I guess it started when cocaine became an acceptable part of doing business in the live music industry. Certainly before my time, 82? 85?, but it’s effects are hurting my bottom line more recently than ever.

See, from what I’ve read, it usedta be that EVERY show was a “door deal” (how a band gets paid from a gig; usually a percentage of the total gross of the ticket sales or walkup at said band’s show is what the band earned for the night. $10 dollar ticket, 100 people paid, 75% of gross, the band earns $750.00.) Seems fair, right? This way, everyone is somewhat vested in the gig. The agent wants the band to earn as much as possible so he gets a fatter ten percent and therefore pushes the label and the publicist to help push the show in the individual market in tandem with the local promoter. And the local promoter wants the show to crush because, regardless of the turnout, he’s making twenty five percent (or whatever the deal is) of gross.

But that’s the downfall in the door-deal as well. It’s an honesty issue with the promoter.

From what I’ve read and heard, it usedta be that the local promoter settled the show honestly.

“There were 500 people here. They each paid ten dollars to see the show. Our agreement is that you receive seventy five percent of the proceeds. Here’s $3750 for you and $1250 for me. Let’s go do a shot!”.

But somewhere along the way (presumably sometime around the blizzard of eighty two) promoters started being shady.

“Hmm. The band’s up there playing. The tour manager is getting head on the bus. I’m gonna go settle. But lemme get another drink first. And do a quick bump. Let’s see here…WOW! Five grand! That’s…that’s some fucking cash! And man, my rent’s late. And my old lady needs a new pair of shoes. And MAN that’s some good blow. Well, let’s see here. They’ll never know if I tell them that only three hundred fifty people paid. That’s an extra…well, shit! that’s an extra fifteen hundred bucks for me!”

And soon there after, the bands started getting hip. Knowing there were five hundred in the club but they only got paid for three fifty. And the agent had to call the promoter and there was no email or slick communication available like there is today. So they duked it out on the phone. But what happened? Nothing. The band got fucked and went on to the next club in the next city and probably dealt with the same shit from the next guy.

Fast forward thirty years and we’re smack dab in the middle of the worst depression and economic downturn since the nineteen thirties. And what’s the first thing people cut back on in questionable economic times? Luxurious spending. Going out to dinner. Watching something On Demand instead of going out to a movie. Saving that fifty or sixty bucks they’d spend going to see a rock band they’ve never heard of at a place that’s going to probably be too loud, too far or it’s too cold and rainy to leave the house.

So here we are with more music touring the country than ever before and more Pitchfork buzz bands and Brooklyn is overflowing with plaid shirt wearing indie rock kids who make a slick video, get a couple hundred thousand views on YouTube and all of a sudden, the agent thinks they’re worth 100 paid on a Sunday night in Cleveland or Peoria or Charlottesville or Harrisburg at a $10 ticket so he quotes the band at $1,500 plus points and meals because they’re in a bus and have a tour manager and a merch guy and a drum tech….

Certainly there are bands that are worth every penny and a guarantee is almost more of a formality than anything. There are certain bands in every market that come with such a guaranteed buzz and hype from either the latest release or because they are simply that awesome that putting together a sellout offer is a no brainer.

But what about the up-and-comers? The bands that the average show goer is taking a chance on? Probably every club in America that has twenty or more nights per month of entertainment has two or three “anchor” shows – shows that either probably will or will have a great probability of selling enough tickets to make the night worth it for everyone involved – but what about the up-and-comers? Maybe a few people know the name but not that critical mass that fills a room on a Sunday night when the show is up against the Eagles and The Steelers and Boardwalk Empire and The Phillies (fuck, had I known the Phillies were going to do so well this year I wouldn’t have booked a single show for October!). What about those nights?

Sure, a band needs to eat. And one would hope that the promoter or the booker will do everything he can to make a night work -but the times they have been changing. And the consumer is much more well informed and has myriad options of spending his money. And seeing a band at a club or small venue is a COMMITMENT. Getting bodies in the door to spend their time, their hard-earned money and their Friday, Saturday or Sunday night instead of doing that myriad other things gets increasingly more difficult when some of the bigger promoters gouged prices SO high that the public physically revolted this past summer (A share of Live Nation stock is now trading at $9.77.) How much was the total of the service fee of the last ticket to a Live Nation show that you saw? Probably twelve? Fifteen dollars? A share of LiveNation stock now costs LESS than a service fee to one of their shows. Because they took AS MUCH as they possibly could from the public. Twenty bucks to park. Ten for a beer. Tee shirts? FORTY FIVE! And the service fees? Fifteen bucks a ticket? Shit, the show almost didn’t even MATTER!

And that was this past summer.

Nearly every show in a LiveNation arena or stadium had some sort of crazy giveaway involved because nothing was selling and the public became hip. They waited until the day-of to get a five dollar ticket in the parking lot. Or, in a lot of cases, FREE tickets.

And then, back in Peoria and Charlottesville and Harrisburg, local promoters are trying to get an agitated customer base of several million to come back to the clubs and buy tickets in advance for bands that might not have quite broken yet, but are undoubtedly quality and amazingly talented bands…

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I was at a conference last week with a pretty solid crew of regional promoters, agents and PR firms. It was small, maybe forty guys. But those forty guys were responsible for probably four or five hundred thousand tickets to their various festivals, band’s shows and events this past summer.

And on the second day of the conference, we talked as a group for about three and a half hours about how to increase ticket sales to live music events of any size.

And while some great ideas were bounced around, noone had the silver bullet. There’s no one thing that’s going to get more bodies in the door. But starting with taking some pressure off of an already stressed promoter who’s up against myriad competing factors is a good start. Relationships are built and trust is earned, not given.

But it starts with trust. The agent has to trust the promoter is going to push a show as hard as he can and genuinely exhaust every avenue of promoting that gig. He’s going to flyer other shows and advertise in the monthlies and reach out to the bloggers.

And then the tour manager has to trust the house manager that he’s going to settle on the actual number of heads paid through the door and that nineteen eighty seven called and they took their cocaine back.

And the promoter has to trust the agent is going to push the publicist to work his market in tandem and get some ink and send the posters and help pinpoint each market’s “superfan”.

And then, maybe prices can come down some for the general public. Because a promoter in a tertiary market doesn’t have to worry about whether or not the Phillies are going to make the playoffs because, on a door deal, everyone gets paid what they’re worth when everyone’s honest.

And then maybe more people will come out more frequently.

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PS- I wrote this post while working the door for a double bill at The Abbey Bar. It’s a Sunday night. The Phillies are playing. So did the Steelers. Pretty sure the Eagles did too. There’s a new Boardwalk Empire on and it’s the season finale of Mad Men. We had ten people paid tonight. It was a seven dollar door. I won’t say what the guarantee was for the bands, but I can assure you it was more than seventy bucks.