What's happened in the world of live music

[dingobass]

Ok. Been thinking about this and have come up with a few ideas.
1. Hunt down and "disappear" all promoters.
2. Hunt down and "disappear" all insurance companies.
3. Hunt down and "disappear" all major record lable executives.
4. Hunt down and "disappear " all those NIMBYs who complain about loud music that decide to live near venues.

That should do the trick

[DrNomis_44]

Before organizations like APRA (Australasian Performing Rights Association) were formed, the Music Industry was a very exploitative industry to work in, alot of the bands and musicians got ripped off and didn't make much money.

[tonyw]

I am a member of APRA i still dont make any money lol although i did get a royalty payment last year for $4 and went and bought a stubby.

I make more money out of prospecting than playing thats for sure.

Break down the last gig i played

2piece band 4 hours for $170 free meals free drinks

Overnight accommodation $65
Fuel $35
Travel time total 4 hours

Setup at 5pm before the punters front up break it down at midnight

Dinner at 7pm play 8 till 12 with one 30min break

Amount left $40 drummer got half, rolling in cash

Back home the next day grumpy, tired and broke lol

[DrNomis_44]

I'm a member of APRA too, and I haven't made much either, my last royalty payment was a total of just $0.45, but it got chewed up by AIA Australia Limited who saw fit to automatically deduct $12.47 from my bank account right after my Royalty payment.


Maybe I should get into doing some Gold prospecting with a Metal Detector.

[dave.king1]

I was a member of APRA in the 70s got squat and still have most of it, my two band mates joined around the same time and still get regular royalty cheques 25 years after they stopped recording ( we went back into the studio in 2009 and have one single to show for it )

[dingobass]

I am a member of APRA i still dont make any money lol although i did get a royalty payment last year for $4 and went and bought a stubby.

I make more money out of prospecting than playing thats for sure.

Break down the last gig i played

2piece band 4 hours for $170 free meals free drinks

Overnight accommodation $65
Fuel $35
Travel time total 4 hours

Setup at 5pm before the punters front up break it down at midnight

Dinner at 7pm play 8 till 12 with one 30min break

Amount left $40 drummer got half, rolling in cash

Back home the next day grumpy, tired and broke lol

Yhep. Who else but musos have the dedication to load 5k worth of gear into a $500 car and travel 100klm to play for $50???

[DrNomis_44]

So, I reckon that to make music more profitable for musicians, we need to "Cut-Out" the middlemen, or the ones who are making, or seek to make, a profit off musicians in order for it to be economically viable.


One way to do that is to go independent, this basically means doing all the promo and etc yourself.

[wazkelly]

Yhep. Who else but musos have the dedication to load 5k worth of gear into a $500 car and travel 100klm to play for $50???

Yep, sums up why my last paying gig was December 1985. We were a 5 piece and unfortunately had to hire lights, PA, and roadies with a truck. Job paid $550 less 10% to agent, less production hire, etc. left $100 to divide between 5. Half hour drive across town, had to pay for a meal and drinks, and at the time due to the hot sweaty venues my $40 Rotosound Roundwounds barely lasted 2 weeks without needing to be replaced. It took a while to figure out it was cost me plenty to go out and play at a venue. Pity the poor drummers as they have even higher maintenance costs with broken sticks, skins, and eventually cracked or broken cymbals.

These days production cost wouldn't be so bad as the Nanny States have decreed such low dB levels that you could hear a punter break wind above a band playing. Heck we used to rehearse louder than what you are allowed to play in most venues nowadays.

[keloooe]

Alrighty, time for me to shed some light here...

I blame these bottom dwelling promoters.
A lot of young bands here in Perth have been forced into some really stupid situations such as not being allowed to perform more than once a month!

One of my bands favorite venues has a booker (who im great friends with) with a similar attitude but it is a good one. Having the same band coming in every week can get VERY annoying for young bands. Wrangler Studios (the venue I'm talking about) is all about young / small bands looking for a damn cool place to really kick off what could be a career, Jayden basically only ever wants any band performing there once a month, in fact my band have had to turn down a couple of other great gigs recently.

I used to work in the Live music scene in Sydney. There are some horrible promoters out there. One I had dealings with used to charge the venue for the PA and booking bands, then charged the bands to play in the venue. The bands had to charge at the door and hope enough people turn up just to break even. These were generally young bands, just out of school and looking to get a following.

Hence why the local scene nowadays is starting to be more defined, but I do know of a few young bands definitely getting their name out right now, which is pretty bloody cool considering im friends with them

So the question is, how the actual f#ck do young bands get a break these days?

Even I as a local, young musician cant answer that DB, it's really all down to the situation at hand, city, genre, social media presence etc etc

[wazkelly]

Not sure when you were in Canberra DB to remember this but way back in the punk era of 79 & 80 several bands used to hire their own halls and put on a gig. It used to be called Rock Against Boredom. Absolute mayhem would have been a better description.

Probably no insurance whatsoever and some of the pogoing induced fights were legendary with skinheads and other yobbos having a go at each other. Nonetheless it was a start for many young acts at the time who couldn't get a gig anywhere else.