COVER CHARGE...do they help or hurt bands and bar owners???

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the herald
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COVER CHARGE...do they help or hurt bands and bar owners???

Post by the herald »

ive noticed that a lot of places are getting rid of the cover charge and it seems to be drawing more people to the shows, which in turn the bar makes the money back in alcohol...the fact is there is well over a hundred bars in the area when people go out these days it seems they like to hop around a lot to see whats going on wheres the chicks, drink specials , good entertainment etc. in todays world of cell phones and impatience, people are always looking for something better. when they see a cover charge they say "i dont want to pay three bucks and then leave a half hour later, lets go see whats up at the next place". in a town like altoona with so many bars and lets face it with the gas prices people are trying to save wherever they can, the cover charge thing doesnt seem to be working. ive talked to a few bar owners who have been having better turn out since theyve dropped the cover, and in turn are making more money, now the big thing about this is that once these hoppers are in the bar its the bands job and the owners job (drink specials, food specials) to keep them there thats in my opinion what might just work for both bands and bar owners..... what do ya think? :shock:
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bassist_25
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Post by bassist_25 »

Interesting topic!!!!

I know many bars have used cover charges as an "insurance" when hiring bands. The money is going straight from the patrons to the band, so if it's a slow night, the bar doesn't take a loss. (or if the bar is keeping the door, it's still money to soften the blow) But I've always made more money when getting paid right from the register than from the door. I also like to look at my date book and know that I'm walking out of a club with a certain amount of money. It's definately a pyschology/marketing game; you have to take into account if people are more willing to pay 3 dollars to walk into the door. I don't drink often, so paying 3 dollars to see a band isn't a big deal to me; I pay my 3 dollars, buy a Mountain Dew, and take a seat to watch the band. But to someone who is planning on drinking, 3 dollars is 3 drinks. You have to ask if people are willing to buy more drinks if they didn't have to pay money at the door. 3 dollars at the door is 3 dollars, but 3 dollars towards drinks is not pure profit since there was already overhead when buying the alchohol. I have no idea what kind of profit a local club makes around here, but after paying the band/the staff/utilities/taxes/ect, it's probaly not as much as a lot of us think. I'm sure different bars see different kinds of profits, so cover charges are probaly better business practices for some, rather than others.

I personally would love to see cover charges become a thing of the past. It does seem to attract more people and bands make more money. We'll just have to see if abolishing them will be a good business move. Things are tough around here (Altoona's unemployment rate is 2% higher than the nation's rate) so it seems that there's a trickle down effect happening. Entertainment is often the one of the first things people cut out of their budget.
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Post by bassist_25 »

....oh, and another thing.....

It seems that you are more likely to get paid straight from the register when it comes to "true" clubs. (VFWs, Mooses, Legions, ect.) Since they require membership dues, they usually don't charge their patrons at the door. I have heard of a few instances of these types of clubs charging covers, though.
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Post by tonefight »

I think that would depend on the type of club and the type of entertainment. I never saw a small bar charge cover for acoustic shows but I would think it would make a difference at a bigger club with waitresses / security / bartenders and a band hauling in $20,000 worth of equipment. So I think each place will evaluate the situation to there need and adjust.
I don't think people think much of a $2 cover, $3 is making them think and you get into the $5 dollar cover and thats starting to make people think a little harder.
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Post by songsmith »

Cover charges have always been an issue around here, it seems. I remember paying $3 to go to high school dances in 1980, and yet folks complain about a $3 cover now. My old rock band got it in our heads that we were worth more in 1989, and raised our cover from $2 to $3 at a club in Huntingdon County... our attendance dropped by almost 30% instantaneously. It seems like people have a set figure in their heads, and recoil at any change. My thought is that if you can't pay a cover because it cuts into your drinking budget, you probably place too much importance on drinking. If you can't afford to drink as much as you want, maybe you drink too much. Just a thought. :?
Playing for cover can be a lucrative thing, but like all lucrative businesses, greater risk is involved. It requires more footwork from the act, to promote and market, and put asses in seats. If you don't get the word out, then put on a good show, you're going home poor. Playing for a set amount puts the risk on the club, which is why clubowners don't like it when nobody shows up, or you cancel, etc., and why the goobers try to short you at the end of the night.
All in all, a complex and frustrating issue, and part of the "joy" of bar-band entertainment!----->JMS
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Post by JayBird »

Personally, I'll pay a cover charge to support live music. Where I'm from (Indiana area) all the bars/clubs charge a cover just to walk through their doors. No matter if there is a DJ, a band, or absolutley nothing going on. All the bars up on Philly street are competeing like mad with each other. One gets some renovation...they all start renovating. So who pays for the renovations...the patrons by dishing out a few bucks in cover.

