I received this in my inbox today and I was infuriated!!!
This is a classic example of a Pay-To-Play gig that independent artists should run far away from.
Under some circumstances, this scenario might be acceptable such as if the headliner is a mainstream act, and the show will be at a BIG venue in your town, and there REALLY is an opportunity for serious exposure. Unfortunately, the example above is not one of those circumstances. The example above is a rip-off for the opening act to the highest degree.
Just as the name suggests, a pay-to-play gig is when you have to pay in order to perform. Some people have gotten creative by disguising the pay-to-play format with a ticket-selling set-up, much like the case in the above example. The opening act has to sell a certain amount of tickets in order to be on the bill. Anytime you have to sell a certain amount of tickets in order to be on a line-up, it’s pay to play. Although it may not look like it, you are paying by transferring your financial commitment to your fans. If you look in the fine print of these contracts, you’ll often find that if you don’t sell the agreed-upon number of tickets, then you have to pay the rest out of your own pocket.
Why is it so terrible?
If you’re trying to do music for a living or even just as a side hustle, then performing at pay-to-play gigs will eat away at your bottom line. If you were to take this gig, then you would be selling at the minimum, 30 tickets at $25 each. Doing the math, you would be earning $750 for someone other than yourself. If you read the ad all the way through, you’ll see that you don’t get any compensation from playing this gig, AT ALL! NONE! So you will promote and work your butt off to sell these tickets for someone else to profit from. The Pay-to-Play model is almost always set up for someone else to make a profit, not you the artist. That’s why it’s so infuriating. Someone is trying to make a profit off of your talent and your fanbase.
They Need You More Than You Need Them
If you can successfully sell 30 tickets at $25 each in your hometown, you don’t need this band to ‘get your name out there,’ as they so eloquently put it in the ad. Your name is probably already out there! In fact, this band needs you more than you need them. Don’t be fooled. They need you to bring out your local friends and family to help them fill the Hard Rock Cafe. They need you to promote the show for them since it’s your hometown.
A better deal would be that you get a whole or fractional percentage of the tickets sold plus comp drinks and meals at the bar.
Unless you are friends with the band and want to help them out or unless you’ve been salivating at the mouth to open for the band since you were a wee little one, stay away from this deal. It is sleazy and you will feel sleazy afterward.
What you can do instead?
There are ways you can get your own exposure and make your own money as a musician without depending on pay-to-play gigs.
- Finance It and Sell Tickets Yourself. Rent out a room/bar/club and sell your own tickets at the price you’re comfortable with on your own terms. Do it with some of your fellow local bands. You can share the responsibility equally. Any amount that you earn as profit will go straight to you and your friends. If by chance you do have to pay anything out of pocket, you will be investing in yourself and your own ventures instead of someone else’s.
- Book your own gigs. Pay-to-play gigs are planned and set up by someone else, typically a promoter. Some of them bill acts together that aren’t compatible. So you’ll end up with a mixed crowd that may or may not be interested in your sound. However, if you were to book your own gigs, you have more options to choose from and a bit more control over the overall audience experience. You’ll also have access to a variety of different types of gigs such as wineries, coffee shops, art galleries/markets, and private functions in addition to traditional music venues. If you want to learn how to book more profitable gigs for yourself, I have a free course, How to Book Profitable Gigs that walks you through a step-by-step process of getting paid gigs that are suitable for you. Sign up for the free course here.
- Host a virtual show. Virtual shows are a great way to build you audience without having to approach a venue. You can host the show for free or sell tickets. You have more control over the show and you don’t have to worry about dealing with promoters.
Take the FREE Course
How to Book Profitable Gigs
This free 4-day course will help you become efficient at booking profitable gigs for yourself.
• Increase your booking results
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• Create your own booking and cold call scripts
• Where to look to find gigs suitable for you
• How to keep your gigging calendar full of gigs you love and
• A strategy for booking gigs even when you can’t find any
See related articles…
+When to Take On an Unpaid Gig
+How to Make the Most out of an Unpaid Gig
+How to Book Gigs for Yourself
+How to Book Paid Virtual Gigs
There are people out here looking to take advantage of and exploit artists. Don’t fall into these traps! What are your thoughts? Yay or nay for pay-to-play gigs? Have you ever taken a pay-to-play gig? What was your experience? Share in the comments section below your thoughts.
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15 Online Platforms Musicians Can Use To Book Paid Gigs
8 Steps to Become a Successful Full-Time Singer-Songwriter
There are three factors that need to be considered when being offered a business deal: “Good Money”, “Good Time”, and “Good Strategy”.
The names are pretty self-explanatory. “Good Money” refers to what you’re being paid – only liquid assets count as payment in this category (so, exposure or free drinks amount to zero). “Good Time” refers to the overall experience – who you’re working with, the quality of the location, and how the talent is treated. Lastly, “Good Strategy” refers to the long term benefits that come with doing a good job here – so the likelihood of getting invited back, or being noticed by someone important in the crowd who will offer you a future opportunity that aligns with your long term goals.
