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Playing for free as "good marketing"?

Is playing for free until the end of the year "good marketing"?

  • Total voters
    237
  • Poll closed .
#281
re.someone big was using music you owned...

in the real world your publicist negotiates a 40g contract for broadcast rights across all media/regions.
you can get royalties for syndication..

your replacing this with a system of .5c per hit
the digital utopia is dystopia
 
#282
Well, I didn't read all 15 pages, but although I have and will continue to play freebies for my own reasons, I have NEVER, NEVER, NEVER thought even for a fraction of a millisecond that doing so was "good marketing". Nope, that part is total and utter BS.
 
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#283
36hz said:
re.someone big was using music you owned...

in the real world your publicist negotiates a 40g contract for broadcast rights across all media/regions.
you can get royalties for syndication..

your replacing this with a system of .5c per hit
the digital utopia is dystopia
Click to expand...

except it is forever and can eventually add up...
 
#285
If the bar owner was helping out the community in some way I may be inclined to work out a deal for a few gigs with a cover band. I've heard of bar owners cooking meals for their (ex)employees among other things that seemed not in their best business interests. I could help an owner like that. If I was a full time muso, relying solely on musical income, that may lead me to not do it.
 
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#286
(business marketing) is presenting a link to a live show.
the free marketing (scam) has usually been about it gets you an audience.

other terms dont relate... dont relate "bars" to clubs please. no one who runs a club owns it.
the "argument" here is between to unrelated groups that serve different functions
ie
1)catering to baby boomer nostalgia..
2) "developing" your own fan base
3) being a "PRO" in the 'A' circut
you either have a barging position or you dont.

local music business are entirely about communities
"scenes" may seem to follow a spontaneous cycle
but theres usually a dedicated business person behind the infrastructure.
 
#287
36hz said:
(business marketing) is presenting a link to a live show.
the free marketing (scam) has usually been about it gets you an audience.

other terms dont relate... dont relate "bars" to clubs please. no one who runs a club owns it.
the "argument" here is between to unrelated groups that serve different functions
ie
1)catering to baby boomer nostalgia..
2) "developing" your own fan base
3) being a "PRO" in the 'A' circut
you either have a barging position or you dont.

local music business are entirely about communities
"scenes" may seem to follow a spontaneous cycle
but theres usually a dedicated business person behind the infrastructure.
Click to expand...

don't know ...

Who was behind nwobm? grunge? new york punk? Not sure what scenes you mean.
 
#288
Im not making arguments against you Loring I appreciate you see these issues from a different perspective
Im making some obersvations from a point of view thats almost extant now.

its more of an issue for me to try to recoginize the issues that are affecting people here.'
Generilizations based on philosohies arent going to help execept to try to see the "big picture"

grunge is the last example of exactly what im talking about
new york punk happend because of C.B.G.Bs
the greatful dead situtation is how this started

its literally my job to do this dude

If this guy didnt exist no one would have ever heard of JAMES JAMERSON
Berry Gordy - Wikipedia
dont even get me started on Barry gordie
 
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#289
Cbgbs created the scene or profited from it? And I don't know the answer but it seems kind of symbiotic.

Don't know if it's on topic so - you're likely right in that there is always someone else profiting from others' artistry.

whether we should toss away our worth with nothing whatsoever to gain is really the question or rather the question was whether that is sound marketing.

the answer is of course no. Good marketing is where you increase your fan base to the point you can draw crowds to a bigger room and get more $$. If your activity isn't doing that it's not good marketing.
 
