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Original bands playing for free: a chronic problem
- Thread starter behemecoytl
- Start date
Wait, maybe I've not been lurking here long enough, but I thought "Pay to Play" was where you bought all the tickets in order to play, and then had to sell them. We're playing the show free, we get the tickets free. But if fans buy tickets from us, it's cheaper, costs us nothing, and they use it as a way to see who draws well and pay them. I'm not sure it's quite the same thing you're thinking of.
jive1
Commercial User
Unless they actually bought tickets to sell, or on the hook to pay for tickets that went unsold, it's not pay to play.
Just out of curiosity (not that it matters -- the shows are booked) what's the feeling of members here about pre-selling tickets for pay? Especially among the community here that likes to complain about things such as playing for free.
Unless you put a value on the time, effort and resources it takes to off-load those tickets I suppose.
As long as you don't have to buy the tickets first I think it's a great opportunity. You can sell those tickets, you can give them away to fan club members, you can give them away to anyone who buys your CD, etc.
Regardless of whether you're pre-selling tickets or you have a nice guarantee you should still be putting in the work promoting your shows.
It doesn't matter. If your pay is dependent on ticket sales, it's pay to play, period.
I was promoting our upcoming show last night and today. Passing out fliers or hanging them in windows and talking to people is totally different than selling tickets.
I was promoting our upcoming show last night and today. Passing out fliers or hanging them in windows and talking to people is totally different than selling tickets.
No, because you haven't paid anything. What part of this is confusing?
Pay to play= Band pays venue $200. Band plays at venue.
Ticket pre-sell= Venue gives band tickets. Band plays at venue.
See the difference?
It is NOT pay to play. Pay to play is when an act has to PAY the venue in some way to perform there. If they had to PAY for tickets to sell, THAT is pay to play.
Acts play all the time and their pay is dependent on whether tickets sell or not. That is NOT pay to play.
We played a gig a couple of months ago, guaranteed $500, but we were also given tickets to sell. That was NOT pay to play.
Acts play all the time and their pay is dependent on whether tickets sell or not. That is NOT pay to play.
We played a gig a couple of months ago, guaranteed $500, but we were also given tickets to sell. That was NOT pay to play.
Is the venue paying you? When they give you the tickets ( they are giving them to you, right?), what happens if you only sell 5 of them? Or if you don't sell any? Is the venue just letting you play and letting you keep all the money from the tickets, so that basically you are renting their space for free? Because that's pretty much the same thing as the venue letting you put a guy at the door and charge a cover, except it's a whole lot more work for you.
And obviously if a venue guarantees to pay you at least $500, it is not pay to play. What happens to the money from the ticket sales? Does it go on top of the $500?
And obviously if a venue guarantees to pay you at least $500, it is not pay to play. What happens to the money from the ticket sales? Does it go on top of the $500?
Pay to play is when you PAY to play at a venue. What don't you get?
If you sell no tickets and get paid nothing, you play for FREE. Which is what this thread was originally about.
If you sell no tickets and get paid nothing, you play for FREE. Which is what this thread was originally about.
Floyd, pay to pay carries the risk that the band ends the engagement with less money than it started with, excluding normal costs like gas and parking. The two most common models are:
There are lots of situations where a band has to front some money but has upside access on the back end, that are not pay-to-play. A band renting a venue and charging admission to the show is the cleanest example, and is at its essence what U2 is doing. This is just a normal business arrangement where the band carries upside and downside. Not for the faint of heart, but not pay to play.
If you get paid nothing under any circumstance and you pay nothing in either, it's just a free gig.
- The band has to buy and resell tickets
- The band must pay a fee to the venue in order to play and has no access to revenue.
There are lots of situations where a band has to front some money but has upside access on the back end, that are not pay-to-play. A band renting a venue and charging admission to the show is the cleanest example, and is at its essence what U2 is doing. This is just a normal business arrangement where the band carries upside and downside. Not for the faint of heart, but not pay to play.
If you get paid nothing under any circumstance and you pay nothing in either, it's just a free gig.
Ticket pre-sells can be pay to play if the band has to guarantee a minimum number of ticket sales. Ive talked to some promotors who do have bands sell tickets, but wont let them play unless the guarantee has been met.
Yes, but that was not presented as part of the agreement in the case presented above.
But you are correct.
