with other companies. We are open to intelligent positive ideas on this board. Thank you for your suggestions and we will always strive for better!

Pretty sure this was a joke post poking fun at all the first time posters on this thread.

If it isn't, it's safe to say that this BTM organization thinks everyone on here is a moron.

 

[mb1923]

I just want to try to make my point clear here. BTM puts on a lot of shows. The owner Jonah is a musician himself and started playing the same way by doing opening acts that don't have the best genre fit or having to sell tickets on a night that doesn't draw a lot of people. He has worked to promote himself and is now putting together bigger shows because he has worked hard. Besides promoting and selling his own bigger shows, BTM puts on many events for people who haven't built a following yet. Some of these people I've seen at these events don't know how to go about booking or getting gigs. Some performers I've seen are very grateful for having a chance to play in a nice venue, and have never performed live before. The way I see it is that they are giving people a chance to try to sell tickets and learn how to build their own fan base. They give you a couple bucks back, give an amount to the venue, and keep what's leftover. You can't call that a scam, that's how this industry works. Besides the tickets are cheap, 10 dollars, it's not like they are turning over a huge profit on bands that only bring in 15 people. It hard enough to break even. They let anyone play as long as you can bring in some people which is fair. It's obvious that some acts are more talented and dedicated to trying to bring in people, others think they are entitled to having an audience there for them that the promoter brings in. It just doesn't make sense that you think the promoter should do all the work for upcoming bands. With the amount of new local acts they work with and the number of small shows that go on, while also doing bigger primary shows, the promoter cannot promote every band or act. They just don't have the time to market acts who don't even try to market themselves. You have to self promote, and eventually you can get to a point where you get on better bills, play better nights, and have to sell yourself less. BTM provides opportunities to move on to bigger and better shows, but you have to prove that you work hard to sell yourself they just aren't going to hand you a headlining show with a packed house. That's all I was trying to say with my previous post.
I'm sure many of you that bash BTM have never worked with them or even lived In their primary market Denver, it's not fair to them that you diminish their image by making accusations online.

 

[lfmn16]

I just want to try to make my point clear here. BTM puts on a lot of shows. The owner Jonah is a musician himself and started playing the same way by doing opening acts that don't have the best genre fit or having to sell tickets on a night that doesn't draw a lot of people. He has worked to promote himself and is now putting together bigger shows because he has worked hard. Besides promoting and selling his own bigger shows, BTM puts on many events for people who haven't built a following yet. Some of these people I've seen at these events don't know how to go about booking or getting gigs. Some performers I've seen are very grateful for having a chance to play in a nice venue, and have never performed live before. The way I see it is that they are giving people a chance to try to sell tickets and learn how to build their own fan base. They give you a couple bucks back, give an amount to the venue, and keep what's leftover. You can't call that a scam, that's how this industry works. Besides the tickets are cheap, 10 dollars, it's not like they are turning over a huge profit on bands that only bring in 15 people. It hard enough to break even. They let anyone play as long as you can bring in some people which is fair. It's obvious that some acts are more talented and dedicated to trying to bring in people, others think they are entitled to having an audience there for them that the promoter brings in. It just doesn't make sense that you think the promoter should do all the work for upcoming bands. With the amount of new local acts they work with and the number of small shows that go on, while also doing bigger primary shows, the promoter cannot promote every band or act. They just don't have the time to market acts who don't even try to market themselves. You have to self promote, and eventually you can get to a point where you get on better bills, play better nights, and have to sell yourself less. BTM provides opportunities to move on to bigger and better shows, but you have to prove that you work hard to sell yourself they just aren't going to hand you a headlining show with a packed house. That's all I was trying to say with my previous post.
I'm sure many of you that bash BTM have never worked with them or even lived In their primary market Denver, it's not fair to them that you diminish their image by making accusations online.

Jonah, is that you?

 

[Joe Louvar]

Pretty sure this was a joke post poking fun at all the first time posters on this thread.

If it isn't, it's safe to say that this BTM organization thinks everyone on here is a moron.

