Check out the thread at http://indianapolismusic.net/indyBB/viewtopic.php?t=71161 Pay to play? Personally, no thanks. In the same way that no reputable publishing company would charge a writer to get published, no reputable record company would either, IMHO. I couldn't find anything on their site saying that even ONE band/musician had actually been signed to a major label through their 'showcase' scheme. Now if they were asking for demos of prospective bands, then inviting those they considered had a chance of a deal FOR FREE, I might consider it. After reading the small print about what the company would get out of it/me if a deal actually happened. But from their site, it sounds as though ANYONE, no matter how untalented (please, I am not saying your band is untalented, you may be superb), is welcome to go to a showcase, provided they cough up the 200 bucks. 200 dollars for 'advice'? There are many much cheaper or free ways to get advice.

Thanks for the link Bebop, it seems like the consensus is they may be legit, but $200.00 cash is not worth it. I'm going to talk it over with my band. When they first called us back I was all excited, but now it seems a little absurd. Thanks for the thoughts

Well the news is that we are going to play it. We thought that since we all made the money we have together, we might as well spend it together. Plus how often do we get to play for record execs in Springfield Missouri. I'll let you know if anything else develops.

Plus how often do we get to play for record execs in Springfield Missouri.

Ha ha, not very often unless you are in Happyendings. :wink:

Good luck, but don't get your hopes up so high that you set yourself up for disappointment. Look me up if you ever need to do some recording. reddog1299 (at) hotmail.com

Wow reggie I had no idea that you were around here, ahh the wonders of the interweb. Anywho we are playing the Rockwell tonight if you wanna come check us out. $6.00 american if you wanna show doors are at 8:00 I believe.

if you show up shout out something between songs about RO like Sebatron has an afro or somthing

ha I'd probably shout something more obscene than that. Like "JP22 is god!" :lol:

Wish I could come, but I have recording duties tonight (Seraphim's Curfew) and I have company coming this weekend that I need to get the house ready for. :cry:

Have fun!

Oh man jp22 is so a god, I mean his innovative uses of compression and three mics to one track are simpy mindblowing. What am I saying the guys a 'tard. Oh well maybe you will be free next time. Jeff Smith from 2100 said he would be there and he is bringing Jim Wirt (producer for Live, Hoobastank, Incubus. . ) along with him so it will be a pretty big show for us. Anywho see ya later

those will not be record "execs" they will be lo level/entry level A&R at best, and paid to be there. Cream rises to the top. The most imoprtant person to get is a manager..the best, most connected and gifted you can impress to take you on. There's a million ways to make it in this biz..each story is unique..good luck.

hey guys, my name is Eric and I work at Revlis Records. My girlfriend actually came across this post somehow (probably google). Im not here to pick a fight, just clear up any misconceptions about my label.

I completely understand the hesitation, there are tons of these events happening all over the country, some are legit and some arent. We got the idea after being scammed by Extreme Music Group on an event just like this. Part of the original motivation for this event was to combat people like XMG by putting on a real event. The only thing missing from their showcases were real A&R reps that could make things happen.

We decided to try a showcase out on our home turf in Oklahoma City. To get real A&R reps you have to pay. $1000 a day per Rep was about the average. 100 bands payed the $200 to play, 15 bands were placed on a watch list and are monitored and 1 band (Tied For Second, http://www.myspace.com/TiedForSecond) was flown out to NYC to play for the bosses at Atlantic Records. They choked in NYC unfortunatley and nothing happened.

So it is true that no bands have been signed off our event. But we have only put on 1 of these so far. We are actually leaving tomorrow morning for Indy to host our second, and they next weekend we will be in KCMO. Steven Norris (VP of A&R at Atlantic) Brian Berger (A&R at Columbia) and Bart Dahl (http://www.MadisonHouseInc.com) are going to make up the panel at these 2 dates.

Now about the $200. We would love to put the event on for free. We have all been in bands most of our lives and understand how tight money can be. It does, however, cost quite a bit to put on an event like this. The A&R reps' salary, hotels, flights, rental cars, renting a venue for 3 days (12 hours a day), sound guy... the list goes on. We pay for eveything. We are not a huge label with money to throw around (there are currently 5 employees at the label, we've been around for a little over a yeat). We have to recoop our costs on this event for they wouldnt happen. We could get low level interns to sit on the panel and BS bands, but we arent in this to make money. We are in it for you guys.

I hope i have cleared up any discrepensies. If there are any more questions feel free to email me at Eric (at) RevlisRecords.com and i will get back to ASAP.

