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If you play live anywhere, you need to sell merchandise. In addition to the gig, supplement with CD's, T-shirts and whatever else you can sell and make a profit.
In a former band, I was the only one that had money to spend on "other things" so when we decided to start selling merchandise, I was the only one that money to invest. The other guys had a standing offer to buy in at any point they wanted. No one ever did.
As it turned out, I ran the t-shirts, bumper stickers and other merch that we sold. This was back before the days of CD's and home studios becoming popular. there was no money to do studio time and sell cassettes, and we were a cover band.
However, I did buy some t-shirts and sold them at gigs. There was quite a few nights when I walked out of a club having made good money playing 4 sets and having made even more than that from selling shirts and bumper stickers.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Back to the OP:
For those of you who disparage Danny, Bob and I for lamenting the current state of the live music business, I would submit that you would have a different perspective if you were actually playing out these days. Not thirty years ago – today.
I hope my comments haven't come across as being disparaging.. far from it, I have nothing but respect for y'all. All of my comments are just objective summary of what I see coupled with some projections about the direction current trends might take. Your experience is real-world, and that pretty much goes uncontested.
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If you play live anywhere, you need to sell merchandise. (snip) There was quite a few nights when I walked out of a club having made good money playing 4 sets and having made even more than that from selling shirts and bumper stickers. There are a lot of different opinions about how to manage a music endeavor, and what you are advocating is not universally accepted ... especially among those who see music more as art than commerce... but once you consider music as a business, its hard to ignore the significant additional revenue that can be generated by merch. Consider all the spinoff sales of toys, endorsements, costumes etc from just one Star Wars movie. Once you get the public's attention, it doesn't hurt to ask them to buy into your endeavor. As long as they're free to say NO, you have a no-pressure opportunity, and there will always be some people who are willing to spend money in order to be a part of your success.
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We're selling 90 dB T-Shirts (Made in China) and 90 dB bumper stickers (also made in China) - place your order NOW!!!
For 1st time buyers, we're also throwing in an official Floyd jane beer koozie!
Send cash to:
90 dB Merch
PO Box 3567
Frog Swallow, Ark.
71635
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anything with the name brand FLOYD JANE should eventually be a collector's item...
its just a matter of time before he's famous
;-)
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Thanks Pat.
GET IT NOW !!!!
The Collectors Edition Floyd jane Beer Koozie!!!!!!
Yes, you too can keep your suds cool in one of these beautiful koozies featuring the likeness of the Famous Floyd jane!
ORDER TODAY !!!! Supplies are unlimited.
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Thanks floyd. This boat sure steers straighter when we both pull together!
ORDER NOW!!!!!!!
THEY ARE GOING FAST !!!!!!
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For those of you who disparage Danny, Bob and I for lamenting the current state of the live music business if you want respect then don't disrespect. calling folks "bottom feeders" and "wannabes" and "pirates" is quite disrespectful. In my experience, people who give their musical product away for free, have valued it correctly. and if their value is so low how are they a threat to you?
Last edited by JohnJohnJohn; 05/22/14 09:56 AM.
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For those of you who disparage Danny, Bob and I for lamenting the current state of the live music business if you want respect then don't disrespect. calling folks "bottom feeders" and "wannabes" and "pirates" is quite disrespectful. In my experience, people who give their musical product away for free, have valued it correctly. and if their value is so low how are they a threat to you?  "G'wan kid, ya bodda me!" 
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"G'wan kid, ya bodda me!" then my work here is done! 
Last edited by JohnJohnJohn; 05/22/14 10:54 AM.
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We started selling merchandise because people.... the fans, were asking us if we had or planned to sell shirts and other things.
Just like the big acts of today.... the fans we had were a loyal bunch and followed us from town to town.
Yes, even the big boys and girls in the business of music know that the music is a "loss leader" to sell tickets to concerts and t-shirts, posters, 8x10 glossies, and more to the fans at the shows. For them , the money isn't really in the music, it's in the merch and endorsements.
Sad as that may seem and I'm sure some folks will call that a "sell out" to the money..... but hey, that's the reality of the business world.
Make hay while the sun shines. Many of the artists will not have long and prosperous careers. Ever watch the show about the rock stars of yesterday....I think it was called "What are they doing now?" Once the ride is over, it's very likely over for good.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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We don't have any fans. Just drunks.