LOST LEDNY keeps their cover to $3 or $4. That seems to be a resonable price for fours hours of live entertainment. At many bars, the guys have no trouble drawing over 300 people or more once the cover charge starts(usually around 9:00ish). What sucks are these bands charging $5 -$8, they think they are a bigger item than they are, they play two sets, the music sucks, the drinks cost you $4.00 a piece and within an hour you want to leave. Now this is when the cover charge becomes an issues...do you stay because you just dished out $8 to patron this place or do you jet and try finding another band that is more pleasing? If you jet, you might land up back a square one...shitty band + high cover. Before long you've shelled out nearly $20 and all you had to drink was one beer. Heck, for $20...go to the ENDZONE...you can drink all you want, the music in that place kicks butts, the PA is awesome, and you might get to see some T & A!!!
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Post by FatVin »

Let me stick in my $.02, My problem with a cover charge is this, a lot of these amateur bar people think that if the band will play for the door, the bar doesn't have to do anything but put the band's name on the marquee and that's the extent of their promotion activities....

Our business works best when everybody does their part.

The band needs to show up on time and play all night,

The bar needs to be the kind of a place where people who wanna hear music wanna come. Keeping a crowd, keeping them drinking, dancing, there, is a whole lot easier than bringin em in, if the club in question is a slop hole, you could have the Rolling Stones on the marquee and still not do too well.

The band needs to promote the gig as much as they can,

the BAR needs to promote the bands as much as it can

Both sides have to work together

As a band, we're a business and we provide a service just like the electric company or the beer distributor, try telling the electric Company...

"sorry, we've had a bad month we're only gonna pay you half"

Try telling that to your beer distrubutor, or your trash collector, The band is a business too and we deserve to get paid. You don't pay me to play anyway, I'd do that for free, you pay me to haul my expensive gear around, set it up and tear it down, call a moving company and find how much THAT would cost ya.

This has been going on forever, I ran into a guy who was 81, he was a drummer and even he had road stories about cover charges and bar owners with faulty math skills and bad memories.

He tells the story of the band that showed up back in the 40's , set up and played despite a really bad snow storm and at the end of the night bar lady only wanted to pay half. the band's leader argued to no avail and decided to take the half money and settle it later, the next afternoon, they call this lady to see if she would pay them the full amount, she says no, so they ask her if she wants to buy back the tables and chairs the rest of the guys had swiped while their leader was argueing with her the night before.

I'm not suggesting anybody do that, but it's a story I was told....

I like a flat fee, I know what I'm getting, I can plan, it's secure,

next best is the guarantee, cash vs. the door idea, if the door equals more than X you get the the door, if not you still get X, That's okay cause there is incentive for me to promoter harder but any way it goes I can still eat, (in case you haven't noticed eating is important to me)

X plus the door, this pretty good too cause X in this case is usually less that I would agree too if it were all I was getting but not so little that it is insignificant and again there is incentive to promote not only for me but for the club too.

it is a rare thing indeed for me to agree to play for the door only or the door and a pittance, I'm not saying I won't but......

I think times are tough and people don't wanna spend money on anything, let alone entertainment, the bars and the bands need to work together especially now, share the risk, work to promote a little harder, elminate the cover charge if ya can, reduce it if ya can and the cycle rolls around again and wallets get fat again and they will cause they always have, people will remember who gave em a break and who didn't


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Post by lonewolf »

tonefight wrote:I think that would depend on the type of club and the type of entertainment. I never saw a small bar charge cover for acoustic shows but I would think it would make a difference at a bigger club with waitresses / security / bartenders and a band hauling in $20,000 worth of equipment. So I think each place will evaluate the situation to there need and adjust.
I don't think people think much of a $2 cover, $3 is making them think and you get into the $5 dollar cover and thats starting to make people think a little harder.
Well put. "THE BAR" was charging $2 cover for acoustic acts...that didn't last very long--most people walked away when they heard the news.

1st of all: COVER CHARGES SUCK IF YOU RIDE A MOTORCYCLE AND JUST WANT TO STOP IN FOR A FEW DURING A RIDE.

The $5 cover kills the barhopping crowd. $5 isn't that bad if you are there through the entire show and you like the show. $5 really sucks if you only want to stay for a few beers or if you don't like the show.

I don't care what the band charges, how much the owner shells out for beer, liquor, electricity, staff, etc., you have to look at the cover charge from the customer perspective.

A $5 cover won't do you any good if only 20 people pay it and 80 people laugh and walk away. Ahhh, but if you charge $2 and those numbers are reversed, you just made an extra $60 at the door and sold 4 times as much alcohol.

