[Dixielandjazz] playing on the streets

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

  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. 

The I suggest Starting with the Music Store for the Petition, and if 
that manager is as big an idiot as the Mall Manger God Help us all.  
They deserve each other in bankruptcy court.  :))

Try getting the band setup in front of or inside the Music store 
selling Cds.  If they do not carry and sell your CDS than you are 
certainly NO Competition for the 60,000 titles they do carry.
 
  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 

  Hey Larry :  Maybe it's Time to Close St. Louis and move to a more 
forward thinking community :))

Cheers,

Tom


 ----- 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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