If music is free, should concerts be too?<\/p>\n
How the hell are you going to build a devoted fan base if you’re ripping off your audience?<\/p>\n
Apple doesn’t discount and neither should you.<\/p>\n
1. Play an appropriately-sized building.<\/span><\/p>\n You look like a star when people can’t get in, that inspires them to buy tickets early next time.\u00c2\u00a0 You are in the career business, right?\u00c2\u00a0 You are interested in next time, right?<\/p>\n In other words, when in doubt, underplay.<\/p>\n 2. Scale the house accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n Better to leave money on the table than to offer discounts.\u00c2\u00a0 Consider it an investment in your future.<\/p>\n 3. The promoter is not on your side.<\/span><\/p>\n You take that big guarantee, forcing the promoter to make his money on parking and refreshments and his percentage of merch.<\/p>\n If you want to succeed, make the promoter your friend, not your adversary.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what Don Fox does, he invests in bands, he builds acts, that’s what he’s done from ZZ Top to Michael Buble.<\/p>\n Don’t expect the corporation to invest in you, to build you, to take a loss on your way up, they’re not on your side.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s only when it’s your money, your upside, that you care.<\/p>\n This is what killed the major labels and is killing Live Nation.\u00c2\u00a0 No one involved has got a vested interest.\u00c2\u00a0 Whether your show sells out or tanks doesn’t really matter at Live Nation.\u00c2\u00a0 Kind of like a major label…it doesn’t care which act hits, so long as ONE act hits.<\/p>\n Live Nation wants profitable shows.<\/p>\n Build a partnership with an indie and stay loyal.<\/p>\n Live Nation is for established acts and TV stars.<\/p>\n 4.\u00c2\u00a0 The label is not on your side.<\/span><\/p>\n The label makes money off recordings.\u00c2\u00a0 And even if it’s got a piece of road revenue, it doesn’t understand that.\u00c2\u00a0 And everyone at the label is an employee, and if you don’t think there’s short term thinking at America’s corporations read "The Wall Street Journal", it’s all about quarterly profits.\u00c2\u00a0 Long term is almost irrelevant.\u00c2\u00a0 But it’s all that’s relevant if you’re an act.<\/p>\n 5. The agent and the manager work for you!<\/span><\/p>\n The agent gets 10%.\u00c2\u00a0 And can be fired essentially at will.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s hard for him to take a smaller advance, to invest in the future. Good ones do, but not all.\u00c2\u00a0 But never forget, the agent works for you, tell the agent what to do.<\/p>\n The manager tends to have a contract, however its enforceability is always in question, still the manager only gets his 15-20% if you make money.\u00c2\u00a0 Many managers are loath to forgo a payday.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you take that money in the short term, do that endorsement deal, does it ultimately hurt you?<\/p>\n There are great agents and great managers.\u00c2\u00a0 Just remember, they’re below you, not above.\u00c2\u00a0 Without you, they’ve got nothing.<\/p>\n 6. Your goal is to get the fan to return.<\/span><\/p>\n This involves many elements.\u00c2\u00a0 A great show.\u00c2\u00a0 With fair prices.\u00c2\u00a0 With the fan being treated properly.<\/p>\n If the venue screws up don’t blame the promoter, take responsibility yourself, try to make it right.<\/p>\n Don’t play so frequently at such a high price that a fan can’t come to every show.<\/p>\n 7. Discounts hurt YOU.<\/span><\/p>\n There’s no one else to take the blame.\u00c2\u00a0 One can argue that when GM blows out Saturns it doesn’t hurt Corvettes.\u00c2\u00a0 But give discounts on Corvettes at the end of every quarter and try getting someone to pay full price.\u00c2\u00a0 It’d be very difficult.<\/p>\n 8. Schnorrers are schnorrers.<\/span><\/p>\n There’s an illusion that if you just get someone to try your product, by enticing them with a deal, they’ll become a fan.<\/p>\n This is untrue.\u00c2\u00a0 Just read the reams of hype on Groupon.\u00c2\u00a0 People sniffing for discounts are all about the deal, about their wallet, the odds of them becoming long term full price fans is very low.\u00c2\u00a0 In other words, if BMW started blowing out the 7-Series for $25k they’d have a big audience.\u00c2\u00a0 But how many who finally got behind the wheel of the Ultimate Driving Machine would pay 70+ grand to replace it?\u00c2\u00a0 Almost nobody.<\/p>\n The discount deal benefits everybody but the act.\u00c2\u00a0 The concertgoer and the promoter, but not who’s up on stage.<\/p>\n In a perfect world, we’d go back to percentage deals with low guarantees.\u00c2\u00a0 This would help make concerts a partnership between act and promoter.\u00c2\u00a0 With each sharing in the upside and the losses.\u00c2\u00a0 But with high guarantees, the cancer of unsold seats is eating at our business.\u00c2\u00a0 Who’s going to buy early at full price in the future?\u00c2\u00a0 With Groupon ads zinging around the Net as soon as they go live?<\/p>\n