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Another thought: My son-in-law owned a better-quality furniture factory in Washington State. One day the buyers from Sears walked in, quite unexpectedly, and, with a bare minimum of dickering, bought his entire production. That meant canceling all open orders from their bread and butter accounts, the small Mom and Pop dealers. Now, Sears started playing hardball and dictating prices. They were ruined, driven out of business. Their customer base was gone.
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bottom line, I think there will ALWAYS be a market for music... we just need to figure out what works today.
around here...
Weddings continue to hire live bands
public events are big consumers of live music
music festivals are all over the place
rest homes are filling up as the population ages, and they have a need (and usually a budget) for entertainment
There is the emerging live streaming phenomenon, with an ever increasing number of sites and exposure to new audiences
it has never been easier to make your music available for sale online
and for the small act that advertises, there are private parties all the time for birthdays, graduations, reunions, retirements etc... if the price is right, people love live music
That's off the top of my head.. y'all can probably think of a lot more.
Pat, With the exception of weddings you just described my music. Heck I can sometime be found at a car dealership playing music to back "THE GREATEST CAR SALE OF ALL TIME". PS: I was shouting at you just like he TV commercials do, sorry. Later,
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We don't have any fans. Just drunks. LOL, sometimes those are the best. Later,
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I'd buy some of these if I could afford them. PS; Floyd I was honored to have you at my Streetjelly show my friend. Later,
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You missed your calling - graphic designers of Nashville, lookout!
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Hi Joanne ...
I partially agree ... more so than not.
I have played numerous performances for "free" ... meaning the event organizer/promoter/manger paid me nothing. I made a few dollars from tips ... a form of busking, I guess. But, here's my approach to such things:
Perhaps I could have made $50.00 - $100.00 doing a pay gig. But probably not or I wouldn't have had that time spot available for the "free" gig! The advertising I get from those performances can be valuable and is much cheaper than buying print/audio/visual ads. People find out when and where I'm playing live gigs and often come out to hear the "pay" performances. I've also sold a little music at these "free" performances. You just have to be smart about when and where you do it.
However, some folks will say they would never play/perform without some sort of guaranteed compensation as they see it as being "used", or some similar term. And that's cool. I just see some of those "free" gigs as advertising opportunities and getting more name recognition. I guess there's no wrong or right ... just depends on the approach and attitude of the performer. Good luck with your music!
Alan
Last edited by Al-David; 05/22/14 09:13 PM.
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<...snip...> “If I want to give my product away free for the joy of doing so that's my business and I'll do it if I want to.” That statement perfectly illustrates the problem addressed in the OP. Try handing out free hot dogs at a pro ballpark, or free beers in someone's bar. Let me know how that works out for you. <...> When I was a kid, we tried to sell some pineapples we grew in front of the local Kwik Check grocery store. The manager came out and gave us a lecture telling us he would rather not call the police to get us to stop. Back almost to the topic...or at least the sub-subject of adaption. Yes, you have to adapt to the ever-changing music business. When I was young, a number of old guys were waiting for the big-bands to come back, and refused to play any of that "rack and roll". When we started playing Country Clubs, even Elvis Presley songs were too recent for the audience, now it's too old for most, and they want to hear Baby Boomer music, Disco and even a few new ones like Blurred Lines. Rewind a little: I used to play in 4 to 6 or 7 piece rock bands - that was what horn players did. But I had the guitarist and bass player show me how to get around on their instruments, and doubled on a few songs. When we backed Freddie "Boom Boom" Cannon, he heard our group and asked me to play bass because he thought I was better than the bass player (I wasn't better, just picked up things quicker). That served me well because in the psychedelic era, nobody wanted to hear saxophones for a while so I played bass for a living. When we were having too many personnel problems in bands to keep working steadily, I decided to go to the duo market by making my own backing tracks. I did it first by recording the tracks on a Teac 4 track reel-to-reel and mixing to cassette. Then came MIDI sequencers and that made my job easier. No, it didn't put anyone out of work as we played smaller venues. You need to adapt to the changing market, but how can you adapt at people who give away what you are selling? Even if the quality isn't nearly as good, it's free. True musicians need to play, and music needs an audience. Many musicians would hate it if people started pirating their CDs and other merchandise or stealing the songs they wrote. Then why is it OK to steal another musician's livelihood by taking his job away and playing for free? If you live by the "Do unto others", or the "Thou shalt not steal" ethics, it can't be OK. So here's my suggestion. The next time you go out to play for free in a commercial venue, take along a cooler full of cold beer and give away free beers to the customers. Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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