[Dixielandjazz] Getting better Gigs (Long)

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

 Hi folks:   Here is a book worth checking out, you might find some useful 
information, which is the most valuable commodity I know.     Heck as long as I 
have beeninthe booking business I learned something new just from this short 
article that I was not aware of in just the opening paragraphs.
Cheers,

Tom Wiggins




This month's article is by author Mark W. Curran who has written
a book called "Getting Gigs: THE MUSICIAN'S AND SINGER'S
SURVIVAL GUIDE TO BOOKING BETTER PAYING JOBS With
or Without An Agent". Mark has some great tips on generating
income by putting on local shows with new methods that are
growing in popularity called Four Walling and Two Walling.

Many of the traditional venues and methods for getting gigs are
jammed with competition  that it's often very difficult to make
any headway, particularly in a crowded market.

The solution to this is to create gigs where none existed before,
thus being the only act that will do the gig. Here are some ways
I have found useful. Feel free to invent some of your own.

Four Walling/Two Walling - Your Act In Concert

A fairly new business  model has emerged  from the new economy.
"Four-walling"and Two-walling"venues. This involves renting or
co-renting a club, space, or theater and doing the advertising
and promoting yourself, as  well as ticket sales. You take all
or part of the ticket money, depending on your arrangement with
the venue.

One extreme example of this is In Las Vegas. Almost all showroom
performers  rent the  casino  showroom,  either with  their own
production companies or in  partnership with a producing entity.
Sometimes they  are  partners with  the  casino, sometimes  not.
(See the Chapter on "Making It In Las Vegas" in my book,'Getting
Gigs,' for more on this.)

But for our purposes here, we are talking  about your going to a
venue on your own in your community and renting out the facility
with your own money.

This can be great for an act with  a great draw, but disastrous
if people don't show up. The public is fickle, and one can never
predict in what numbers they may turn out to see an event. Many
is a concert promoter who has gone into bankruptcy this way.

I have had some successes "Four-walling" my act and other tribute
acts into  small  theaters. It's  a high risk  gamble, and if you
can't afford  to roll the dice, don't  do it.  I have friends who
have made money  producing tribute  shows and even name acts into
theaters, but even  they will tell  you that  sometimes they lose
as much as they win.

As a  Producer/Promoter, you are  responsible for  everything.
You would be  amazed how  many details go into producing even
the smallest show.  There are  contracts  to  sign, insurance
policies,  printing, and  advertising  and  promotion  tasks.
There are an endless number of jobs that must be performed to
an exact timetable. Screw up  on any of  them, you could lose
your shirt.

But when it goes well, it can  go very well.  Let's  say you
rent a 1000-seat venue  for $3000, plus $1000 for the  house
sound and lights  and stage  personnel. Add in another $1000
for  box  office  services  and  miscellaneous  things  like
insurance and catering,  you are in for $5000.  Add to  this
your advertising costs of say,  $2000, and another $2000 for
your band and opening act.

So now you are in for about $10,000, as an example. If you
sell your tickets for even $20, that's a 10,000 profit!

But you must factor in the many weeks  of prep it takes to
produce and promote the show, and that you must sell every
seat to make that kind of profit. At half capacity, you've
only broken even.

Believe me, it's no fun putting months of work and $10,000 of
your own money into a show and have a bad turnout. If you are
performing on top of that you are in the unfortunate position
of having to work your ass off, perform, and still lose money!

Remember, this can go  the other way.  It's a great feeling
selling out a show and walking away with decent profit, and
in the process be able to play on a large stage to an
appreciative concert audience.

There are so many factors and variables that can affect the
turnout greatly:  Is it  a weeknight (less than ideal) or a
Saturday (ideal). Is it a holiday weekend, (avoid it) is it
raining/snowing that night? (you have no control.)

Is the economy  in a downward cycle? Are we in  a war  with yet
another  foreign country? Are you under pricing or  overpricing
your  tickets? Is the theater well-trafficked and have they had
your  flyers in  the  lobby  for  sufficient  enough time as to
attract patrons attending their other shows? Have they included
you in their season mailer, even if they aren't presenting your
show as part of their season?

The public is so sensitive to these issues it can prevent them
from venturing out of their cocoons for any kind of event. Add
to this that there are many  choices for people to spend their
time off and their entertainment dollars.

Even staying at home  can be  far preferable to  going  out and
enduring traffic, crowds, and a potentially bad show. With home
theater and gaming systems in  almost every home, plus internet
and other distractions, you  can see that  getting people to go
out to your show can become a difficult task at best.

But, let's say you are a single acoustic performer with a large
following. Since you have no costs for a band, you can take the
ticket money for yourself.  If you book a smaller venue  of 500
seats  and still  charge $20, you  could walk  away with a tidy
profit,  since the  cost of  the theater  rental is  less for a
smaller venue and you wouldn't be paying a backup band.

To offset your risk, you might consider "two walling" with  the
venue, meaning you split the profit/loss equally with the venue.
If it's a theater,  you simply split rent and ticket money.  If
it's a club, you  might  consider taking  the door ticket money
while the club gets the drinks and food.

This way you can see what your turnout will be and then maybe
take your act to a nearby town and  try four-walling another
venue yourself.

You will find smaller theaters  are more willing to  help you
than larger ones. In fact, in Los Angeles, many of the larger
theaters have a strict policy to NOT help you promote.

They are committed to promoting their  own season  shows, and
often feel that to help fledgling promoters pulls their focus
away  from their  own projects.  But also be  aware that many
smaller theaters have little staff and can rarely afford
someone to help you market your show.

If your act has a major  following or some pre-sold  elements
(as in a tribute act) and you think you can fill those seats,
you just might  have the  perfect  situation for a successful
four-wall. But proceed with caution,  this is an  area  where
you can lose money in a hurry!

If you do decide to four-wall a small theater, make sure

-    Start early; six-twelve months is a nice window
- The theater is well attended by patrons throughout the year, so
they will see your flyers in the lobby
- The theater is at least somewhat open to helping you market
your show
- You get a Saturday night for your show, not a weeknight
- You do a prize drawing to get your audience to join your
mailing list
- You have theater include you in their season mailing
- To have theater include you in their newspaper advertising
- To promote your show using flyers, email, and posters
- You start promoting at least 3 months in advance of date
- To try to find local businesses to sponsor your show to offset
cost

Finding sponsors to contribute to your show in exchange for an
ad in your program can often make the difference  between loss
and profit.  But finding  sponsors is a tough,  time consuming
job, and  can become  a very difficult  pursuit on top of your
other duties.

You may be able to find someone within your sphere of influence
to make phone calls to local business on your behalf to solicit
donations in exchange for a percentage.

Four  walling  can be  a very  satisfying way  to build  your
audience and make a profit. It offers a great way to get your
name out to the local community, and allows you to sell your
merchandise after the show.

Make sure you have some money  put aside so you can four wall
a number of theaters  in different  regions,  within  driving
distance or one  overnight stay.  As these shows become  more
successful, you can schedule them as an annual concert, while
expanding your circle around your home base radius.