Pay To Audition?

[tpaul]

How much do they charge for rehearsals?

 

[honeyiscool]

I guess colleges do charge an application fee...

 

[Deleted member 165050]

If you’re the only bassist there for the day it’s not like a normal audition, it’s more a jam to see if a lineup will work. And I’d say splitting the cost is fair. If there’s other bassists then noooo...

 

[rtslinger]

After several weeks of texting back and forth with the guy who contacted me to come try out for the bassist in a country band he is forming, this coming Sunday, it looks like it will happen. We will be meeting in a local studio, and the time is charged at a reasonable rate. I just found out today, that we (prospective band mates) will be expected to split the cost of the time! It's a small amount ($12), and that's not the issue, so I'm still going to the audition, but shouldn't he have mentioned this before? The last time I was invited to that same studio to lay down a track, there was no mention of money! The new guy responded that 'it's a new band - who's gonna pay?', and I said 'usually the band leader/organizer does!'.

Has anyone ever heard of this? First time for me!

No never, why would you have to pay is he giving your money back if he chooses someone else? Not sure I personally would want to deal with this character myself since he wasn't upfront about his plans to charge you to audition. As a BL I personally bought a block of time and setup a schedule of when I would audition who. RTS

 

[gln1955]

Looking at the op, he said "try out" FOR this guy, in my world that's an audition....

Sure sounds like it to me. Trying to spin this any other way is a stretch.

 

[Cheez]

To presume it's ok and not mention it up front is a problem. I'd worry about what other antics he'll pull once I committed.

 

[honeyiscool]

If you’re the only bassist there for the day it’s not like a normal audition, it’s more a jam to see if a lineup will work. And I’d say splitting the cost is fair.

True.

Any time that I have tried out a new member, I never asked for contributions from the new person unless it was agreed upon that there is a band, the new person's in it, and we are doing this. As a band leader, you shouldn't want anybody's money until they're in the band, because you go from a prospective to a prospective that has some skin in the game.

But if it was me and a couple of us starting a band, and we were going to jam for 2 hours to see if it works, I think it's reasonable to think people should pitch in. I still probably would front the first rehearsal costs, if it was my idea to start the band, because that allows me to run things more as a leader, whereas if everybody's got equal share of investment, then I wouldn't feel that I can control things the same way.

Really, though, this is why it's a good idea to meet at a more informal setting, a coffee shop or a concert or something, just to see if you vibe. Then have a quiet jam. Then when you all meet up for your first amplified jam with drums, you're already invested emotionally.

 

[Bass Viking]

My first thought was "Heck No" on paying to audition...but maybe this is a smart move on the bands part, it will help weed out the people who aren't serious and if a few dollars is invested people might take it more seriously. Almost every orchestra makes you pay an audition fee so why not a band....I'm sure everyone here has auditioned band members and been stood up... How serious are you about joining this band? serious enough to invest $12? All that said he should have brought up the audition fee from the beginning.

The problem is that this $12 fee will also weed out serious people who know a red flag when they see one.

Posts like this worry me. I seriously hope that charging people to audition for a band never becomes accepted practice.

 

[lfmn16]

This is so low class.

It's not the $12, it's the principle. This tells you that the entire time you are with the band, you'll be nickel and dimed.

Run Forrest, Run!

 

[gln1955]

The problem is that this $12 fee will also weed out serious people who know a red flag when they see one.

Posts like this worry me. I seriously hope that charging people to audition for a band never becomes accepted practice.

Pay-to-play is also absurd, but has become all too common. Desperate people do desperate things.

 

[lfmn16]

My first thought was "Heck No" on paying to audition...but maybe this is a smart move on the bands part, it will help weed out the people who aren't serious and if a few dollars is invested people might take it more seriously. Almost every orchestra makes you pay an audition fee so why not a band....I'm sure everyone here has auditioned band members and been stood up... How serious are you about joining this band? serious enough to invest $12? All that said he should have brought up the audition fee from the beginning.

If the purpose was to make sure people are serious, they could refund when people show up. According to the OP, "The new guy responded that 'it's a new band - who's gonna pay?'" Does anyone really want to play with a 'BL' so cheap that they won't pay for audition space?

