But that’s not my point, I used to run a country western place in Madison, WI (The Dry Bean Saloon and Smokehouse).

It was hard to find bands that could fill it. It held 450 people. We had Martina Mcbride in her early years, and she was great. We were perfectly located in between their shows in Chicago and Minneapolis… so it was extra money.

We’d agree on a price that we both thought was fair (sometimes we took the loss), but if we had a big night I’d add cash to the deal for the band.

We had one band that packed the place every night they played (12K to 20K per night) they always agreed to play for 600 bucks. If we had a big night I’d throw in 300 to 600 bucks. It was worth it so they’d keep coming back.

Owners and GM’s should know where their bread is buttered.

We also knew not to overexpose them, it would become normal instead of an event. We sold tickets for Martina, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Kentucky Headhunters and a few others.

The rest we charged at the door. You are correct that most places are not night clubs and people will not pay at the door.

But, owners and GM’s need to respect the dreams and passions of the bands. If they have a great night they should overpay the band… I knew what a normal Friday night take was. If we beat it by 2-4-6 or 10K it was because of the band…they earned to be paid more.

But that takes an owner or GM that doesn’t get too greedy. There were also nights we lost big on the band, but that isn’t the successful band’s fault.

You earned it, you should get it.

Sorry for the length Jim…I’m getting more verbose in my old age.

Your Friend,

jay

What it really comes down to is when you try to make money doing something that so many people have passion for and pursue, people will compete to do that “job” despite making peanuts. Works that way in ANY popular job out there. It’s all supply and demand, really. Is it “fair”? Not so sure. In a perfect world, venues would pay bands more than they do. I do disagree with the previous statement that we just “get to have fun”. I sacrifice relationships, other hobbies, passions, etc so that I can be at practice multiple days per week to continue making better music for people to listen to. yeah, it’s definitely the ultimate high to get to perform live, but it takes a lot more work than they seem to think. I don’t expect venues to necessarily compensate me for this sacrifice but would like a little more personal respect for it. My interaction with most venues thus far has me believing that they not only disregard the work you put in, but they don’t even take the time to say “thanks for playing”, despite drawing.

And then another related (though not directly related) issue is that of popular support. I hate to say it, but we live in a time where live rock music is being passed up on in favor of DJs who focus on pop and electronica. This is a sign of the times…a time where people are being barraged with “feel good” music with electronic steady beats to dance to…all entertainment, no art. It also doesn’t help that other bands (at least, “rock” bands), instead of embracing difference, choose to recycle music from the past or pop sounds of the present. By doing this, venues will tell themselves, “I may as well just play this kind of music through a DJ”. At least in terms of live rock, we will continue to suffer until something different comes about and is then somehow miraculously latched onto by popular culture. Sad but true.

After reading this, I definitely see myself only targeting the area of “original rock” and this does not apply to a lot of other musicians in there. But the root of it does apply to all of us.

This was a great blog, brother. Keep inspiring discussions like these.

One thing that we feel we must offer a rebuttal to, though:

Comparing what we do to what the cocktail waitress does is pretty unfair. She (or he) is busting their ass. We’re having fun.

Having been on both sides of that coin, we’ll tell you that the musician’s work is fun, easy and rewarding compared to what the bar staff is doing. (how often does the musician have to mop up vomit at 3 am?)

So, god bless the staff that does the actual work at the venues we perform at. We’re taking a fiver out of our tip jar and giving it to them for all the free drinks they gave us during the night…

JMB>> My intent was not to disparage the waitstaff or what they do in any way shape or form, merely to point out that a packed house will generally be more profitable than an empty one, and we always encourage folks to tip their staff.