+100%

 

[DwaynieAD]

Hi, I am with Bridging The Music. None of these artists or bands are interns or are anyway affiliated with working with our organization. Yes, there has been an increase in the bands posting here because we have starting giving this link to bands that have had good experiences with us. It's time the public hear's the positive ways in which we can help bands grow from bands themselves instead of from people who are jaded due to experiences with other companies. We are open to intelligent positive ideas on this board. Thank you for your suggestions and we will always strive for better!

so you're soliciting bands for positive reviews on an external website. that kind of would make them 'affiliated' with you.

 

[Bass_Pounder]

The way I see it is that they are giving people a chance to try to sell tickets and learn how to build their own fan base. They give you a couple bucks back, give an amount to the venue, and keep what's leftover. You can't call that a scam, that's how this industry works.

No.............that is NOT how the industry works, and the ONLY reason companies like BTM is in existence is because of naïve musicians that don't know any better.

You want to keep selling yourself short ? Fine - there are companies and clubs all over the place that operate under that crappy business model. Just keep using them (where in reality, THEY are USING you).

The rest of us enlightened people prefer to try to run a-holes like BTM (and other pay to play scams) out of business.

 

[mellowinman]

What I'm getting here is, it is not the job of the PROMOTER to PROMOTE.

So what IS their job?

 

[Bass_Pounder]

What I'm getting here is, it is not the job of the PROMOTER to PROMOTE.

So what IS their job?

Apparently, their job is keep all the leftover money

 

[Joe Louvar]

Apparently, their job is keep all the leftover money

+1.

Hmm. Left over money? What left over money? That's to funny.

 

[jive1]

opening up again.

I can't blame TB'ers for being suspicious of people who join up just to defend / promote something, especially when it's a commercial venture, and so anyone doing so should be aware of how it will look to the community.

We have a number of means of detecting spammers, when they are legitimately so they will be taken care of.

I also think that BridgingMusic needs to identify himself as a commercial user and familiarize himself with the CUP (Commercial User Policy).

 

[Bass Viking]

The way I see it is that they are giving people a chance to try to sell tickets and learn how to build their own fan base. They give you a couple bucks back, give an amount to the venue, and keep what's leftover. You can't call that a scam, that's how this industry works.

You know, for a guy who claims to know how the music business works you've got a huge blind spot when it comes to compensation.

 

[Turock]

You can't call that a scam, that's how this industry works.

Yep, that's how the scam industry works alright. They don't call it a scam either, but they know what it is.

 

[callofcthulhu]

I just want to try to make my point clear here. BTM puts on a lot of shows. The owner Jonah is a musician himself and started playing the same way by doing opening acts that don't have the best genre fit or having to sell tickets on a night that doesn't draw a lot of people. He has worked to promote himself and is now putting together bigger shows because he has worked hard. Besides promoting and selling his own bigger shows, BTM puts on many events for people who haven't built a following yet. Some of these people I've seen at these events don't know how to go about booking or getting gigs. Some performers I've seen are very grateful for having a chance to play in a nice venue, and have never performed live before. The way I see it is that they are giving people a chance to try to sell tickets and learn how to build their own fan base. They give you a couple bucks back, give an amount to the venue, and keep what's leftover. You can't call that a scam, that's how this industry works. Besides the tickets are cheap, 10 dollars, it's not like they are turning over a huge profit on bands that only bring in 15 people. It hard enough to break even. They let anyone play as long as you can bring in some people which is fair. It's obvious that some acts are more talented and dedicated to trying to bring in people, others think they are entitled to having an audience there for them that the promoter brings in. It just doesn't make sense that you think the promoter should do all the work for upcoming bands. With the amount of new local acts they work with and the number of small shows that go on, while also doing bigger primary shows, the promoter cannot promote every band or act. They just don't have the time to market acts who don't even try to market themselves. You have to self promote, and eventually you can get to a point where you get on better bills, play better nights, and have to sell yourself less. BTM provides opportunities to move on to bigger and better shows, but you have to prove that you work hard to sell yourself they just aren't going to hand you a headlining show with a packed house. That's all I was trying to say with my previous post.
I'm sure many of you that bash BTM have never worked with them or even lived In their primary market Denver, it's not fair to them that you diminish their image by making accusations online.

I think I get how this works.

Hey guys, I'm going to start my own entertainment company.

We're going to specialize in pushing people into the mud.

