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Psychology on Cover Charges, why?

#61
I've played in every financial situation possible--I even had to pay a cover to get into my own gig once. Cover charges used to be standard, but now they are definitely a hindrance. Some things I've noticed:

A lot of people don't carry cash anymore.

They don't understand that the money is going to the band. People need to know that they are paying the band to play rather than paying the bar owner to sell them drinks. I think they are much quicker to let go of a couple dollars when they see it as tip for the musicians. This is where a good doorman can really help you out.

People don't want to pay upfront and then not want to stay. I admit to this one. I used to travel for work a lot and I would always try to go see whatever bands were playing. If one bar has a cover and the other is free admission, I'll check out the free one first. And, I will try to check out a band before I pay. Again, a good doorman makes a difference in getting a customer to feel like he's not getting chiseled.
 
#63
Around here, I can go out to a number of places and see the best local bands for free. The places that (in general) charge covers usually have lower quality bands. Easy choice for ME! Often a side benefit is I can go to2-3 different venues and see different bands. Covers add up if you are club/barhopping. Also, It's usual that the places w/covers are not very crowded, whereas the free places I frequent are packed. I'm pretty much retired, but never liked playing in places with covers, other than festivals w/killer bands. We DO have a couple places that are starting to book regional and even national touring bands (some pretty well known). Of course THEY have to charge a cover, but I took the OP to be referring to local band venues.
 
#64
I would say charging a cover prevents people from going to a club when there are other clubs in the area. and people are far less impressed with live bands than in past.. in my opinion (youtube, The Voice, American Idol, etc).

the best bands in my area do NOT charge a cover, but the clubs mark up the drinks during the shows.. sometimes by $.10 other times $1.. either way, the clubs have privately told me they make WAY more $$$$ marking up drinks than charging a cover charge at the door.. how other clubs cannot see this is beyond me..

another method to offset the cover is give away stuff at raffles.. but I find that cheesy.. when I play in bands, it's the CLUBS that charge a cover charge--not the band. I've never been in a band that has take the cover as pay, etc.. that's enough to make us NOT book a show. we get paid a set fee and we're fine with that. we also try to avoid the bars dubious enough to charge a cover, or to understand the cover charge will turn some people away.
 
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#65
Some of you apparently have the attitude that you are entitled to a paying audience simply by virtue of being a musician. But guess what? Nobody cares how hard you've worked, how much money you've invested in your gear, how many years of dedicated practice you've put in to reach your current level of musicianship, etc. None of that entitles you to have somebody else pay you their hard-earned money to perform for them. All that matters, as with any other business, is whether or not you can provide your potential customers with a product, service, or experience that they want and can't get elsewhere for less. And these days there are seemingly endless options for entertainment, both musical and otherwise, and a lot of those options can be enjoyed for free in the comfort of one's own home.

So it's not enough that you've got a solid band playing well-written songs. Bands like that are a dime a dozen in most decent-sized cities, and the market for live music (let alone live original music) isn't nearly large enough to support all of them. As someone trying to make a living playing gigs you are competing a) with all of the other local bands in your area, b) with all of the bands that visit your area on tour, c) with all of the music available on the internet, radio, etc., and d) with all of the other non-musical forms of entertainment available to consumers these days. If you expect people to pay a decent-sized cover to see you perform you had better at a minimum be dominating category a (and by a sufficient margin to be a better value than seeing an inferior local band play for less/free), and even then all you'll attract is the small percentage of the population that actively seeks out and supports local music. If you're competitive with category b then you might also bring in the casual live music fan who usually only goes to see his favorite bands when they come to town; however that's still a fairly small audience in the big scheme of things. Category c is where things start to open up and you can really start to make a living - that's where you get people who enjoy music but who usually don't care about seeing it live. To bring in those people you not only need to have your music be as good as anything else out there, but you have to make your performances electric and entertaining enough to compel people who usually only listen to music casually at their convenience to actually go out of their way to see your shows. You have to make the live experience special enough that it simply can't be duplicated by playing prerecorded music over a set of speakers. And finally no matter how good you are there's still category d to contend with, and the massive increase in options in that category over the last few decades is a major reason why it's so difficult for musicians to make a living these days.

So in short the question shouldn't be "why aren't people willing to pay to see me perform", but "what am I doing to stand out from all the other entertainment options they have to the extent that they want to pay to see me perform?" The market is small enough to begin with, and if you aren't either blowing peoples' minds with world class musicianship or creating a party-like atmosphere that they want to be around odds are you aren't compelling enough to earn the pay you desire. It's harsh but it's reality these days.
 