From the band's perspective, this "playing for the door" is a load of crap, especially if you have to hire somebody to run the door. I could never figure out why a club owner would want to put a total stranger (or at least non-employee) at his front door to collect money and give the patrons' their 1st impression. That is a job better handled by experienced security personnel.
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Post by Punkinhead »

I too agree that playing for the door is a load of bull....
But alot of bar owners prefer that rather than take a chance it seems, which is understandable...there should be a happy medium....
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Post by ZappasXWife »

There is a place in town that charges kids $5.00 at the door for an all-age show...there are a few ways to look at this. First of all, I do not want to bad-mouth them because at least this club still lets the kids play which is very important and rare in this town. I guess they get around the PLCB loopholes because they are a private club.
Anyway, what I don't like is that lots of kids don't have a lot of money (I can't afford covers like that because I just gave my kid my last 5 for a show, in fact), it almost feels like they are taking advantage of the parents. Also, (and this is my biggest beef) when my own kid was in a band that played these shows that charged this cover, they got paid NOTHING. Young kids like this don't have the balls to go after the money, so they are being taken advantage of too I guess.
When they played all-age at PC's Big John DID pay them...that made them feel great.
I guess the clubs defense is that they are not selling alcohol, so their money must be made (even though there were patrons and parents who DID buy drinks). Also, I'm sure the club would claim they have to pay for damages the kids create (by the way, my kids have been to hundreds of shows and they SAY this never happens...I'm thinking that more damages may occur when alcohol is involved).
Any thoughts on this? Again, I hate to complain because I am thankful there is still somewhere for these kids to go and play.

Hey bassist 25, where do you get 3 drinks for 3 dollars...I'm going to THAT bar!
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Post by BDR »

Cover sux...It chases prospective drinkers away before they even get the chance to hear the band, a lot of times before they even step inside the door. I've seen it a million times. People show up before a show even starts, they get inside, the doorman stops them, "$5, please," then they look around, count how many are in their party, do the math, turn around and leave, heading for the nearest karaoke bar.

This hurts newer bands the most, because they have no name recognition to help these people make that decision of whether to stay or go.

Charging cover is a safe method a lot of clubs use to get out of paying a band...period. If you're gonna offer entertainment to your customers, then give them quality and value. They’ll come in and they’ll keep coming in large numbers.

Like Vin said, I play for free, but pay us for our expenses: Production, hauling shit, setting said shit up, tearing said shit down, travel, etc.

If clubs would make the investment, hire quality for a set price, and then PROMOTE, the people would come with no inhibitions about paying to get in. The bars would sell more booze and they (the bars) might actually start to build up a larger, regular crowd base.

Here's an idea: Why don't clubs charge a cover to get into the bathroom so they can pay the water bill. Each flush equals more revenue. The water does not directly generate revenue (in the retail sense of "buy and sell"), but it must be paid for. Why not pass the cost off to the customer?

Live entertainment, unlike flush water, draws crowds, keeps crowds, and encourages crowds to spend more money. And yet the water bill is paid every month without a gripe OR a cover charge.

The thing is, cover is here to stay, so bands, do your best to give the public its money's worth.

P.S. There are clubs out there (plently of them) that are willing to pay good bands set fees. Believe me.

r:>)
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bassist_25
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Post by bassist_25 »

ZappasWife wrote: Hey bassist 25, where do you get 3 drinks for 3 dollars...I'm going to THAT bar!
Like I said, I don't drink, so I don't even know what the price of a beer in a bar is. :D
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zappa

Post by Skate Toad »

Hey Zappa's Wife you may already know most of this but if not just a friendly look into what it is to setup all age shows. Just wanted to let you know a little about the all age scene from an older guy that got his start setting up all age shows. First there are alot of kid's that setup shows that my be pocketing money instead of paying the bands. I think that is crap. But in the defense of some of the others. There is alot that goes into setting up an all age show. Most places will charge you rent after you beg them to allow you to use their building. So alot of times that comes out of that persons own pocket because they want it in advance. Then you have flyer costs once again out of your pocket. There is Pa rental sometimes. etc etc. So alot of times that is what gets paid back from the door cover. Then usually there is 4-5 bands playing that night so thats alot of music in one night. What i always tried to do was charge a $1 a band recoup what i really needed to then split the rest up amoung the bands. All age shows are tough to do. But the one thing is 90% + of the time it is a safe place where kid's can go to stay out of trouble. And like me get a start in the music scene. I understand money is tight sometimes but better to have your kid out there learning the fine trade and life of music for $5 then sending him/her to the mall with $5 to buy junk or drugs etc etc Hope this puts a little insight into that form of the music buiz. Like i said this was just meant to be friendly not mean or accusing or anything like that. Just thought i'd share my knowledge in this field.
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We`ll see wut happens this friday night

Post by wiskerbisket »

were gonna do a NO COVER CHARGE SHOW to see wut happens.I know this is prolly a shameless plug also,but i gotta do wut I gotta do to promote it.So come on down if u wanna see something new and exciting.Guaranteed the women will love us!!!!
Peter C`s friday night w/ Wiskerbisket
NO COVER CHARGE
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Post by Ceralynn »