And if anyone complains that I shouldn't call myself an entertainment company, or that I shouldn't charge people to get pushed into the mud at all, I'll just remind them:

"I'm not JUST pushing people into the mud; I'm teaching them HOW to get pushed into the mud."

 

[fdeck]

Those of you who are saying that BTM is a scam need to take some time to think about the music business in general.

Without wanting to rebuke you too strongly, I think it's worth mentioning that you're addressing a forum whose active membership represents thousands of years of collective experience in the music business. Perhaps a theme across a number of posts in this thread is that whoever is telling you "how the business works" may be misinformed themselves, or experienced with only a tiny corner of the business.

What you've experienced so far is not how the business works, but how the pay-to-play business works. You pay for a small gig, and if you do good, then you get to pay for a larger gig.

Why are folks so skeptical? I think it's because most working musicians have never played a ticket-selling gig. For this reason, it's not credible that ticket-selling is a necessary or even beneficial step towards developing a musician or a band.

Personally, I'm of two minds about variations on the pay-to-play theme, such as ticket-selling. On the one hand, ticket-selling seems to figure into some of the most outrageous horror stories experienced by emerging bands. On the other hand, people do pay money for the enjoyment of playing music, for instance by buying instruments or taking lessons. I gladly pay for my kids to participate in music groups that perform. I have no fundamental objection to selling time slots in showcase gigs. But you may need to decide in advance how much money you want to sink into it.

You've gotten a lot of harsh responses. I don't think it's your fault. It's just that the subject matter itself is controversial. For this reason, I hope that you still feel welcome at TB, and that you will stick around and keep us posted on how things go!

 

[Bert Slide]

What I'm getting here is, it is not the job of the PROMOTER to PROMOTE.

So what IS their job?

Much of it involves damage control on message boards apparently.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Without wanting to rebuke you too strongly, I think it's worth mentioning that you're addressing a forum whose active membership represents thousands of years of collective experience in the music business. Perhaps a theme across a number of posts in this thread is that whoever is telling you "how the business works" may be misinformed themselves, or experienced with only a tiny corner of the business.

What you've experienced so far is not how the business works, but how the pay-to-play business works. You pay for a small gig, and if you do good, then you get to pay for a larger gig.

Why are folks so skeptical? I think it's because most working musicians have never played a ticket-selling gig. For this reason, it's not credible that ticket-selling is a necessary or even beneficial step towards developing a musician or a band.

Personally, I'm of two minds about variations on the pay-to-play theme, such as ticket-selling. On the one hand, ticket-selling seems to figure into some of the most outrageous horror stories experienced by emerging bands. On the other hand, people do pay money for the enjoyment of playing music, for instance by buying instruments or taking lessons. I gladly pay for my kids to participate in music groups that perform. I have no fundamental objection to selling time slots in showcase gigs. But you may need to decide in advance how much money you want to sink into it.

You've gotten a lot of harsh responses. I don't think it's your fault. It's just that the subject matter itself is controversial. For this reason, I hope that you still feel welcome at TB, and that you will stick around and keep us posted on how things go!

There is surely a job for you at the State Dept if you felt inclined.

 

[xgator4u]

I would like to address the community on here and say that BTM works with a lot of bands and artists and we try our best to please you all but its IMPOSSIBLE to make everyone happy, especially musicians! We know this because we are musicians ourselves and we all love music. All of our guidelines for our shows are clearly specified on our website and it clearly says that when you sign up you agree to these rules. Although some of you may not like the $20 registration fee if you dont bring in a minimum amount of people, this is the way is has to be. Let me explain why. We have debated so for so long about this and what it comes down to is that most bands wont try without having that motivation there. We love bands and musicians and our job as promoters goal is to fill up the room and have everyone play infront of a good crowd. Unless you want to play to an empty room? We dont want you to. We have grown awesome reltionships with bands and artists, set them up on lilttle runs, paid them a lot more then our standard rate, etc and managed to donate a substantial amount to our friends at Songs of Love. Working with musicains and bands is a growing situation as it is anywhere in the music business. Yes, we may have a few rules that some bands may not like, but we are certainly honest people and we lay out the rules very clearly in writing. Feel free to go to any of the sign up forms like this one to see all the rules.
We are also open to intelligent constructive feedback on how we can make our companies rules better - while still keeping everyone motivated to promote.

Holy CRAP !