Over fifteen years ago I and the other members of my band at the time owned a small bar in Laramie Wyoming. We had music five to six nights per week. It taught me a lot about the music business. I learned how to make and lose money on bands. I learned how bands treated clubs, from the booking process through promotion of a show, to the gig and afterwords.

The first band we had was a group of punk rockers called Dumpster Juice. I remember the lead singer repeatedly spitting on our newly carpeted stage between vocal lines. Our second act was a really good blues guitarist from Sweden named Anders Osborne ( www.andersosborne.com/ ). We saw him again a few years later when we played the King Biscuit Blues festival.

We had a few great bands that would pack the place, like the Psychodelic Zombiez. They would usually defile the bar with permanent marker and skip out on their bar tab, but they were such a great band, and made us enough money that we didn’t care. We had a few crappy bands that would pack the place because they had a lot of hard partying friends. We had a few great bands, like Fourth Estate, that wouldn’t draw anyone. I’d lose several hundred dollars every time they played, but I kept hiring them because they were so outstanding musically. Mostly we had decent cover bands that would allow us to break even on the show.

One time we had a band who got really pissed off at the end of the night, because they were playing for the door and they were sure we ripped them off. I didn’t take any money out of the door charge. Perhaps the doorman did. Perhaps not. Either way, the band leader was livid and delivered a scalding beratement to me and the other owners about the value of honesty and integrity in business deals.

The next time we booked that particular band, we did a flat rate deal with them for $300. We also decided to conduct a little experiment regarding the value of honesty and integrity. At the end of the night I took $310 in small bills up to the band leader to pay him. I asked him to count it to make sure it was all there, then made some small talk with his other band members while he was counting. After he finished I asked if the amount was correct. I could see a half-second glint of hesitation in his eye before he answered yes. We found it amusing that his honesty and integrity were worth less than $10. We never told him about our experiment, as the purpose wasn’t to trap him. I also didn’t hold it against him, as I’ve been overpaid by clubs and kept the difference. I wonder if those clubs were giving me the honesty and integrity test too?

During our time running the club, we noticed that people were willing to pay $10-15 cover charge for “name” acts, but they wouldn’t pay anything for acts they hadn’t heard of. In fact, it almost seemed they’d be mad at suggesting they pay anything at all to hear a band they weren’t familiar with.

One night we had an ‘average’ band and ‘average’ attendance early in the night. When there was a break in the action, we decided to place a $1 cover charge on the door to see what effect that would have on traffic. One dollar.

The first couple that came to the door after that seemed quite offended that we wanted a buck each for them to get in. The guy slung a few cuss words our way and stormed off with his date. I often have wondered how long she continued to date that cheapskate. Anyhow, as you may have guessed, traffic coming into the club ground to a halt, and we eventually conceded defeat and lifted the cover, again quite amused with the results of our experiment.

Currently, I’m conducting another experiment relating to the perceived value of music. About a month ago I put all six tunes from the new Mighty Jivesters CD on my website for mp3 download, with the option to pay whatever you want, including nothing. I got 31 downloads during that time. Every download used the ‘free’ option. I put no promotion at all into this, not mentioning it in my last letter or anywhere else. This month, I’m going to slap a 1 cent minimum on mp3 downloads to see what happens. I’ll do a little bit of promotion for the one-cent sale. I have a hypothesis, but I won’t share it with you so as to not influence the experiment. Besides, you can probably guess my theory anyway.  The Mighty Jivesters

And speaking of the new Mighty Jivesters CD, we’ll be having our CD release show at Ziggies on Thursday May 20th, starting at 8pm. If you’re not doing anything that night, and are in Colorado, you’re invited to join us for some fun. www.ziggieslivemusic.com

I’m also doing an early gig with my instrumental project Tuesday May 18th at noon at Spotlight music in Ft Collins. And there won’t even be a cover charge for that show. www.spotlightmusicstore.com/

Thanks for reading.

Musically,
Jasco

jascoguitar.com

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In response to Jasco's Jive

by Patrick Hazell

Having been in the music business since the early 1960s I've played in a "million" clubs and dance halls and witnessed much of what Jasco writes about. My "old school" sensibilities generally associates a high ticket price with quality music regardless of whether or not I'm familiar with the name of the act.  But, in today's market, that's not the case. My son has owned venues in Burlington since 1997, and I see what brings in the biggest crowds--local bands playing cover material. From what I gather this is pretty much the same all over the USA--it all seems to be young people hanging with those they know in pick-up and party scenes; music  to this crowd  is necessary, but mainly as a backdrop to the socializing going on in the club.  These people will not pay a cover charge if they think there might not a room full of hot pickup possibilities, even if the best band in the world is playing.  Local bands generally  make for the best entertainment and income gamble for a club, and from what I hear, this is what is happening all over the USA.

In contrast, if the scene promises to be full of hot pickup possibilites, people will pay $10 or higher with no band! It seems that the women are more likely to not go where the attention may be focused more on the musicians on stage than upon them as dancers and possible pick-ups, and, of course, the young men won't come into a club unless the women are there. Guys will come in for the music, but their interest generally seems to be limited to loud and fast electric guitar-oriented stuff.  If the guitar player has long enough hair, is skinny (125-150 pounds) and is covered with tatoos, then maybe the women will come in too. Once all this happens, then the club has a successful night .

Meanwhile, a huge amount of great American music never gets heard because nobody supports it. It really is unfortunate. Those people raised before 1980 will come in and listen to music. They grew up buying albums and actually listening to them without needing to have a social event to go along with the listening. Today's young are not like that. There are many, many things vying for their attention in a typical social setting. They're used to multitasking with no real focus on anything other than the beer they're slamming and the blurry female form in front of them. Though I was much the same back in my late teens and early 20s when it came to beer and women,  I do believe there was a focus upon music--a passion for it that I do not see in younger Americans today.

I have found international audiences--old and young-- far more receptive, attentive, and willing to pay, and I imagine most American musicians who have been fortunate enough to play overseas have had similar experiences.  For me, my interest in touring the USA is pretty much dead---too much hassle for the meager scene that exists.  Unless one has a tremendous national press buzz  going on, it would likely prove to be a short-lived touring experience, ending once the tour vehicle runs out of gas.

I do think there are some vital things going on in the USA with live music, but they are secluded and outside the general public's awareness--various niche "market" things going on, etc. But, these can be difficult for the general public to find out about--and very difficult for national touring acts and their agents to know about. The internet is a big part of it if one has the time and knowledge to work it.  Again, it becomes a very localized scene that only an in-crowd knows about. State and local liquor laws and enforcement don't help the issue one bit.

Trying times indeed for American musicians and public venues for them to play---lots of challenges.

Patrick Hazell