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#66
In my experience, it boils down to this:

Excluding the people who follow your band and show up specifically to see you: Many of the people visiting the bar aren't there to see you. And now they have to pay money at the door, just to get it in. they have to pay money, just to be able to hang out. Could be randoms bar hopping. Could be regulars. Could be someone who rarely goes out and picked that night and that bar. Drinks are already expensive. Paying to enter, is pretty annoying.

I even feel a little salty sometimes, having to pay cover for a random band, when I'm just trying to get out and hang. If you are bar hopping, you could end up paying multiple covers, if you really want to enter those places.
 
#69
People don't pay covers in cities with lots of bars because it is an inconvenience. You usually need to have cash in hand to do that, which most people don't have. Additionally, when there are a ton of bars everywhere, it is very easy to say - "nah" and walk somewhere with no cover.

The reason is not about being cheap. It is because a lot of people enjoy bar hopping and not feeling obligated to stay and watch a band that they may barely even know about or like. I booked bands for a while in such an area and all the younger bands begged me not to charge a cover, and it worked. The old bands would ask me to charge a cover and no one would come watch them, so I dumped that model real fast.
 
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#70
Shimmi said:
Has anyone figured out the weird psychology of people being cheap when it comes to seeing live music?
Click to expand...
Rereading the OP, and to the question "Has anyone figured out the weird psychology of people being cheap when it comes to seeing live music?":

I believe the psychology boils down to the transient feeling of "value".

In relation to ticket prices/cover charges: Today, I could go to a local stadium, and for a nominal fee get a tour of the stadium. I could even sit in the front row and take a picture. Say that's $15. But next week a Taylor Swift concert came to town. The cost of being in that same seat will likely be $1,000 or more. Same seat, different price. Now, fast forward 20 years, and Taylor Swift comes to the same venue, the ticket price is likely $200 or less. These are fictitious numbers, but I think you get the point. Marketing of the venue and artist, mixed with what those clientele are willing to pay can cause the price of the same item (Namely a front row seat), to change dramatically.

So what's the solution to ticket prices? Most likely the answer is Perception. Would you pay $10 to see 4 twenty year olds botch "Stairway to Heaven"? Probably no, that's not good value. But Would you pay $10 to see Led Zeppin perform "Stairway to Heaven"? Probably, and buy a whole section of seats to boot. It's good value.

If a bar/band wants to charge a cover, they better darn well do some marketing, and provide a service fit for someone's $5. And it doesn't really matter what the people want. If they won't pay the cover, they won't come, and your business fails. If they do come, great, you've become a successful business person.
 
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#71
aborgman said:
Well... it appears to be a successful strategy. You don't have to have anything to do with them, because they aren't paying the cover. It's not a very good sales strategy though.
Click to expand...

I know. I'm only playing 50-60 gigs a year, taking home $120-150 a night, in spite of our lousy sales strategy. I just don't understand how it is we keep getting hired. :rollno:
 
#72
I think with many local bands there isn't a sufficient enough "identity" to have the crowd identify with them and be willing to pony up a cover charge. Bands bring in subs. Players belong to a couple or more bands playing in the same area. There's not enough "band" to build fan loyalty. BLs virtually boast how they view their players as hired and interchangeable parts. Players act like armies of one. And so it goes.

I went to a club show of sorts that had three bands on the marquee. First band played and finished up. After a break the second band took the stage. And half the people in the second band were from the first band. Same thing happened when the third band came up. Two new faces plus the drummer from the first band, and the bassist and one guitarist were from the second band. It was like watching musical chairs.

I asked if they were all subbing for each other. They said no. They did this routinely. Half of them were each regular members of multiple bands.

How do you develop a following when you operate as interchangeble parts in the same market?
 
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#73
Bunk McNulty said:
I know. I'm only playing 50-60 gigs a year, taking home $120-150 a night, in spite of our lousy sales strategy. I just don't understand how it is we keep getting hired. :rollno:
Click to expand...

You're doing well for a band playing for cover charges... yet probably a majority of your audience are people who care more about a sooper-dooper coffee than having a good time at a club.

You may not want anything to do with those people - but without them, your 1/4 the poverty level income from gigs would likely dry up.
 
#74
aborgman said:
You're doing well for a band playing for cover charges... yet probably a majority of your audience are people who care more about a sooper-dooper coffee than having a good time at a club.

You may not want anything to do with those people - but without them, your 1/4 the poverty level income from gigs would likely dry up.
Click to expand...

