[Dixielandjazz] Might be useful to some of the members of DJML

[Dixiejazzdata]

For those who still seek to play in Bars and restaurants :


Should you promote your band performances there, absolutely if you are hired far enough in advance to make it feasible,  about 48 days minimum.


Should all the promotion be left up to the Band  Absolutely NOT,  the club/Restaurant needs to have an ongoing publicity and advertising budget to promote their own business.   If they do not, I would not work there for them.   Nobody wants to play to an empty room either.


If your band cannot increase or at minimum keep his regular customers happy and staying longer then normal and spend enough money to justify your wages then the Owner really has not business hiring you, unless they are willing to take a gamble that Your band can actually increase their business and bottom line.   In other words you gotta carry your own weight and prove that you are worth the money you wish to charge.   All places who bring in bands are not MUSIC Establishments, make certain you understand that and if you are professional and expect to make a living playing music Do not Work there, it will never get any better if the business does not know and understand how to operate a Music venue where the Music is as big an attraction or bigger than their Alcohol which is available at numerous places up and down the street from their business.  Make Your Music suitable to his clientele as you mix your friends and fans into his crowd as well.   If his regular customers do not like Artsy YKOM  you could very easily Run them Off and and get fired again!!!    That might be OK in a Restaurant setting,  but in a raucous Bar scene ya better be able to get  the younger ones up dancing and having a good time quickly or they will head right out the door to the joint down the street.   Pick the joints you want to work carefully and make them successful  it takes a lot of work form everyone to do that and maintain a good solid profitable relationship for Bands and Owners.   







Borrowed from Musicians Contact:  





Musicians, After operating Musicians Contact for 43 years I've witnessed the numberof live  music opportunitiessteadily declining from the late 60's up until the last  couple of years, when it seems thesituation has finally bottomed out. So I  guess it's good newsthat the number of available gigs has stayed the same for  the past two years.  Now the challenge is to see if thetrend can reverse itself  and startclimbing, which brings me to a few observations about some conflicts  between musicians and club owners whichshould not exist.     Weall know there's a lot of free and low paying gigs out there.



  Today's crappy  economy doesn't help, but these gigswill continue to be around even after the economy recovers, believe me. The problem is that too many venue owners expect  the band to promote their venue andalso bring the crowd.  Based on myown  gigging experience, I thinkthis assumption started around 1978 for original  bands, and about 1990 for cover acts.   We must realize that many clubsand restaurants are struggling to make it, just  like everyone else. But they don't hire a lousy chef who then cooks lousy food  which therefore scares away customers,so why is it ok to hire a lousy band?   Plus, the chef is not required to bring a crowd to thevenue, even though  musicians seemto be required to do so.  And yetthey are both technically employees of the venue.  Sois the sound man, bartenders, waitresses, etc.  Why  aren't theyall required to bring in customers just like the band?    The club owner is trying toattract loyal customers that will turn into repeat  business. That's why he hires a quality chef, waitresses and bartender.  The  bands he hires should therefore be of the same good qualityfor the same reason.



   Themusic is actually just another product for the venue to offer, nodifferent  than good food anddrink.    It is importantfor the club to market itself well. Should they leave something as important as this up to the band?  Club owners need a shot of reality - it is  THEIR reputation on the line, not theband's.  Remember, the band canjust move  to another place.  If the owner complains that the banddidn't bring enough  people, hisusual reaction is to get another band with a larger following.  But  the club owner may not understand that the new crowd he seesis following the  band, not hisvenue, so the next night he does the same practice.  Result?  He  is not building REPEAT customers.    If he hires bad bands justbecause they may have a decent following, any person  that might begin to be considered a repeat customer is nowturned off to the  venue. So theowner is not building a fan base for his club using this method.



   Band members must convince theowner or manager that it is not in the club's  best interest to operate in this fashion.    Since venue owners andmanagers fancy themselves as good businessmen, bands need  to relate to them as businessmen andnot as available talent willing to do anything to perform. Decades ago, owners were always older than the musicians  playing in their club.  These days, many band members are olderand wiser than  the clubmanagement, so it should make convincing them easier, not harder!  Musicians must make it clear that it isimpossible to expect that their friends and family are going to come in every night.  Does the chef's family and friends  eat there every night?   Do the bartender's own family and friends come inand  drink every night?  The bottom line is that musicians mustcommunicate more with  venueoperators so they both can see how everyone will wind up on the same page  with the same goals as opposed to beingat odds with one another.  Agree?  



Have an opinion?  Toss me your views at news at MusiciansContact.com  I'll  be glad to mention them in a future news blast.    Meanwhile, keep the musicLIVE! ------------