Band promotion

[Lowender]

I just went to see a band I have never seen before. Shallow 9 played at Yesterdays Party last night. What a fantastic group, high energy, singer was fantastic, the band also was very talented. Now im biased but the bass player was rocking the @$@) out of that place last night. Definitely a must see band !

This all bring me to my point, i was very very disappointed in the crowd. My group clapped etc every song, there just weren't enough people there to form any sort of energy.

Yp didn't have enough of a crowd to really get any energy going. I had to look high and low to figure out who was playing last night, rockpage had mostly altoona area stuff listed and i gave up on the trib years ago. Im just wondering why there isnt more self promotion, or promotion by the establishments. I think 3 hours of work promoting the sat night lineup could have packed the place and made both YP and the band a nice chunk of change, hell the band certainly deserved it.

Sorry I dont even know what my question point really is, I just felt like the area missed out on a fantastic band last night because nobody knew they were there.

[Jasaoke]

I hope this thread takes off, because it is a subject that does need some discussion.

I often lament the lack of support services for the local music scene. There is very little in the way of professional management, booking, or promotional services here. To make any band/venue really successful, there has to be a true partnership. Not every band is right for every venue. But most bands rotate through the available venues just trying to build a following. Well, how else do you get your name out there?

The trouble with promotion is that it gets very expensive. Radio ads are well beyond what most bands can afford. Flyers are more cost effective, but many people won't go see a group just because of something they read on a utility pole or a piece of paper stuck under their windshield wiper. Putting up posters at the venue itself might help a little, but those are mostly read by the regulars, who may very well be there the night you play anyway.

This is why I think there needs to be a partnership. I think it's up to the venues to do most of the promotion; build a reputation for the quality and type of acts that you have. This, in turn, alows the venues to be more selective about who plays there - not just who words for the most attractive price. Bands, in turn, need to be selective about where you play, don't just be a stage-whore. Focus on a few venues/nights where your crowd is most comfortable. Then, a greater protion of your fan base will come to the gigs that you have, making it more profitable for everybody.

[MeYatch]

Thanks for the props man!

We're still feeling that venue out a little bit. We hope that we can get more people in there every time. For what its worth our drummer said he heard us advertised on 99.1 last week.

[Pizon]

I think there are various reasons why people don't come. The advertising
is only a part of it, but people just don't go out as much as they used to
because of DUI checkpoints, cost of gas, plus cover charges. I've asked
a lot of doormen at venues about the crowds, and almost all of them say
attendance is down because of those reasons. Could be wrong, but that's my take on it. All you can do is go out and put on the best show
you can, and hope that it'll generate better crowds.

[PanzerFaust]

I agree with Pizon....

[Sitchriani]

Thank you also for the supportive words mate. I actually had a tech. misfortune with my rig that night but the show had to go on and we all still have fun when we get to play. Never have there been true-er words spoken about the local music scene. We pride ourselves on our music. We just like to play and hope those in attendance get that same vibe, and that it serves as a spark to pull them back in the next time around.

[moxham123]

Attendance for live bands is down everywhere in the area due to many reasons. Many places are cutting back on entertainment even further because of these factors. However, many venues either don't do any advertising at all or very little and wonder why people don't come to their establishments on band nights, DJ nights, or any other nights. Many private clubs don't advertise at all and the bands can't attract people to the private clubs who are not members.

On a side not: DO NOT put flyers or posters on utility poles. It is illegal and the utility companies and local law can come after you and you will get fined.

[PanzerFaust]

Has anyone EVER gotten a fine for flyers on a pole????

[moxham123]

Has anyone EVER gotten a fine for flyers on a pole????

I used to work for Penelec and they actually would fine people for garage sale, political signs, etc. It is a safety hazard for the workers.

Here are some examples from other utility companies.

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/0 ... ity-poles/

http://www.novec.com/Safety/signsonpoles.cfm

[onetooloud]

I think another huge reason you no longer see nice crowds out and about is because society is too disconnected.

Disconnected ? People have become to content to sit in front of the computer for hours on end. Play forever with smart phones and such. How many persons won't even talk on the phone. Why should i do that when I can text.

I think to many people are becoming more comfortable with machines than people. I also think this causes them to become less comfortable with crowds and others.