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#290
its entirely a sybiotic relationship when it works.politics.success,andrapidly inflating egos will take it down though.If you think a promoter has "power" its entirely a relative thing
(I wont comment on trying to work with "artists" lol)
(even talented ppl r jerks sometimes)
its not about grunge though its about what was happening in Seatle b4 sub pop.
Maybe 6stringtheorist can fill us in

I guess for reasons of professional liabilty i should say these are 'models' I emulated
its not a magic power I was just able to network a group of the coolest people I ever met
right time right place right preperation

sry no 'magic bullet' guys
 
#293
musician exposure.jpg
 
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#294
My husband is a musician (he plays acoustic guitar). He has done things like offer a venue the first show at half price or all the proceeds from tonights show go to 'such and such charity'. He donates his gig money, he passes the hat and the bar will do a drink special or jello shots and all the money from that one item also goes for that charity. You could raise money for your food bank or whatever charity may be hurting in your area. It is a win win. Everyone is happy! :D
 
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#295
Yeah - not what the op was asking. Doing something for a charity can be great marketing and is generally a win-win.

Giving a freebie to the bar because they are suffering financially isn't the same thing. Musicians are also suffering financially. Wait staff, bartenders, doormen are all getting paid. Their customers - also feeling a financial burden are all paying for their drinks and possibly a door charge so - it's not like the bar is making less on that night than they would make on a "normal" night.

If it doesn't increase your fan base. It isn't good marketing. At best it's a gesture of good will. At worst it's an example of how gullible you are.
 
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#296
You are taking about drinks and a door charge and I'm talking about a set amount per gig and saying for the first gig "since I know you are tring to build your base back, let me help by playing for half price and I can draw people in or you" Sell yourself. That is good marketing.
Bars don't have the money to hire musicians right now and we have to show them why they need musicians.
Everyone talks about how the musicains are hurting and me me me. We are all in this together and we need to take care of one another.
 
Last edited:
#297
Sarah Rienzi said:
You are taking about drinks and a door charge and I'm talking about a set amount per gig and saying for the first gig "since I know you are tring to build your base back, let me help by playing for half price and I can draw people in or you" Sell yourself. That is good marketing.
Bars don't have the money to hire musicians right now and we have to show them why they need musicians.
Everyone talks about how the musicains are hurting and me me me. We are all in this together and we need to take care of one another.
Click to expand...


No - I'm talking about bars aren't making their employees work for half price and probably aren't changing their drink prices or door charges so why should you - a small business with much less income than the bar supplement their income?

One would hope that your band (or a band) actually brings people to the bar. If people aren't coming to see the (or a) band then they shouldn't have bands in the first place. If the reason people come to the bar is to see a band - then they should pay the band since that's why people are there.

If playing at the bar does not increase your band's fan base in any way shape or form - then it is simply not good marketing. It is only giving the bar owner a break in the hopes that (s)he will return the favour one day. They might or everytime they need a cheap/free act - they'll give you a call. When they need a band that draws people - they will pay.
 
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#298
Loring said:
No - I'm talking about bars aren't making their employees work for half price and probably aren't changing their drink prices or door charges so why should you - a small business with much less income than the bar supplement their income?

One would hope that your band (or a band) actually brings people to the bar. If people aren't coming to see the (or a) band then they shouldn't have bands in the first place. If the reason people come to the bar is to see a band - then they should pay the band since that's why people are there.

If playing at the bar does not increase your band's fan base in any way shape or form - then it is simply not good marketing. It is only giving the bar owner a break in the hopes that (s)he will return the favour one day. They might or everytime they need a cheap/free act - they'll give you a call. When they need a band that draws people - they will pay.
Click to expand...
I follow this reasoning and believe in it and been in bands over the decades that either benefited or suffered as a result.

However, I was in a cover band for a period of time that had good local club venue success. Operative word "local" (50 mile radius out of major metropolitan area in the Midwest...note: we were all weekend warriors with day jobs and family). We had a repertoire of cover tunes that pretty much fit the local scene and were adept musicians/performers.
The "run" lasted about six months. Ok small money, as long as I subsidized my transportation, food and drink. Then, the "been there, done that" syndrome set in for the fan base. Didn't matter the new tunes...the "cult of personality" was already stale. Attendance dropped off because we were playing nearly every weekend and our base was known to travel.

I can't help but think that the prior account may well represent a lot of local cover bands.
 
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