The idea is that someone weighs each of the three factors in a binary 0 or 1 option, then add them up. I do this all the time with writing deals, and it can be applied to virtually any opportunity presented that has a relatively short, set time frame. It makes it easier for performing musicians to wade through gig offers and only choose the ones that benefit them in one or more of these categories (like, who would want to play a show in a dirty, empty venue where none of the strangers are paying attention, let alone going to invite them to a better opportunity, and they’re not getting paid?). 3/3 is golden, 2/3 is good, 1/3 had better be very worth it, and 0/3 gets declined in an instant.
In the case of this pay-to-pay gig…
“Good Money” = 0 (you are not getting paid)
“Good Time” = 0 (it’s not exactly fun to push fans to buy $25 tickets, with you possibly getting canceled at the last minute)
“Good Strategy” = 0 (this will NOT move your career forward, let’s be honest)
.. therefore, RUN.
Clara, love the equation. It really can be applied in many different ways. The important thing to remember here is to not take every opportunity that comes across your desk. Even when it comes to other things like promotions, reviews, features, nominations, etc. I’ve been a part of the nomination and awards pay-to-play deal. You think you’re participating in a competition, but it’s really a scheme to make money off of the musicians and their fans. It’s no fun. It leaves you feeling terrible afterward. It’s no place to be mentally, morally, or physically.
Hello, Anitra!
Good article about a dreadful deal for a band, dressed up like an exciting opportunity! I remember there were venues in Hamburg where you could play so long as you paid for 40 tickets up front. A pay-to-play deal for sure. I also have my doubts about the songwriting competition sometimes advertised by CD Baby where you have to pay $25 for each song entry. Someone’s making money along the line because many hundreds of hopeful songwriters might enter and pay the fee, even multiple times.
Sometimes, as a gigging musician, the big cities are not the best bet at all because they are flooded with demand for gigs from other musicians, student bands, budding groups, etc., whilst venues in smaller towns are much keener on booking bands, and willing to pay a guaranteed fee and sign a contract (another essential!).
Musically yours,
Astra.
Hi Astra! Thanks for stopping by!! 🙂 I love the word ‘dreadful’ to describe this deal. I was almost speechless when I first saw the ad for this gig. That’s a good point you brought up about the songwriting competitions. Also, you are right on the money when it comes to bigger cities. I immediately thought of Nashville when you mentioned that. I spent some time there. It’s not all its cracked up to be. If you have a stop there on your tour it looks good on your rap sheet, but you might not make any money. Most of those places don’t pay and you rely heavily on tips. It’s just not glitz and glamour. You’re right! You’ll find much better deals in smaller cities and suburbs.
Hi, Anitra! Interesting to read your reply. Yes, also, because everyone’s going cap in hand to all the venues in the bigger cities, people (venue bookers and owners) become rather supercilious and exploitative about it all. In addition, because a lot of musos are so desperate to play, they’ll do it for nothing, so eventually the venue doesn’t even think they have to pay a red cent for entertainment – they become old skinflints (do they use that expression in America?!)
Indeed, Nashville. Wow, that’s such a famous name I can imagine musicians falling over themselves to play there! It’s funny how this scenario which we can both relate to is exactly the same on both sides of the Atlantic! Human nature, huh?! Nashville sounds like Amsterdam – a really famous name where people want to play but no moolah! We had much more fun in the smaller towns like Drachten, Hengelo, Assen and so on. Cheers! Astra.
My band has played several pay-to-play (aka “ticket pre-sale”) shows. Two at the Whisky a Go Go, two at the (now-defunct) Brixton South Bay and one at the Avalon in Hollywood (which used to be called The Palace and which no longer hosts live music).
The two shows at The Whisky were so we could play with great sound at a great venue, which we did. We were able to sell nearly all of our presale tickets, so we did actually pay a little out of our own pockets to play there.
The two shows at The Brixton, we were opening for established artists and they helped us gain exposure to a new crowd. We also got outstanding video of the whole set at one of the shows which I was able to use on Youtube. We sold all our tickets and, when we tried to get more at a discounted rate, the club refused. They knew that if we still had fans that wanted tickets that those fans would pay full price at the door and the venue would collect it all. It screwed us out of selling more tickets ourselves.
The show at The Avalon was opening for a signed act that we all loved. We easily sold all our pre-sale tickets and, much like the previous situation, could have sold more but the promoter would not give us any additional tickets to sell. We put on a great show (if I do say so myself) and earned quite a few new fans that night, so it was worth it.
None of these shows made us much (if any) money, but that’s how it is in Los Angeles: any venue with good sound and lights is pay-to-play. Period. There is no alternative. Renting out alternative venues and putting on your own show with like-minded bands is probably the best bet.
Hi there. Thanks so much for sharing your story. It illustrates that there are some benefits to taking on these types of gigs when you have other goals in mind. The trick is to know what you want and to be able to identify those opportunities that can get you closer to achieving those objectives. I wish there were more venues that promoted independent music and know how much of a positive impact it can make on the wholesomeness of the community, edifying our youth, and creating a sense of closeness between members of our individual communities. I really appreciate you sharing your story! Take care!!! 🙂