Years ago if something was happening it happened in the churchs and local taverns. Much of the early goverment took place in just these places.

People don't interact with each other like they used to. They don't have to. Kids don't even want to play outside anymore.

The government probably loves this. People afraid to leave there houses and go out on the weekends to bars and taverns.

Its also very difficult to wow people anymore. Computer games with graphics and sound that are off the hook. How do you wow anyone after seeing some off those things.

But thats just me thinking out loud.

[moxham123]

One Too Loud is correct.

Entertainment for many people I know is going out to eat and going home to watch their 72" TVs or play on the computer. Take notice on the weekends how busy the restaurants are. People will spend $50 - $60 or more for two people to eat (with no live entertainment) or $12 each for a movie plus concessions and not blink an eye but these same people balk at spending $2 on a cover charge to see a band for 3 - 4 hours or not even go if it's free admission.

People have many other distractions for their time and seem to want to entertain themselves in other ways.

It also used to be that people would stay until 1 or 2 a.m. for bands and now many venues are empty by 11 or 12.

[PanzerFaust]

Very Insightful Moxham, I agree.....

[Mysterytrain]

Well, so, it seems this thread has two different topics going on. One, on the general band promotion side and two, the reason bars have such a low turn-out.

As for bars…. If your band were to rent a venue for a night it would cost about $200-300. then add $50. to have someone clean the rented place including the bathrooms, add a few more dollars to any extras the venue would require plus cost of insurance to hold the event you would total somewhere around $400. Furthermore, a bar that has a sound system (and a sound guy) saves you another $100 at least.

Technically, playing at a bar saves you from spending money on a venue and extras to play. Plus, the bar may GIVE you $200-300. for a night of entertainment.

I believe that bands need to promote themselves or better yet have friends help out. You and people you trust will do a better job anyway. Do a search on the countless cheap ways and try some out. No one ever said “I hung too many posters or handed out too many flyers” so figure out ways to get the word out to your type of crowd. Also, the bar owner will appreciate the effort and most likely book you again. Plus, if something interesting is going on I’m sure JP will come out, check it out and write about it or have you on the HGR.

Also, build your band by playing venues that fit the size of your draw/crowd. A huge place looks empty with only 40 people in it but a smaller place would feel packed guaranteeing you more gigs there. Once you are there ask for requests or have a paper for them to write some tunes down. If you don’t know the song but like it tell them you’ll play it next time if they come out again.

Find places were your crowd feels welcome and they look forward to your next gig. From my experience, bars that allow smoking seem to have built in crowds that still enjoy live music and will give bands a chance to entertain them.

I enjoy playing bars… kinda… I look at them as stepping stones between bigger shows. A place to try new material on a slow night or try outrageous material on a crazy night. Either way, some places are a blast and some are just pathetic. If the place feels right then raise your flag and go for it!

[songsmith]

Two words: Social media. Where I used to have to put hour upon hour into promotion, bumping shows to everyone I met, table-toppers, posters, netwroking at similar shows, etc... now I type a few keystrokes, and people who already know our band also know about whatever show or other info we need them to know. It's a lot of work at first, building the base (it took 3 yrs to get to 800 likes on Facebook), but once it hits a certain point, it takes off on it's own (the 2nd 800 took a few months). From the demographic and post-view data I get, I can tell what type of post works, and what doesn't. Dropping a few dollars on social media promotion doesn't give us "quality" fans online , meaning people who are genuinely involved in what we're doing, but the added numbers increase your overall reach, and mean your message goes to many more "friends of friends."
It's is NOT the be-all-end-all solution, you still have to hustle a buck from it all, but I don't know what I ever did without it.
As for low attendance, it happens occasionally, especially when we don't promote, but I can only think of one show this year where I wasn't happy with the crowd-size. I think you don't necessarily have to be the best band to draw, but clearly you do have to give folks a reason to come out of their houses.

[Kiwi]

If anyone in the Altoona area is interested, I'm going to be trying to help promote shows for bands through the Underground Entertainment magazine. I am really trying to make advertising in the magazine cheap for bands. The next issue is scheduled to come out in January.

[DirtySanchez]

There used to be this saying about dues and paying, or something. Wish I could remember...........

Seriously though,

You get out what you put in.

no less, and sure as hell no more.

go get it.