Kinda interesting

[witchhunt]

Open Letter From a Bar Owner to Musicians

Posted January 3, 2013
Filed under: Music |


The letter I have copied below was posted on Tampa Craigslist by a bar owner, but it was flagged for removal before I could provide a link or credit the author. But I managed to copy the content. So here it is, and I agree with a lot (although not all) of what he has to say. If more musicians clued into this perspective, the club scene would be much better:

A bar, that is, an establishment that earns its revenue primarily from selling alcoholic beverages, measures its success by the ounce and the accounting is done everyday because we mostly live on the edge. So we spend our time trying to figure out how to sell more ounces. It’s not just how many people are in the house or how great the atmosphere is (that’s certainly important), but how many drinks, preferably premium, we sell in a day. That’s it.

Live music is important to most of us (if we have that kind of venue). But it is a significant expense and is only worthwhile if it produces more than it consumes, just like advertising and anything else we spend money on in order to sell more ounces. But so many of the bands that come through here have no clue what their job is. Your job is to sell booze. You’re not here for any other reason.

There are some truly awful bands that actually chase customers away. But there are also some bands I would call mediocre who do a fantastic job of selling my product. There are also some really good bands who rock the house but not the cash drawer. While I appreciate good music and would never have an interest listening to that mediocre band’s lame CD, they’re coming back next week. Here’s why:

1. They play simple music people recognize. People don’t dance to brilliant guitar solos or heady changes, they dance to the hook lyrics of a simple chorus. (If you’ve ever wondered why pop is popular, that’s why). When the ladies want to dance, the guys show up and everybody drinks. Simple truth.

2. They don’t ask me for drinks, they ask my customers. This is a subtle art and if it’s done well, the band can more than pay for itself. Here’s a few obvious techniques: If someone offers to buy the band a round, you order shots of top-shelf. Even if you don’t drink it, ask for it anyway. If someone asks for a request, try to make a deal with them. If you buy (your date, your table, the band) a round, we’ll play your song. Some bands beg for tips, and that’s fine, but it’s not what I’m paying you for. (Try to play request anyway. At least you wont chase them off.) We had one front man hold up a mixed drink and make a wonderfully cheesy but impassioned pitch that you simply had to try this because it was, as he put it, “a glass of pure happiness”. It resulted in over a hundred bucks in the drawer in just a few minutes. Those guys are busy.

3. They may not be the best band in town but they look and act professional. I cringe when I see a supposedly professional band wearing frayed khaki shorts, flip flops, mildly offensive t-shirts and greasy baseball caps (the standard bro uniform). I don’t care if you’re bald, a baseball cap is unacceptable. Live music is a visual form of entertainment. If you dress well, even if it’s hipster, funky, weird or flamboyant, as long as you look like you care about your appearance, and show a little self respect, you’ll go over better with my customers. The good bands also respect their gig and the customers. They show up on time, they don’t make a racket while they setup (hint: keep your drummer quiet especially when the jukebox is on.), they choose their set list carefully, they pace their sets well and stay engaged with the audience (don’t stop playing if the dance floor is full), they don’t get hammered and and they don’t leave a mess. All this adds up to what we call retention. Customers don’t leave. You would be surprised how many customers leave because of the band. And it’s usually not because the band is awful, but because it’s too loud, it’s the wrong repertoire, it’s rude and dismissive, it’s not engaged and basically no fun for anyone else but themselves. And here’s a little tip: Your continued employment is directly dependent on my bartender’s opinion of you. That’s probably true for every single bar you play.

One last thing. It’s hard to find work. You might be surprised at how much competition you have. I get emails, voicemails, regular mail, fed-ex packages left for me, all with earnestly concocted press kits and demos and I ignore almost all of it. I get walk-ins who, if I’m there, I’ll give a few minutes to. Again, you’d be surprised how many show up in their bro-clothes, tell me how awesome they are, and hand me a business card with a URL to their reverb nation page or YouTube channel. They probably go home and wonder why they don’t get a call, but I’m not going to visit your website or listen to your demo. You’ve got maybe 60 seconds to make your “elevator pitch” and just a few more minutes to make it stick. There is a sales technique I’m seeing that’s impressive, stands out and really works, but out of respect for the bands that figured it out, call it a trade secret.

Bottom line: A bar is a business. My bar is my business, my life, my success or failure. What I do in my business is entirely up to me because the risk is entirely mine. If I have a jam night, an open mic, solos, duos, bands, karaoke, or just a jukebox, that’s up to me and no one else. Whatever helps make the most revenue. I have great respect for working musicians and would rather not hire them at all than to short-change them.

The open mic and jams that seem to get so much criticism here are not about me getting free entertainment, they are about bringing in paying customers and keeping them here. People who play and sing, but not in a professional band, like to get out, get a little stage time, have some fun, bring their friends and I offer them the place to do it. And yes, these nights are pretty good for the bottom line. If having bands was better, I’d have bands every night. It’s just reality, man.

[kayla]

very interesting point of view. good post!

- kayla.

[Atomic Jim]

NO sure how I feel about this. The Bar owner come off as a bit arrogant. I would like to know how much he pays his bands, and for how long. I chuckled at point #2 -- It sounds like the ploy the whores in the clubs on Okinawa would use. They would ask you to buy them drinks, and you would end up paying top shelf prices for watered down, cheap drinks for the women.

