[Dixielandjazz] The Economy and The Music Business

Sun Oct 26 23:09:42 PDT 2008

I was well on my way to 100 gigs this year but this month really sucked.  I 
am running behind on December with only 3 gigs booked although I have a few 
more for 2009 than usual.  I did book three last week for later in the year 
and next year.

I played my first Ocktober fest today complete with German hats and a 
program of all German music and polkas.  I wasn't even going to take the gig 
because my German tunes could be counted on one hand but I got busy and 
found about 20 of them.  Without  that gig I wouldn't have had any this 
month.

This really caught me off guard.  I really expected to pick up a few last 
minute gigs.  I usually get one or two anyway and I usually get a couple of 
calls with other bands.  The last time I had this bad of a month was 9/11 
and everything stopped for over a month then.

Well if it's any consolation the people loved the German tunes and promised 
to book me for next year.  Now that I can do fests maybe I can book a few 
more next year and maybe even a Mayfest or two.  We have a large German 
population here with several small towns where you can still hear German 
spoken.  My mother was German and my son and his family live about 30 clicks 
south of Frankfort.

Even though I swore off ever doing the chicken dance again we did it anyway. 
They loved it.  Oh well that's show biz.

I'm hoping this downturn doesn't last long.  I think everyone is holding 
their breath and their pocketbooks till after the election.
Larry
StL
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen G Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2008 9:52 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] The Economy and The Music Business

> Larry Walton asked if anyone else was experiencing a slowdown in 
> bookings. And whether it might be linked to the economic times.
>
> Like Larry, I have noticed a slowdown in some segments of our music 
> business. And I think it does tie in with the economy.
>
> As a business oriented band leader, I have a marketing plan which,  among 
> other things, segments the marketplace. That basically means I  keep track 
> of gigs by category, like:
> Retirement Home, Public Parks, Jazz Festivals, Private Parties,  Weddings, 
> etc. And I seek new clients in those segments that seem to  do better than 
> average in tough times.
>
> Examples: For the next 3 months (Nov-Dec-Jan)
>
> CORPORATE PARTIES: This coming holiday season so far is running well 
> behind last year. I am expecting to book about 60% of the corporate  gigs 
> as we did last year for November, December and January. Some  companies 
> have flat out said that this year, they are cutting back on  their 
> Christmas Party Budgets and live music did not survive the cut.
>
> RETIREMENT HOMES: Have booked 10% more gigs
>
> PUBLIC PARKS: Too early to tell, but I don't think they will decline  this 
> summer.
>
> JAZZ & MUSIC FESTIVALS: Too early to tell (these are small local one  day 
> festivals) but I don't think they will decline.
>
> WEDDINGS: (for 2009 total) No change, same booked in 2009 as for 2008.
>
> RESTAURANTS: 2009 bookings running behind 2008 so far.
>
> ETC. Not anticipating much change from 2008.
>
> However, I am target marketing right now in an effort to make sure 
> Barbone Street  hits our 2009 target of 150 gigs. Getting direct  mailers 
> out to Cities, Townships, etc in our area to get a few more 
> park/bandshell gigs to offset possible declines in other market  segments 
> like private parties, restaurants etc. Segmenting and target  marketing 
> results in diversification which is a great hedge against  loss of gigs.
>
> Over the next 30 days I will mail out roughly 500 promotional pieces  to 
> various client prospects. These are qualified prospects that  present 
> musical/cultural events locally. I've been building and  refining this 
> list for 15 years and it works for me. I am also  networking actively 
> among the cultural associations in our area as  previously posted.
>
> Basically I seek 10% new clients each year remembering my Marketing 
> courses from 50+ years ago that no matter how good a product a  business 
> has, it will lose that many customers every year because of  death, people 
> moving away, somebody getting mad at you, etc., etc. I  followed that 
> reasoning throughout my day gig career.
>
> In these times, I think the best defense against loss of gigs is a  good 
> offense and I am actively promoting right now for 2009 gigs,  looking for 
> 20% new clients.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>
>
>
>
>
>
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