If you aren’t careful, the beginning of your band’s career can sometimes prove to be a less than enjoyable journey through terrible venues, promoters, sound men and appalling organisation. In this blog, we’ll give you some top tips for spotting dodgy operators…
Firstly, it’s crucial to say that plenty of good, hardworking promoters are out there who put on fantastic events and treat all their bands fairly.
However, a minority can prove to be just the opposite and, sadly, sometimes it’s an all too typical story;
A gig is offered, but the promoter books bands from completely different genres at a venue no one has ever heard of, miles from the nearest transport links.
The sound man then either doesn’t show up or turns out to be clueless about what it is he’s meant to be doing.
There will be no sound-check for the bands, and the promoter will charge an extortionate amount on the door. Bands are not allowed to play unless they bring a minimum of 25 fans to the gig.
Unfortunately, most bands will have experienced this situation at least once.
That said, there are a few red flags to look out for in advance of the gig that can be used to check that any gig offer is in good faith.
Potential warning signs
Nothing is put in writing
If you’re dealing with a new promoter, a serious warning sign that everything isn’t on the level is if the person organising the gig won’t commit to putting any potential deal down on paper. This doesn’t just refer to a physical paper contract, of course, but literally not wanting to leave any trail at all – via email, for instance.
Phone calls are all well and good, but if your promoter seems worried about any physical record of the arrangements, something is almost certainly wrong.
They refuse to talk on the phone or give out proper contact information
Conversely, if a promoter continually stays hard to get hold of, perhaps only dealing in messages on social media, this can also be worrying.
While everyone has a preferred contact method, this is usually not a good signal if a promoter is seemingly dodging difficult questions or refusing to engage properly.
Details keep changing
If you’re finding that a lot of details, like the running order, doors time or especially the venue details or fee, are seemingly constantly changing, then this could be a sign that the promoter is not on the level and that they are potentially breaking agreements with other parties involved.
No promotion is happening
Never forget that a promoters job is just that – to promote the show. While it is in everyone’s interest to pack out the venue, and you show equally put some time into promoting the gig via social media and all the other channels available to you, it has to be a partnership.
If you can’t find any reference to the gig on social media, the venue’s website, local press, or even a poster… something is definitely amiss!
The gig turns out to be “pay to play”
‘Pay to play’ is a scheme that has sadly been used by some big indie music venues across the UK. A band agreeing to ‘pay to play’ usually buy upwards of 50 tickets upfront to sell to their fans, who are often family and friends for a young aspiring band.
If the band fails to sell all the tickets, it can cause major financial difficulty. For many hard-working bands, this can be a tough wall to break through – they’ve promoted the gig through their own means, sold tickets to all their friends and sometimes even brought all the equipment for everyone to use.
Sadly, many bands often leave gigs empty-handed, out of pocket and frustrated because of a poorly organized gig.
It’s important to realise that this is not just bad business – it’s morally wrong. You deserve to be paid as an artist, and putting on a gig should be a collaborative process.
It’s worth mentioning that many bands put on their own gigs; it’s cost-effective and a great way of networking. You can put on the bands you want, change how much you want and use which venues you want to use.
What did your dodgy gig offer look like? How did you react? Share your experiences in the comments below…