Good luck and take care.

Hi Daniel

I'm Stocky and have been in the recording business for twenty years. I've never heard of Revlisrecords, that doesn't mean that they are not for real, but they are not I suspect as affluent as maybe they are trying to project. I think that they are an ambitious micro label with a half decent website who have probably had some contact with the odd talent scout and are basically bigging themselves up to be more established than they really are. That on it's own doesn't make them suspicious but anyone who promises great things in return for money has to be watched out for. So under the heading of "If something's to good to true it usually is" my advise would be to stay clear and do not pay anybody anything for a chance to play in front of a label if they think you have what it takes they will come looking for you.

Clue: Listen to the recordings of there artists on there website they sound amateur, the sort of recordings made in a home studio. A well connected well established label would put out a better quality product, and no label worth it's salt would be asking bands for money to play in what I can only describe as a Battle of the bands competition. And why would they want to share that undiscovered talent with other labels, EMI wouldn't want the world and his dog to know they had found a great new artist before they had a chance to sign them, which lets face it in a b.o.b it's a free for all and why not sign you themselves.

Stocky
Sanchogrey
http://www.sanchogrey.com

I too got messages from Revlis - actually through myspace. I replied when they said they wanted to make sure I was a legit artist before calling me, they called, we talked. I actually missed their first call and called them back. I was about to think they're completely legit. Then it hit me... I have my myspace setup with myspacelog.com, which logs the ip of people who look at your myspace. It's not helpful in telling who they are, cuz they have to register for you to know who it is. But it does log the ip addy and what city/state their service comes from. A few minutes before the time the first call came in, there is a record of someone looking at my account from Oklahoma City, OK. I called back at 7:50pm according to my cell phone. At 7:50 and 7:51, there are two more records of someone looking at my myspace account. That in itself wouldn't be bad, except this:

Will, the guy I spoke with, told me it had been a while since he listened to my stuff and asked "Uh, did you have a song 'Truth'?". It's one of the songs on my myspace, a few songs down on this list as I recall, so now, looking back, I'm wondering how he hadn't listened to it "for a while" when he was (a) on my myspace earlier that day and (b) was on it while he was talking to me. Sound curious? I think so... I doubt the legitimacy of this a lot more now...

This is not the first "pay to play" competition I have heard of. Sometimes it is billed as an "entrance fee" some times as a "promotional fee". If you are concerned about the rep of the record company take a look at the Better Business Bureau website or a call to the BBB where the record label is located would probably be a good idea. You can do a search on the Web for their number.

$200.00 sounds like a lot. Depending on where the event is being held and what promotional measures they have to provide it maybe just that they want to cover their costs or they may want to make some money off the event.

I have a background in doing concert sound and have been in some situations where the bands are paying for the pleasure of playing the gig and the promoter is giving them a real first class presentation. I have also been at gigs like this where the promoter was trying to maximize their income and have a tendency to stiff their suppliers. That is why my boss always asked for the money for the sound system upfront and it cash before we unloaded the system.

There are a lot of scammers on the Web and if you are concerned that this is a scam you should do your homework on this company. Asking questions here is always a good idea. You can also look up in the state where they are registered to see if they are a legit company and not just someone with a bedroom operation posing as a record company. You would want to contact the Secretary of State in the state they are from. If they are a legit company they may also have a Dun and Bradstreet rating and you can go to their website and look up the company name.

Best of Luck!

holy scam batman...

this is so obviously a scam. maybe in its legal form but SCAM none the less... stay far far far away from these guys and realize this:

"If you have to pay to play YOU'RE GETTING FUCKING SCAMMED"

Pay $200.00 to play, for a "chance" to get "discovered".
Right. You probably have a better chance of winning the Lotto. :x

The industry

When any one ask you to pay to play it is a rip off. Send me your demo and I will review it for free. http://www.RPMJPublishing.com

The industry

The only things you should ever pay for are services where you get something like a recording session. If you have to pay someone to listen then it is a scam. Here is a link to a good article.

http://

Sometimes there are costs that have to be met. I listen to lots of peoples recordings before I master them for free to help the musicians. If they bring their stuff in early in the process of mixing I can make some recommendations or point out some possible trouble areas and I am always happy to help out. Some people take advantage of that and when it comes time to master a project they want me to cut my rates or do it for free. I would love to be able to do all my work for free but it just doesn't work out that way. I still have to pay the rent and my utilities so there are costs that I have to be met. I can do some stuff for free but I have to charge for others or I would not be in business very long.

