I'd hardly call it an argument - what better way to get feedback about something than to hear it straight from the fans / customers themselves. Most industries would kill for that kind of market research.
I think that local bands are worth a lot more than that myself, hence why I've spent years promoting all you bands, but it is all relative and about being reasonable. It isn't so much the cost itself, it is the inconsistency. I.E. If the majority of other shows are around the $10 mark, then people are going to understand that is the market baseline.
As I mentioned before, others have made it more expensive so this isn't directed at you, but then when other bands put up the price it either undervalues the others, or the price of the others will be driven up to come into line - this will make it harder for newer bands to get a foot in, because there will be plenty of people that won't be so keen to spend $x on checking out local acts. It's kinda like if dairy farmers suddenly decided their product should be worth more and you went to the shops tomorrow and overnight it had gone up to $8 for a bottle of milk.
As said before, if a launch or something is considered a 'special event', and a band or promoter wants to get more out of the fans then that would over rule, as long as it was made clear before. In this case, there is a lot of people that would have gone from just seeing it on here and/or from the flyer, so there would have been no way for them to know they'd be slugged the extra.
Merch and door price are two separate entities, some people would want one and not the other, so having one cheaper doesn't really counteract the other.
I'm all for local bands maximising their income, and I believe they are worth and deserve a lot more than they get, it's just a matter of it being done in a fair manner.
My hat goes off to you for good business practises, having a successful event and making a killing on the night, but you can't look down on people giving honest feedback or the medium via which it comes.
Well put. I agree totally. I really don't look down on this medium or the people who place their opinions on here though. I'm sorry if I gave that impression. 'Argument' was a poor choice of words my part...This thread has turned into a good debate which I am choosing to take part in. I may be stirring the pot but this is my post thread and it makes for interesting reading. This is also a good place to give the inside information on the show to anyone who might be interested. I encourage everyone here to give their opinion on the subject of gig pricing, there are some great points for and against this topic.
The only point I'm determined to get across is that this wasn't a profit mongering excercise. The only recompence I got from weeks of hard, hard work was being able to play those songs for a strong crowd again. Totally worth it though.
Firstly - How much I spend over the bar is my business and has nothing to do with this conversation. I rarely get to drink much at gigs cos I'm always working so excuse me for wanting to enjoy myself at the first gig i'd been to in ages where I wasn't working.
Secondly - I never asked for an apology and nor do I want one. As you said this is a public forum - If I've got something to say i'll say it, if you don't want to read it no-one has a gun to your head.
Thirdly - for one of the "lamest arguements" on WF it's funny how there are still quite a number of people there on the night that agreed with me. In future put the price on your flyer and in all your advertising and then it won't be a problem. Nuff said.
Oh and I am actually in a band and have been for some years now - so all your arguments about how much it costs to run a band and how much we all struggle is just preaching to the choir and frankly I find it quite condescending.
Ok, I have no problem at all with what you have said, in fact I am appreciative of your honesty & enjoyed reading your posts. This is the type of feedback I was hoping for. I just don't agree with you and I'm choosing to challenge your POV on this public discussion forum. If you're going to express an opinion with arguable validity then you can expect this. I'm not asking you to meet me behind the bike sheds after school so try not to get your knickers in a twist.
I know you're in a band. We have met before. You were meant to find my comments condescending. Oh and thanks for your advice on how to market my show, will be sure to give you a call next time I'm having trouble putting on a gig. If you see me at amps or capitol, come up and I'll shout you a beer, then you can turn your bitter $4 loss into an $8 gain!!! Serious offer though.
don't you have your own recording set up/business Sovereign? I wouldn't have thought you'd have to recover big $$$ for your album?
Yeah, even though i only charge myself a fraction of what I would normally charge for recording, I lost a peice of hardware over the course of the recording that really fucked shit up, so in effect it cost me to record my own CD, it also somewhat compromised the final product. A lesson to ALL protools users....Don't lose your iLok dongle or you will be in a world of shit!!! I plan to bring this topic up in the 'Sound Advice' section of this forum.
Having said all this I encourage all of you to go to the show this friday and put your extra $4 towards some local merch.
If anyone wants to read the Xpress review on the Pathogen CD Launch then go here
http://xpressmag.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=49&Itemid=110We are between Tori Amos & Obituary.