From my point of view as a patron and as a friend of band members I must put in my two cents about cover charge. 9 times out of 10 even if I show up with the band I pay the cover, no matter what it might be usually $3 but sometimes $5 depending on the bar. I know what most of the local bars charge for cover and I know where the bands I plan to see are playing. If two bands I want to see are both playing and one is a $3 and one is a $5 cover I'm not going to choose who I see because of a $2 difference, but by who I want to see play. I definetly feel that bars need to advertise more. I have noticed the bars that do some type of PR for bands do get a better turn out. I have also worked the door for 2 bands before and I have come to see how much a cover charge does matter to patrons. It's surprising how many ppl will turn away because they don't have enough money to pay for cover and drink all night. I also look at it this way, if you want to go to a particular bar regardless of whose playing your still going to pay a cover so ppl need to learn to suck it up and get used to it.
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Post by the herald »

one thin ive notce is that when my band plays twice in the same town in one week if one place charge cover and the other doesnt the fans wait and go to the no cover show hmmmmmmmmmm :lol: this kinda sux
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same town..different gig

Post by wiskerbisket »

u tend to wear yourself thin also.I try to work a 6week rotation and spread out our gigs,so we`re in a different town each week.Also the no cover charge show we had at peter c`s last friday turned out good.our best crowd yet.mind you we didnt get paid,but hopefully they will come back next time to see us.bout 60-70 people.
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Post by thedoctor »

Its amazing how many people that walk in the door get told the cover, they don't know the band so they leave. The only bands that do well with cover charges are the ones that are established. Clubs should not charge cover or very little for bands that are there for the first time. Example; Friday night the top drawing band in town is there with a $5 cover and the place is packed. Saturday night there is a new band or new band to the area and they charge the same $5! Does not make any sense to me? Its not like back in the late 80's when you would play Rumor's (now closed...for the people not from J-town) on a Wednesday night, charge $3 and still get 250 people. Times have changed and some people need to realize that.
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Post by tornandfrayed »

We don't actually care if we make any money in the music creation process. It woiuld be nice to make a couple bucks but I have already decided to give any money made away to charity. I mean we all have day jobs and the band is our outlet. I guess this puts us in a different category then someone who plays for their livelihood. We will be trying the "No cover charge" approach and see what happens. I know that recently I wanted to check out a band that I had not seen at a popular venue and had to paid ten bucks for the two of us to get in! We were only there for about 30 minutes and that was that, the band was not my kind of music at all. So, I guess there is a time and place for all things. I am curious to see if peoples fortunes (and crowds) change without a cover charge. Keep us all updated...
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Post by sstuckey »

I guess I'm one of the few that don't have a problem with cover charges. I mean honestly I wanna slap the fuck outta someone when they say 3 bucks?! I'm not paying that. Show me where you can get 3 hours of entertainment for 3 bucks around here. I have to replace drum heads and sticks and shit like that. None of it is free and none of it is cheap. Guitarists have to replace strings and get new axes, or fix the ones they have ...again not cheap. For those people who won't pay 3 bucks because it cuts into their drinking money....stay the fuck home and drink. Why should our form of entertainment be free?!!! We work our asses off, practice during the week. sweat like pigs, but because we like our job we shouldn't be compensated for our time? Do you work for free? Why should I? Take your 3 bucks to the movie theater and show me what you get. Or 3 bucks to restaurant, or sporting event etc. etc. NOWHERE can you get 2-3 hours of entertainment for 5 bucks or less!!! $5 for 3 hours is less than $1.75 an hour....fuck!! Illegal immigrants won't even work for those wages!! Quit being cheap...pay da man!!
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Post by Mysterytrain »

sstuckey wrote:I guess I'm one of the few that don't have a problem with cover charges. I mean honestly I wanna slap the fuck outta someone when they say 3 bucks?! I'm not paying that. Show me where you can get 3 hours of entertainment for 3 bucks around here. I have to replace drum heads and sticks and shit like that. None of it is free and none of it is cheap. Guitarists have to replace strings and get new axes, or fix the ones they have ...again not cheap. For those people who won't pay 3 bucks because it cuts into their drinking money....stay the fuck home and drink. Why should our form of entertainment be free?!!! We work our asses off, practice during the week. sweat like pigs, but because we like our job we shouldn't be compensated for our time? Do you work for free? Why should I? Take your 3 bucks to the movie theater and show me what you get. Or 3 bucks to restaurant, or sporting event etc. etc. NOWHERE can you get 2-3 hours of entertainment for 5 bucks or less!!! $5 for 3 hours is less than $1.75 an hour....fuck!! Illegal immigrants won't even work for those wages!! Quit being cheap...pay da man!!
Welp, that about sez it all! :D

Exactly!
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