If you are going to keep making these assertions, I'd like to see a little data, please. While I'm at it: I don't make my living playing music, but I certainly do supplement my income with it.
 
#76
Shimmi said:
I notice a lot of people have personal gripes against cover charges. I've even heard people I considered friends complain about venues charging a cover.

For an event I put together I frankly couldn't get around it. In order to pay the bands a fraction of what they deserve our bar would have to A) Charge a $5 cover, or B) Raise drink prices for the night to about 50 cents.

After surveying customers most people hated the idea of a cover charge, and more people couldnt fathom paying more for their drinks. (exaggeration but you get the point.)

As someone who usually only goes to bars to see live music(aside from when I'm bar tending) I never had issue paying cover, its $5 bucks how cheap can you be? Maybe I'm just empathetic from experience playing gigs either way I'm trying my best to reach out to the live music enthusiasts and make this event a success.

Has anyone figured out the weird psychology of people being cheap when it comes to seeing live music?

I'm thinking its either they don't want to "waste" $5 if it turns out they don't like the band. or maybe they are completely ignorant to why?
Click to expand...

The media has convinced people they don't need to pay for anything, music, investment advice, healthcare, and a commission of any sort. Why be surprised when people balk at paying cover charge, or more for their drinks, when they can cocoon in their own home and be entertained for zero cost?

It a matter of perceived value. If you expect people to plunk down money, you'd better be able to make it worth it or they won't. Keep in mind, I'm on your side here, but you wanted to know why.
 
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#77
Bunk McNulty said:
If you are going to keep making these assertions, I'd like to see a little data, please.
Click to expand...

Starbucks had $22.4 billion dollars in revenue last year.

That is about $6.4 billion (+40%) more than the entire U.S. recorded music industry revenue.

That is about $10.4 billion (+87%) more than the entire U.S live music industry revenue.

All live and recorded music revenue in the USA combined barely exceeded Starbucks revenue.

Revenue of the entire coffee and snack shops industry in the United States exceeded all live and recorded music revenue in the USA combined by about $10 billion (+35%)

Bunk McNulty said:
While I'm at it: I don't make my living playing music, but I certainly do supplement my income with it.
Click to expand...

Neither do I - and I wouldn't try, because I see where the public spends money... and it largely isn't on music.
 
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#78
I've never met anyone who was going out with the purpose of seeing live music object to a cover charge. I've seen lots of folks object to a cover charge who were just going out to hang with friends and found the bar they were going to was charging a cover for a band they had no intention of seeing. Which brings me to my next point, who goes out to see live music?

Gen Xers and millennials increasingly don't give a poopie about live music. It's less and less a part of pop culture. What's sold as a concert these days is more multi-media extravaganza than music. Sadly, as music resources are stripped from schools, it's likely to only get worse.
 
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#79
If it hasn't been mentioned, EVERYBODY expects music to be free now, thanks to YouTube, streaming, and P2P.

People grumbled a little now and then 30 years ago, but still paid and filled clubs. Different times then, as there were less options for home entertainment.
 
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#80
Shimmi said:
I notice a lot of people have personal gripes against cover charges. I've even heard people I considered friends complain about venues charging a cover.

For an event I put together I frankly couldn't get around it. In order to pay the bands a fraction of what they deserve our bar would have to A) Charge a $5 cover, or B) Raise drink prices for the night to about 50 cents.

After surveying customers most people hated the idea of a cover charge, and more people couldnt fathom paying more for their drinks. (exaggeration but you get the point.)

As someone who usually only goes to bars to see live music(aside from when I'm bar tending) I never had issue paying cover, its $5 bucks how cheap can you be? Maybe I'm just empathetic from experience playing gigs either way I'm trying my best to reach out to the live music enthusiasts and make this event a success.

Has anyone figured out the weird psychology of people being cheap when it comes to seeing live music?

I'm thinking its either they don't want to "waste" $5 if it turns out they don't like the band. or maybe they are completely ignorant to why?
Click to expand...

Yeah I don't get either gripe, honestly.

I drink the same thing every time I go out. I'm not going to change based on price. I never ask what it costs. I just order it by the glass or the pitcher, depending on how much I an to drink and how many of us are drinking. So I would wager most wouldn't notice the difference in drink prices if you didn't tell them. Even if I got HAMMERED, my tab would only be a few dollars more at the end of the night.

As for a $5 cover, that's no biggie either. It would not sway me one way or the other in the least.

So I'm with you. I don't understand.
 
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