ERIC HOLDEN, formally of Long Island, New York pop punk band BROOKSIDE has written an editorial for YAHOO on the "pay to play" policy regarding unsigned local bands. Unsigned local bands either buy (and sell to fans) or are given a certain amount of tickets to sell in exchange for opening for a national act or package tour as a percentage of tickets sales (25 or 50 or more) or given to the unsigned band. Is the "pay to play" policy regarding unsigned locals a rip off of taking money out of pocket to play, or a fair practice of local, unsigned acts mandated to draw their fair share for further exposure on bigger shows with national acts?
THE DOWNTOWN in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York CLOSED in 2005:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Downtown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_to_play
FROM YAHOO.COM:
How much money would an unsigned band shell out for the chance to open for a national touring act?
That's the question some New York performance venues have been trying to find out since 2001, when local establishments began to implement a controversial pay-to-play scheme that resulted in dozens of young musicians losing hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of dollars.
The pay-to-play system involves an established venue or promoter granting a young, unsigned local artist an opening slot on a choice local gig, with the only catch being that the band must sell a certain number of tickets to their friends, fans, and family in advance of the showtime.
Under this scheme, the promoter gives the band a certain number of tickets to sell, and the band is then held accountable to pay off most or all of the face value of the tickets even if they aren't able to sell all of them.
Is Pay-to-Play an Ethical Practice?
Brookside frontman Matt Baard of Long Island doesn't think so. "It's unfortunate that it's become the standard way of running shows around here," Baard said. "If you're a promoter running a show, you should promote it and get people there because that's your job, not the band's job."
Baard, 28, detailed one of the many times his band lost hundreds of dollars under the pay-to-play system, and he thinks it's clear that local promoters and venues are taking advantage of young musicians.
"My band, Brookside, an unsigned Long Island pop-punk band, received a call from The Downtown a few years back that a slot had opened to perform on the same bill as Fall Out Boy, which was one of my favorite bands at the time," Baard said. "To get on the show, the venue said all we had to do was sell 50 tickets for $12 each, which essentially put us on the hook for $600. It seemed fair enough at the time, so I agreed to it."
He jumped at the opportunity to open for one of his favorite bands, laying out money from his own pocket -- the full $600 -- to get his band onto the bill. Despite plenty of hard work on marketing,Baard was only able to sell 30 of the 50 tickets, which left him and his bandmates responsible for the money from the 20 unsold tickets.
Baard, just 21 years old at the time, had no choice but to shell out the $240 owed from the unsold tickets. He said there were several other shows that caused him to lose even more money because of unethical business practices by concert venues and owners.
"I understand that promoters do it so it puts the onus on bands to get people down to shows, since promoters don't want to lose their shirts," said Kenneth Belkin, a former singer of Brooklyn punk rockers Days of Rage. "However, it is really tough to draw people if you are a band just starting out, and really, what is the job of a promoter if not to promote and bring in the crowds? So it's a tough call. Generally, I'd say I come down in favor of the struggling musician more than shady promoter."
Promoters Explain Their Logic
Baard argued that the venue shouldn't have forced the band to sell tickets, because that is the job of the promoter, while Downtown officials said the pay-to-play ticketing system was the only way to determine how many people Brookside could draw into the building. And if they couldn't draw at least 50 paying customers, then they probably didn't deserve the opportunity to open for Fall Out Boy in the first place.
"Venues may ask a local unsigned band to move tickets in a certain local market, because it's really the only way to judge the band's fan base in the market," said Adam Weiser, former talent buyer forThe Downtown, a popular mid-sized venue that served Long Island in the early 2000s. "Quite honestly, if a band can't move X amount of tickets, then they may not be ready to play a show at that level."
Under the pay-to-play scheme, the local band receives the opportunity to open for a national touring act, typically in front of a large audience they otherwise wouldn't reach. Venues and promoters argue that's the main reason why the pay-to-play system is completely ethical.
"Sometimes, I had to guarantee a national touring act a lot of money to come play on Long Island," said Ben Rosen, owner of New York concert promoters BR Booking. "I had to make local opening acts sell tickets to make sure that fee was covered."
Rosen said the pay-to-play system was necessary to keep venues in business. "Bands would say they can draw a certain amount of people, but then they wouldn't be able to," Rosen explained. "So if you make a band buy tickets, they have their own money invested in it. When that happens, they have to hustle to sell tickets, and they are more motivated, because they have their own money to worry about."
Rosen, who admitted to making over $3,000 in profit at some of the concerts he promoted, said pay-to-play was a sound business decision for venues, and bands could make their money by selling CDs and T-shirts.
"Venues have a lot of overhead costs," he noted. "They have rent, sound guys, electric bills, and more. They can't risk holding concerts where no one shows up. Sometimes, opening acts just have to sell tickets to prove themselves."
Has Pay-to-Play Hurt the Underground New York Music Scene?
In the late '90s and early 2000s, the underground music scene was much different than it is today. Local bands would tell their friends, fans, and families to come to a concert, and the artists would then receive a portion of the profits from the door cover charge. The band could then use that money for gas, practice equipment, recording, and other band essentials.
Bands like Taking Back Sunday and Brand New, who went on to become platinum recording artists, had the opportunity to develop under this system, which involved slowly developing a fan base by performing at Long Island VFW halls, bars, and teen centers without the pressure of being blacklisted from a club for not selling a certain amount of tickets.
On the Might of Princes, a popular Long Island emo band that developed under the old system of building a fan base by playing "ticket-less" shows at local VFW halls and teen centers, saw a changing of the tides in the early 2000s. "When hardcore/punk bands started getting big, places like The Downtown started cashing in on it," said On the Might Of Princes drummer Chris Enriquez. "That sort of thing happens all the time when something gets popular. In my view, having bands pay to play is exploitation. It's also insulting, degrading, and disrespectful to musicians that are working on getting their bands out."
Heading into 2013, it's a much different landscape for unsigned New York musicians. It's now nearly impossible for a local unsigned band to get onto a show in New York without having to sell tickets.
Eric Holden played bass for Brookside, a Long Island pop-punk quartet that played several times at New York venues that implemented a pay-to-play system. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.
Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-
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