Email Booking War

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2001 10:24 am

I thought I'd throw this out there. I received it as email being on the band's email list - I think it illustrates two perspectives in the indy band promo/booking schism.-----Original Message-----
From: ------------
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 11:04 AM
To: ----------------
Subject: Re:Your the Grand wizard of -----Rock or Woops I did it again
Hi ----, we have been primarily a" --------- band" for quite sometime,
with
the exception of a national album and tour with ------------. We are just
now
focusing on, and starting to break in ------. This can NOT be achieved by
playing every 6 weeks. New clubs, new faces, and new E-Mails must be
obtained!
Now, when we were asked to play, -------and the ---------, other gigs within
that
month were already obtained.........and I apologized to you and --------for
that,
and subsequently forfeited the ----gig. So why now after the gig, and you
knowing I understand your policy on saturation, are you beating that same
horse.If you had given us a future date, I would have gladly adhered to your
stringent rock rules. Also I would like to know why you think you can
deliver
derogatory E-Mails in that bitchy, self important,
haughty tone, while CCing -------, and somebody else's E-Mail I don't
recognize.
Are you in some kind of high brow, corporate rock "good ole boys club" that
thinks you can say anything to the poor peasant rockers that are trying to
play
at --------.
Its gross!! And I know ive burned this bridge. But its much better than
kowtowing to a sound man/booker and a talk radio employee. PS Feel free to
CC
this to anyone, as I will too.----------wrote:> Hey ---------- Our perceptions of "good night" are probably VERY different.
> With only 93 paid admissions on a night that averages over 200, I would
say
> that it wasn't as successful as you may think from the club's view.
>
> I am extremely hesitant to talk about future performances based on your
> band's tendencies to OVERPLAY the market. Too many shows in too short a
time
> span. This gives people like me fits. ANY band playing at ---------MUST have
at
> least 2 weeks with no in town shows on either side of the date. Preferably
3
> weeks - in this present downturn. Playing more isn't better for anybody.
It
> gives people too many options to see you at one venue or another. We need
> events - not just another show. We need people who like the band to ONLY
> have the option of -------- that month or nothing. Its the only way for
all
> parties to be happy with the outcome on many levels.
>
> So until the band gets a grasp on how to handle its show schedule
properly,
> I would say that I will have to pass on a Nov. date. Please keep in touch,
> maybe we will be able to bring the band back as a middle slot on a future
> show.
>
> Thanks
> -----
>
> > From: ---------<-------->
> > Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2001 10:25:11 -0400
> > To: ---------
> > Subject: ---------
> >
> > Hi ----, ------here from the -------, hey we had a good night
> > last thursday!
> > We have a new CD out "----------" We are going to be on the cover
> > of the -------for Nov. and we have a pretty good buzz right now. So im
> > wondering if you would give us a weekend night or even better a
> > residency like ------. If so I will promote the shit out of it and even
> > take out paid promo ads in some ------zines. Let me know, Thanks, ----------
> >
> >
> >

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2001 11:15 am

I don't know why you've decided to air your laundry here, but it's an interesting topic.. one I'm sure many of our readers would like to chime in on. However, this topic could have been accomplished without dragging specific parties into it. You might like to consider re-approaching this with an open-ended premise."What is a good balance between saturation and effective penetration into a new market?"That way it leaves your personal dispute out of it. You can start a new thread like that and have this one killed, or let it happen right here. Your choice.The way it is now, we have an obligation to invite the other party to enter the conversation and dispute his position. I will leave this up to you, as you are the one who lit the match.I do have some input on the topic, but I'll wait until you pick a direction and make sure this gets off on the right foot. I don't want any of our efforts to be wasted on a useless flame war. I believe we can do this in a way where everyone walks away with something valuable. Please, let's do this right.Thank you.

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2001 12:33 pm

Ang1970Actually this isn't my laundry I've aired here and perhaps you're right, I should have changed the names to protect the innocent. Honestly, I don't know either of the parties and ended up on the mailing list of the band. It seems they're distributing this to their fanbase to make a point. Also, I'm not picking sides in the argument. I just thought it was good fodder for debate. Your point is well taken that the argument could have been presented without names so I've edited the post. I appreciate your thoughtful input.Perhaps deleteing this and your post would be suffice on re-starting this one on better footing.

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2001 7:25 pm

I'm fine with the ____'s. It does provide a real-world example of the issue at hand, so I'm not opposed to leaving that up and continuing with the thread.My take... I'd say that not saturating a new market too quickly is good advice. There are a lot of places in the surrounding area, and that all needs to be covered too. You can keep very busy by spreading out a bit. Play one night in Worchester, another night in Salem, Fitchburg, Gloucester, Barnstable, Quincy, Providence... Each one can be an "event", as the second guy put it.If you find yourself playing more than once a month in the same town, and each time the crowd gets a little thinner, you're on your way to becoming a "regular bar band". Not that there's anything wrong with that, just don't expect to get rich and famous without some serious restructuring.The second guy here didn't write the book on promotion, but he's using age-old, tried and true (music) business sense. It is regrettable that the band burned this bridge, he could have helped them greatly in their career.

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2001 7:28 pm

Like I said in another thread, overexposure is consistantly the biggest mistake I see people making.It's far better to fill a string of living rooms than to half-fill a stadium. If you can mail to half your list and fill a small venue, you can then mail to the other half and fill it again. If you list the two gigs in the paper you risk quarter-filling both.

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