 

[MDBass]

After several weeks of texting back and forth with the guy who contacted me to come try out for the bassist in a country band he is forming, this coming Sunday, it looks like it will happen. We will be meeting in a local studio, and the time is charged at a reasonable rate. I just found out today, that we (prospective band mates) will be expected to split the cost of the time! It's a small amount ($12), and that's not the issue, so I'm still going to the audition, but shouldn't he have mentioned this before? The last time I was invited to that same studio to lay down a track, there was no mention of money! The new guy responded that 'it's a new band - who's gonna pay?', and I said 'usually the band leader/organizer does!'.

Has anyone ever heard of this? First time for me!

Personally, that sounds like an unprofessional situation that I wouldn't spend any more of my time on.

 

[Pug the Pig]

If they've 'texted back and forth for weeks' it's not exactly forward going and on the ball is it..

 

[punchdrunk]

The guy is a loser. A total time waster, guaranteed. I’d not.

 

[RustyAxe]

As usual, I pretty much disagree with the majority of TB members....
It's perfectly acceptable to share the cost of a Studio rehearsal space. Even as a future member.

To YOU. But as an auditioner I am NOT a future member. Wanna put a band together, be the leader? Then the up front expense is on YOU.

 

[TheReceder]

Seems more like everyone was there to try and get a band together. if the band was already formed I'd say no unless they hired me, But this doesn't sound like the band was already together.

To me, it seems that at least if everyone is dropping a whole 12 bucks it sounds like people will have a little more say in the direction the band goes while it's forming. You put the whole bill on the "BL" you've just given away a little bit of your say over 12 bucks, you've also potentially hurt your reputation with the other musicians that might be "auditioning" and were willing to cough up a few bucks. Who would really look like the petty one if you opt out of paying?

 

[rtav]

I was once hit up by a local guy to play bass for his “prog project” and literally given a list of 40 prog songs (incl. tunes like “Siberian Khatru,” “Trick of the Tail/Los Endos,” “Mother Russia,” “Soundchaser” and other 10 minute+ prog epics).

I learned them. I love the music and already knew some so it wasn’t a crushing burden. The guy seemed connected (always dropping names of ppl he “saw in LA last week” like Jordan Rudess, Jack Black blah blah). He booked a lot of shows in my area, some very well known acts, so I figured I would give it my best - you ever know.

Fast forward 2months later. I get to the rehearsal studio and hardly any of the other players knows any of the material. Some aren’t even sober. Ugh. Disorganized, rudderless nightmare.

At the merciful end of the night, Captain Showbiz suddenly, UNEXPECTEDLY wanted $40 from each person to cover the studio costs for our 6 hours of pain. He offered to drive us to an ATM. What a pro.

At least I learned some good tunes... and who to NEVER TALK TO, DEAL WITH or ACKNOWLEDGE EVER AGAIN.

He had the temerity to contact me a few weeks later about a prog tribute idea he had... I told him as politely as possible to go ____ himself. Lesson learned.

 

[mc900ftj]

I have auditioned a number of times at a public rehearsal studio and never been asked to help pay for the space. I really believe that is the responsibility of the person doing the hiring.
That kind of cheapness is an indication of things to come. I wouldn't do it.

This.

 

[gitfiddl]

Does anyone else find the amount odd? $12 as opposed to the more common figures of $10 or $15? I can only imagine him asking "Anyone got change for a buck?" when counting the tip jar at the end of the night.

If he had mentioned it at the outset like "...and we're renting a studio to do this. Think you might be able to chip in 10 or 15 bucks when we get together?", it would sit better with me than saving it until the last minute. Other than that, I don't guess I really have a problem with it. You said "potential bandmates" so it looks like there's not a slew of bassists coming in. I'd do it, but I might be tempted to bring $12 worth of pennies in a sack...

 

[Richard Lindsey]

If you’re the only bassist there for the day it’s not like a normal audition, it’s more a jam to see if a lineup will work. And I’d say splitting the cost is fair. If there’s other bassists then noooo...

If someone has the ability to say "no" to your participation, as seems to be the case from the OP (ie, because of the language that this guy is "putting together" the band), then it doesn't matter whether there's only one bassist or 50. It's still an audition, still a tryout that someone else can pass or fail you on. So the one who is holding the tryout and presumably has (most of) the decision-making power ought to be the one who foots the bill.

Somebody else's post mentioned orchestras charging audition fees or colleges charging application fees. That isn't relevant. A band that doesn't even exist yet isn't an orchestra, and it's not a college.

If it really were anything like a true jam, I'd have expected the OP to say something like, "A bunch us were planning to get together to see if we could put something together...." But that's not what it sounds like. To me, at least. YMMV