I do agree that you have to stow your ego and play what people want to hear, even if it's Proud Mary or Freebird. When the club owner said the lead singer made the club more than $100 in a few minutes by promoting a drink, I wonder if the band got any of that money, or if they owner thought it was just part of the band's duties.

Also, I've had club owners tell me that while it great that the band can get people up dancing, dancing people aren't drinking. I know when my wife and I go out, if there's a great dance band we spend the night dancing, and drink very little, but if the band or solo artist is one we like to listen to we will spend a lot more on drinks and food.

[songsmith]

This is sort of my first thought at this, too. There are some valid points in there, for sure... you really ARE there to sell beer, but if a bar-owner expected that sort of sales work out of me, I'd do it, but it would cost him alot more money. I always stage-announce a short sales-pitch for drinks, or food, or whatever the product is supposed to be, but the inverse side of this guy's demands is that people don't come for a sales-pitch, they come to be entertained and drink. They can drink cheaper at home.
As far as the "bro uniform" and how he expects me to dress, good luck with that. I wear what I want to wear, at least since my Mom stopped dressing me. If there are behinds in your seats, it doesn't matter what I have on. Now I feel like I kinda HAVE to wear a ballcap.
On one hand the person says that live music is important to him, that he is a music fan... but he says he's not going to listen to your CD or even bother typing in your website address. He wants you to grovel face-to-face apparently, and his time is already worth far more than yours. Oh, yeah... this guy would pay deep for my services... but perhaps his competitors wouldn't, if they treat me right.

[bassist_25]

This is sort of my first thought at this, too. There are some valid points in there, for sure... you really ARE there to sell beer, but if a bar-owner expected that sort of sales work out of me, I'd do it, but it would cost him alot more money. I always stage-announce a short sales-pitch for drinks, or food, or whatever the product is supposed to be, but the inverse side of this guy's demands is that people don't come for a sales-pitch, they come to be entertained and drink. They can drink cheaper at home.
As far as the "bro uniform" and how he expects me to dress, good luck with that. I wear what I want to wear, at least since my Mom stopped dressing me. If there are behinds in your seats, it doesn't matter what I have on. Now I feel like I kinda HAVE to wear a ballcap.
On one hand the person says that live music is important to him, that he is a music fan... but he says he's not going to listen to your CD or even bother typing in your website address. He wants you to grovel face-to-face apparently, and his time is already worth far more than yours. Oh, yeah... this guy would pay deep for my services... but perhaps his competitors wouldn't, if they treat me right.

These are pretty much my thoughts on this message as well. The letter Bill posted was posted to Talkbass a few months ago and created quite a long thread in response. I'm definitely on board with the overall message that the entertainment in a licensed establishment is (usually) there to sell drinks. That's why I've generally avoided playing in bands with pretentious, artsy-fartsy people - they usually don't have enough of a business mind to help make a band successful.

I'm also on board with a band looking professional. However, while I do loathe the "bro-uniform," the no-ballcap thing is really splitting hairs over a non-issue. If you're an expensive wedding band or playing corporate events, then I can see the no-ballcap requirement. For a bar? C'mon. I've seen a bazillion bands filled with consummate professionals wearing ballcaps. As long as it fits with the motiff of the music and you're not a slob, then rock it like you stole it.

Doing business in person is the best possible way, but that's not always realistic. Perhaps the club owner is in an urban market where bands don't travel much outside of their home city to play. That's not going to fly in Central PA if you want to stay busy. Who's gonna drive an hour and a half to just drop by a venue unsolicited in hopes that the owner is going to be there? And who's to say that the the bartender is going to say, "Oh, he/she isn't here," when they're actually in the backroom and don't want bothered? I'm generally not a fan of club owners who only book exclusively through a specific booking agent, but it sounds like that's what that club owner should do; it sounds like booking entertainment is too much of a burden.

I generally don't feel comfortable with fans buying me drinks, but it will inevitably always hapenn. When they do, I don't ask for topshelf. When someone offers to take me out to eat, I don't order the most expensive thing on the menu. I try to calibrate the price of my order to the price of their order. It's called social intelligence.

With that said, I find the majority of club owners and managers around to be decent folk who will work with you if you work with them.

[SkarmaSutraMusic]

Very True. after playing all through Florida last year and a half I know how the Real Deal is... Sadly, it is that. Our Management made sure we pushed the Issue of Revenue. Altoona Area is a far way off from the Real World when it comes to " The Music Scene". We had a Rude Awakening to how the Industry Really Works. It is Good to Know this if One is to Succeed in Business.

[RobTheDrummer]

Basically, if you want to be a sell out commercial band, go ahead and listen to what this guy wants. If you want to do your own thing, the way YOU want to do it, then find that venue. There are quite a few out there.

[SkarmaSutraMusic]

Sell Out? I think helping the club paying You is just called Selling. As far as the Music a band plays.. on them. I Need paid and so do the rest of the guys in the band. After playing With Big Bands and Huge Venues in the Real World I now know what it takes to pay the bills... and I don't agree with all this guy says either. I don't care to agree with anyone unless I Really Do. Business is a Drag... The Monetary System is in Fact.. MADE UP.. Haha