"Exposure bucks" are worth more than real bucks (to me) right now

#41
Yep, I'm in pretty much the same boat: Original band, older musicians, not much following, sparse opportunities, don't need to try to make money from this. We play for the joy of it. Building up a mailing list and a following are important to us at this point. We've had similar discussions to what you described and reached the same conclusion re "exposure bucks." If I wanted or needed to earn money doing this I'd go join or form a cover band.
 
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#43
portpc said:
What worked for me in the past when pursuing exposure gigs is to partner up with a local event or charity and provide entertainment for one of their fundraisers.

There is an instant transfer of goodwill to your band from the attendees and organizations to your act and there is no downside.
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This. If you just follow the well worn path, the line starts over there, behind the pretty people. If you do a lot of fundraisers, you are getting you music in front of a much larger audience.

Might not work so well if you play dark industrial death metal or such. But if you got a few hooks and don't struggle to imagine your music on the radio, wider exposure is probably better than more gigs.

Edit: plus being seen as people who care won't hurt your cause.
 
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#47
Not now, thankfully.

In my experience, it's a tough grind. You're trying to get people to remember your name, to add you on social media, to go to your spotify... you push your merch and interact with fans during the headliner's set. I've seen Yngwie Malmsteen a handful of times and his openers are usually paying to play. It's basically paying for your band to have an advertisement. You are paying a bunch of money hoping that you will say your name enough times and be interesting enough in your allotted spot that people will pull out their phones and follow you, say hi at the table when they are taking a whiz later... tough grind.

I imagine if I had an originals band I loved playing with and the time and money I might have tried something like that 15 years ago.

Of course, there is a middle ground, which is being a covers band that has a few originals... but that's gonna be more regionally limited.
 
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#48
It's something on TB where there is this mass divide of playing for nothing vs. getting paid and it took me a while to realise that 80%+ of the community here are in cover bands where getting paid is actually a reality.

If you're in an originals, and just starting out, expect to not break even for a while. Although right now we're in a golden age of social media. Plenty of bands getting good, paying gigs, without even focusing on sharing their music on TikTok etc. If you want to achieve even minimal goals as an original band these days, you need to be a comedian, a videographer, photographer, web designer, PR guru and so on...
 
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#49
It has been 30 years since I've been in a startup, which is probably why my motto, for all that time, has been "Money is validation!" Now, after all this time, I'm in one again. A no-vocals surf band, which is kind of an out-there concept to begin with. (Playing "Shake It Off" in the style of The Ventures is a hoot!). So yeah, I expect to be playing for exposure for a good long while.
 
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#50
I'm more sympathetic to 'free' gigs if they suit the guys doing them for free. Although ideally I think people can be in the habit of not paying for music.. and thats a malaise we are all familiar with.
But if the greater need is exposure then fine.
But a cynical person might think there are too many people the other side of the coin who work that angle as an basic way of operating... I tend to take more exception to that.
 
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#51
Every promotional opportunity has an associated cost.
The trick is in finding those where the perceived benefits outweigh the real cost.
Do you know your expected demographic? Find out where those people gather and take opportunities that address that audience.
Or steppingstone opportunities; sometimes charity events are attended by people who may be in a position to book entertainment for a function.
You may need to just start with open mikes. I have never found this to produce any tangible result, but a few have provided recognizeable backgrounds for promotional photographs and videos.
If you're going to play for free, do it right, post only videos you can be proud of, or don't do them.
 
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#52
ArtechnikA said:
Every promotional opportunity has an associated cost.
The trick is in finding those where the perceived benefits outweigh the real cost.
Do you know your expected demographic? Find out where those people gather and take opportunities that address that audience.
Or steppingstone opportunities; sometimes charity events are attended by people who may be in a position to book entertainment for a function.
You may need to just start with open mikes. I have never found this to produce any tangible result, but a few have provided recognizeable backgrounds for promotional photographs and videos.
If you're going to play for free, do it right, post only videos you can be proud of, or don't do them.
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The value in open mics that allow a full band to do a few songs is in the opportunity to hone your act in front of others.

Beyond that, the only way they ever evolve into an actual gig at the venue comes after showing up weekly over time and building a relationship with the owner - And having a product he/she thinks might work.

These can also be good opportunities to find musicians if you're trying to fill roster spots.
 
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#54
I'm networking Jams atm but I find you are kissing a lot of frogs...
Its mainly a medium for people seeking an outlet to play..and thats ok..for them... but whether that matches up into a worthwhile gig is debatable.
You mainly only really find that out by doing them though as you dont know who is turning up when.

Example, I got a sub gig offer of the last 'jam' and you really need to know who is on the gig.
 
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#55
pepj said:
I'm networking Jams atm but I find you are kissing a lot of frogs...
Its mainly a medium for people seeking an outlet to play..and thats ok..for them... but whether that matches up into a worthwhile gig is debatable.
You mainly only really find that out by doing them though as you dont know who is turning up when.

Example, I got a sub gig offer of the last 'jam' and you really need to know who is on the gig.
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Yep. There are some true pros at some of the local jams, and there are those for whom I'm just not available to work with.
 
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#57
RustfeatherBass said:
So I am in a little original band, and last night, me and the boys were talking about goals for year. We concluded that we want to gig more. So we discussed the realities of gigging for an unknown, local, original band of older dudes, with not much following. Sparse opportunities, to say the least.

We discussed what types of gigs were possible, which ones would probably be worth it/not worth it, and what we hoped to get out of them. The surprising answer is that we all unanimously cared about gigs that had the potential to gain friends/fans/social followers (ie “exposure bucks”), and didn’t give a rat’s butt about getting paid.

I guess it’s good to be in a position where a hundred bucks each doesn’t make or break us. There were times when this definitely wasn’t the case! But right now, a gig that has a built-in crowd, with the chance to gain a couple dozen legit, local, music people as fans followers is way more important right now.

Anyone else in this situation?...]
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Your band's problems as I see them:
1. You are "older dudes"
2. Your band has "not much following"
3. You're playing original songs that nobody in the audience will know
4. You've all agreed to play for free
Other than that I think you probably have a great game plan going. Stay the course!
:laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
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