PAY TO PLAY - The Good The Bad, & The Ugly

PAY TO PLAY – Where venue owners charge an up-front fee to performing artists for the use of their facilities. The practice began in Los Angeles sometime in the 1980s. It has become common in many U.S. cities at low-turnout all-ages shows where performers are required to guarantee a minimum attendance through pre-show ticket sales. Why do club owners do this. Are they trying to Rip Fledgling artists, or is it simply business. 

THE GOOD - Many club owners I know feel that if the venue is that of high quality, in a high profile locale, and the band lacks serious draw potential – then pay to play is perfectly legitimized. Why? Because as a business it doesn't make sense to give your venue slot to a band that doesn't have a draw vice giving it to a band that does. If PAY TO PLAY is so wrong then why does it exist in Broadcasting, Visual Arts, Online Gaming, Corporate Finance, and Insurance. In fact the small club circuit is merely a microcosm of the larger more lucrative Arena Circuit. Go up to the Booking Agent in charge of say The Madison Square Garden and say- “Hey we’re a small punk band from Long Island – can we borrow Madison Square Garden say this Saturday night – our draw should be around 200.”  PAY TO PLAY also exists in MUSIC SUPERVISION - where professionals place music in many kinds of film, television, commercial, web-based and other live and recorded media cues. While some music supervisors are paid only by their employer or per-project, some companies use a "pay to play" model wherein artists "pay" to "submit" tracks for consideration to a variety of media concerns, only to have to pay the Music Supervision intermediary again at a cost of 1/2 of its earning for the track placement should it win a placement. Some question its legitimacy and say self-interest may cloud the artistic judgment of the supervisor in simply selecting the right track for the right job. Most Music Supervisors I know pick the right song for the right synch - plain and simple. If they don't then they're not going be a Music Supervisor for long. INDIE MUSIC DIGEST also charges reasonable fees for Independent Artists who request our services. The website is professional, it is listed in many high profile links including the Indie Bible, and self-interest will never cloud the artistic judgment of our music critics It also exists solely for Independent Artists who need this kind of exposure.

THE BAD - I know one Progressive club owner who was a staunch advocate of PAY TO PLAY practice. So after 6 months of letting a lot of local no name bands play at his venue – guess what the club went belly up. It’s now a Christian Science Reading Room The bottom line is – No Draw meant No Money, No Money meant No Business, and no Business meant more Christian Science Reading Rooms. Any way you look it – giving your services away for free sets a bad president, and can eventually be a condescending business practice. 

THE UGLY - So in close if your pissed off because your no name band has to pay to play at a high quality venue, at a high profile locale due to your inexperience, & lack of draw don't blame the club owner for it!. The venue or locale may be out of your league. May I soggiest you start at the smaller club level first and work your way up until you draw heats up. Having serious draw potential can be a very valuable bargaining chip for you someday - but you have to start somewhere.  If you've been playing the small club circuit for several years and you still don't have a draw then perhaps your current business model is not working. Perhaps it's in need of improvement, more development, overhaul, or just plain liquidation. Madison Square Garden is simply not for you - but hey there's always the street corner or Open Mic Nights.