[Dixielandjazz] playing on the streets

Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis larrys.bands at charter.net
Sat Apr 8 15:03:14 PDT 2006


One fly in the ointment.  The only Mall that I have contacted with more or 
less the same pitch said OK but I would have to rent a Kiosk to sell things 
from.  Kiosks are big money makers for the malls and aren't cheap.  Plus you 
need a merchant's license and a state tax license which I have.  The 
merchant's license is more problematical, remember that there are 150 
separate municipalities that all require separate merchant's licenses.

They reason that if someone buys a CD from you  then you are competing with 
the music stores.  Then if people actually stop and listen then you are 
keeping them from visiting the stores.  I know that's wacky but I have been 
told that by a Mall manager.  You can play for free if the merchants in the 
area don't object.  Playing free wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

It sounds like I am being negative but at least here it isn't easy to just 
perform.

Tom did have one good idea though and that is get a merchant to let you 
perform outside his business.  This helps him and you more or less tag along 
on his licenses etc and probably no one will say anything if you sell some 
CD's

It's easier to get forgiveness than permission.
Larry
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <tcashwigg at aol.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2006 3:04 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] playing on the streets


You are absolutely correct Bill:

But even before you do that,  Go talk to the promotion and advertising
manager of almost any Shopping Mall or Shopping Center, and talk them
into letting you play in the Mall  Surprise surprise they usually even
have a budget to pay you a reasonable fee to go along with the tips and
CD sales :))   What they don't want is Loud Rock Music, and the only
reason most of them do not have an OKOM band there everyday is because
NO OKOM BANDS are soliciting the work.    The Big mall in my area has
Jazz concerts in the mall on a regular basis and they have a performing
rotunda for acts to play.   In the spring and summer time the outdoor
Shopping centers also have a a major plaza suitable for an acoustic
OKOM band to play.  To make your  self more acceptable, simply write up
a short petition and go from store to store and speak to each manager
about what you would like to do and then get them to sign it.  Take
that to the Shopping center manager and they will have a hard time
telling you NO.

Just keep going back until they say yes.   If it is not going to coast
them anything they rarely say NO.    Now you don't want to pay your
sidemen, or the sidemen don't want to play for the advertising and
promotion benefit for their future employment find a guy who will and
replace the one who won't.   Doing these kind of small gigs is better
than sitting in a garage rehearsing for no gigs at all.   If you are
any good you will be approached for other PAID bookings by total
strangers who never heard you before and you won't have to do the
dreaded "Audition" for their committee either.  Not to mention that
they will usually buy a CD or two as well.   Treat this like a Business
GUYS  AND IT WILL TREAT YOU LIKE ONE.    Leave you Ego at home nobody
wants to se it anyway.   Shameless Self Promotion,  Did anybody take
notes thE last time I went on this RANT, GO SCHMOOZE WITH A CAR
DEALERSHIP AND OFFER TO PLAY FOR THEIR NEXT TELEVISION COMMERCIAL LET
THE DEALER SING ONE IF HE WANTS TO, make a deal to announce your up
coming gigs, talk him into paying you to play at the dealership
showroom on the weekend, or better yet on Monday or Tuesday  when he
need foot traffic.   Sell him a few Hundred Cds to give away to anybody
who comes down to Test drive a new car :))   You can play in the
showroom on those special promotion days or nights, and pay yourself
from the CDs he buys.

Marketing Marketing Marketing folks.


Nobody needs to know how or if you are getting paid to play in the Mall
or the Car Dealers, most will assume that you are, and the promotion
and publicity you get for your band from doing it far outweighs a few
hours of your time to go do it, and yes it is tax deductible too, so
you are selling CDs making a profit and deducting the "cost of sales"
and reducing your taxable income from the CD sales and other Paid Gigs.
   First line on the Sched. C.  Advertising :))

If you have the kind of sidemen who demand $100.00  pay them but ask
them to defer it and take it out of the CD sales income, and as it
build and builds you will quickly see that it all works out pretty much
the same as you get more and more gigs and sell more and more product.
  Now if your band has several Cds,  even better,  those folks who
bought  one last week just might come back next week and buy another
one and so on and so on.   Who knows you might even get a call to OPEN
for Kenny G".


