How Do I Price Myself?

I got an interesting post from a friend in Chicago today that is something that we all to consider.   How do we price ourselves?   By that I mean, how much do we ask for ourselves?   How much should the ticket price be; our guarantee; our percentage?  And how do we determine what that is?

First of all your value to a concert promoter is how many people you can bring in and secondly how long can you keep them there?   The longer that they stay there, the more money the bar and the restaurant and the concession stands make.   And make no mistake about it, that’s what professional promoters are doing it for – the money.

There are many club owners who also have an enormous regard for the artists and for music itself, but they still need to survive.   And to do that they must produce shows that produce income.

One rule of thumb that I have mentioned before is that in order for a concert to have the best chance of success, everyone needs to have a little skin in the game.   If you do a show for no guarantee, then the club owner, who would be open anyhow, just gets to have the doors open and whomever shows up, shows up.   Everyone must risk something or it’s unbalanced and probably unsuccessful.

Now decide how much trouble you are willing to go to to perform.   Are you willing to fly across the country, rent a car, a hotel room, eat in restaurants for no guarantee?

For myself, I have decided that I can’t leave the state I live in for anything less than a $750 guarantee versus 70%.   I have to take into account how very expensive traveling has become and come up with what I think it’s worth to me to go to that trouble.

So pick a figure that works for you.   And to pick that figure, take into account how many people you could draw; how many people will actually stay for your second set; how many CD’s you are likely to sell;  how large the room is—that is how many people will it hold; what the ticket price is; how much will it cost you to personally promote the date; what will it cost the promoter to promote the date; what other means does the promoter have to make money; what will it cost you to spend the night in that city; what will it cost you to get there; what will it cost you to eat?

Now many of these things can be negotiated.   The club may provide a place to stay and a meal.  So that knocks down what it will cost you to do the gig.   Many clubs take a percentage of CD sales, so that costs you money and must be taken into account.

And of course, there is the reality of how badly you want to play that gig.   If you think that you can turn it into something lucrative for everyone, then you take the risk. Even if the return is down the line.   If you are pretty certain that it’s not likely to turn into anything, then take that into account and pass on the gig.

Ideally, what I like is a tour that is routed in an intelligent fashion.   The cities are in a line, easy to get to from the previous city and the promoter will provide a guarantee and dinner and at least a provision for a room; if not an actual room then an arrangement with one of the local hotels and a better rate than the man on the street would get; and the room itself has a reputation, so that people know that if you are playing there, you must be pretty good.

If they are going to take a percentage of my CD sales, then I want a nice display in a prominent and easily accessible place and I want one of their employees standing by the CD’s for the entire evening, so that a CD may be purchased whenever the impulse strikes one of my audients.   If they can not provide that, then I am not willing to do all the work and split it the CD sales with them.

As to ticket price, I always ask what they normally charge at the door; what shape the local economy is in; and I check to see who else played there and what they charged.    Place yourself in the pantheon.  There are people who are more famous than you.  They will command a higher ticket price and draw more people.  You must charge less than they do, but more than some schlemiel who is just not that good.   

You can find places to play easily enough.   Go to the sites of your peers and see where they are playing.  That’s a good place to start.  You can even scout around your region and find a room that perhaps doesn’t have music and see if you can create a scene there.   The club owners will be delighted to give you a decent amount of money if you start to pack them in there.

There is another thing that you should consider.  Don’t put yourself in the hottest spotlight until you are ready.   If you know of a house concert series and you are not that good, but get the gig anyway, you will most likely burn that bridge.   You do a poor show and they will probably not have you back, even if you get great later.   Don’t burn those venues.  When you are ready, you will both know it.

I’ll give this some more thought and get back to you on Monday.   And I welcome any input and feedback from you folks.

Comments

[Bobby Brogan]

I do believe I am gonna print this off