In this case the record company may or may not have costs that they have to cover. This would especially be true if they are putting on what amounts to a battle of the bands with sound and lights and hall cost to cover. I don't know these guys personally but a lot of what people think are major rip offs are basically just CYA costs. If this is a scam then they will be found out and it will fail. If you don't want to pay them for "listening" then you don't have to. If you decide to go for it there is nothing that says you can't ask them what the money is going for then you can make an informed decision.

The area where I live is overwhelmed with too many bands, not enough places to play and the bands are all getting ripped off by the club and bar owners. They are paid too little or there are all kinds of conditions that have to be met like having 100 people guaranteed in attendance before the band gets paid or if they don't draw at least 200 paying customers for the evening they forfeit their fee. There are places that are so popular and on the GO TO list for record execs that they are thinking about charging the bands to play. I hope it never gets to that level of having to pay to play but there are other parts of the country that it is a "normal" way of operating.

Best of luck in making your decision.

Thomas W. Bethel wrote: The area where I live is overwhelmed with too many bands, not enough places to play and the bands are all getting ripped off by the club and bar owners. They are paid too little or there are all kinds of conditions that have to be met like having 100 people guaranteed in attendance before the band gets paid or if they don't draw at least 200 paying customers for the evening they forfeit their fee. There are places that are so popular and on the GO TO list for record execs that they are thinking about charging the bands to play. I hope it never gets to that level of having to pay to play but there are other parts of the country that it is a "normal" way of operating.

hehe.. you make India sound good !!

>>Heres the kicker, there is a $200.00 dollar registration fee. <<

NO Label charges bands for auditioning! It's a SCAM! They prey upon the musicians' desire to get a recording contract.

There are many, MANY such scams going on at the moment. Some involve live performances while others involve putting your music on a compilation CD (yes, they charge you a FEE for that).

Real labels and producers do NOT ask the artists to pay to play in showcases they produce! Ever!

>>In this case the record company may or may not have costs that they have to cover.<<

Then, they are NOT a label. The original poster clearly indicated they market themselves as a Major Label.

1) a Major Label SIGNS artists, does NOT showcase them to OTHER LABELS' A&Rs!

2) A Major Labels spends money for advances, recording, promotion and others items which then, recoups from the RECORD SALES.

What they are doing is NOT illegal per se but, the representation of thier company is what is in question: if all they do is organize showcases they should call themselves promoters or brokers. Also, if artists get signed at one of their showcases, do they get a piece? Not enough info was given in the original post.

In the end, it's a matter of what people are willing to pay for and what they are willing to sign. A fool and his money will soon part, and so will a fool and his music!

We got the same thing. first an email from Tim and then a phone call. We too are questioning if it's legit. He called pretty last minute and $200 is alot of money to get made a fool of?? If any one is going to the show to preform and knows it's legit pleas e email us at TGGT@comcast.net

Get them to give you a DETAILED accounting of what you are getting for the $200 and ask for a performance bond on their part which will guarantee that they are giving you everything they are promising you or you owe them nothing. This is usually done though an insurance company or bonding company. It is a protection for you aginst someone ripping you off. If they say they cannot do it or it is too problematic walk away from the gig as fast as your feet will carry you.

Performance Bond
A bond issued to guarantee performance of certain specified acts,

A bond issued by an insurance company to cover a specified loss if the contractor fails to complete the project.

Guarantees contractor will complete the scope of the contract in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.

I recieved the same spoken about message in my myspace. I got a call from O.J. Williams of revlis records three weeks before the showcase, nov. 2nd in omaha ne. He asked for the payment the same moment i said "yes, sounds good." The credit card was an option for the 200 dollar payment, but i don't really like giving that away...so cash was another option. I told him i could probably not pay in one full payment. He said 100 in "moneygram" (a wallmant thing like a western union) sent to him and then another 100 when i show up at the showcase. I agreed and payed the man through this "moneygram" thing. Once recieved on his end he said he would email me a regestration from and a conformation reciept of the payment.
I have not, two weeks later, gotten an email. He will not pick up his phone or answer his messages. I'm starting to worry if it is a scam. And really...if it is...i'm glad i didn't give my credit card out.
As a side note, i'm looking up on their website to get another contact number to see if i can talk to someone else there and their home page works, but none of the links (i.e. contact, events, staff, artist) will work. Even more doubt in my mind that i got lightly screwed.