If you compare this income with what most bands are making playing Jazz
society gigs, hour for hour and factor in the travel expenses and
drinks, etc.  you will more than likely find that you will make more
money playing for FREE, and should build a new following of folks that
would then go to see and hear you at Jazz Society events as well and
join the Societies.

It would also behoove any Jazz Society to sponsor some of these gigs
for the Good bands and go with them and solicit Jazz Society
Memberships at these events as well.  It is a Win Win Situation folks
and puts More OKOM out there and builds new audiences.    Co-operative
promotion folks stretch those dollars,  heck the Jazz Society can even
invite their members to stop by the mall and enjoy the show for free,
dance a bit and show the new folks how much fun the music is etc,  and
the Mall would be delighted that the Band drew all those new potential
customers to the Mall to spend money even if it were only for lunch or
a drink in one or more of the merchants.

Music is no longer the Music Industry folks, it is the Advertising
Business  Join it, that's where the money is.

Go Advertise yourself,  "And Say It with Music"   And those who are
afraid of the flak from the Union can simply respectfully request that
the Union Get you a Better GIG and Pay you.   The Union should be doing
the same thing, and would be stronger and a lot more useful if they had
thought of these things many years ago to actually HELP their
membership GET & KEEP jobs.

Cheers,

Tom  Wiggins


-----Original Message-----
From: billsharp <sharp-b at clearwire.net>
To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Sent: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 12:08:47 -0700
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] playing on the streets

    This is in response to the article about "play music on the streets"
In Europe, it is apparently a way of life, and people returning comment
on the number of musicians they see performing on the streets and
plazas of the various countries. The official term for this is
"busking" It seem to me that one way to keep our music alive and
acquire new listeners would be to create(recreate?) a whole new
generation of buskers. Why can't the "old farts" who can play OKOM
start busking, if they truly love the music? They could ,as the author
of the article said ,"..take it to the people" Man, if the people
aren't coming to us, then let's go to them. I have busked many times,
and it's always rewarding to watch the smiles on peoples faces,
especially the little ones, and quite often teenagers will pause and
show off some dance steps in front of the band, as they "strut their
stuff" for their friends and girl/boy friends. Sometimes the tips
aren't much, but oftentimes they're great, so things balance out. All
those folks playing OKOM wait for jazz festivals to play, but what the
heck do they do between gigs? - -sit at home and wish that there was
another gig?

  I know that in some large cities, like San Francisco, there are codes
licenses involved . . . .so? - -don't play those towns. Most other
towns don't mind at all. the basic rule for the law to leave you alone
is 1) Don't block any access to building/sidewalks and 2) don't be
loud. Some suggestions for finding good-sized "captive" audiences .
.... read the papers to find events where people will be gathering,
like a Hot-Air Balloon Lift Off Festival. Gather at the side of the
area where they'll be eating lunch, and play.
  Play in the plaza of a small town where lots of tourists sit to relax,
or in a small park across from a conglomerate of large office buildings
where the office workers eat their lunch---like the county courthouse
areas.

  One great way to get an unofficial "license to play" is to ask a store
owner if you can play near the entrance to their store as a way to drum
up business (for their store, of course), making sure once again to
obey the 2 cardinal rules (above). In 95% of time, the owners are
thrilled to have you playing. Play a couple of songs, then stick your
head in them door and ask, "Are we too loud?"

  This notion of busking is not just for for the young, but is for
anyone who loves playing, wants to keep our music alive (and you may
end up with a little spare change in your pocket). And why aren't the
youth who we send to jazz camps, and who certainly have plenty of
talent, not doing this between summer camps?

  OKOM is being played by a lot of senior citizens - - -well, before
they put you "in the home". why not get out in the fresh air doing what
you love? And, If you don't love it that much - -sell the axe and buy
another cable channel to watch the world go by from indoors - -- 

 [As an aside - - -
  I've noticed a resurgence in an interest for people wanting to learn
the ukelele, and clubs are popping up all over the place.. Along the
same line, perhaps we need to form OKOM BUSKING CLUBS for people to
meet, pick a locale to go play at, then go do it!]



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