By: Rick Landers
Restaurants, house concerts, outdoor events and other places where musicians are expected to perform are called “music venues,” or simply venues. Musicians are hired for pay or may be asked to play for free to support special needs, such as charity interests or to promote certain social projects.
A business venture may prefer to have live performers play to improve their venue’s ambience, sometimes wanting background music, while other times want to feature the performers while capitalizing on their appeal to sell more food and beverages. And, in doing so the music offerings are part of the venue’s branding.
And businesses are driven to invest their money in things that bring in more money or what’s referred to as a “return on investment” or, in short, “ROI.”
When music venues hire a performer or a group to play, they’ll either have the financial heft to be able to pay performers as a matter of their normal investment strategy to develop or maintain themselves as music venues. Others may not have the bucks to do this and seek out performers who’ll play for free, for a meal or for a small stipend and food.
Paying or not, is a bit of a dance between the venue’s manager and the performers or their representatives. Some balance between the venue’s budget, if any, and the performers’ interest in being compensated for their time, effort and investments.
Once a deal is struck between the venue and the performer, maybe before it’s important too for the venue to consider the perspectives of the performers.
Performers are self-motivated to perform, to play in front of people. At times, especially when they’re new at playing on stage, they’ll go to open mics where they’ll play for free in order to earn their “chops”, or stage experience so they can develop into more professional performers. They earn their chops in order to become comfortable in that vulnerable spot-on stage in front of friends and strangers.
For some performers, being in the spotlight is easy, but for many more it’s a frightening experience fraught with the fear of forgetting lyrics, hitting the wrong notes, broken strings or other gear malfunctions. All while an audience, even a friendly welcoming one may sit quietly staring at them.
So, both venues and performers have chips on the table that are financial, emotional and challenging. Deals are struck, sometimes in writing, but more often on the fly. Both are legitimate and both can prove a “win-win” scenario where the both the venue folks and the performers walk away after the show, happy.
But to get to the “win-win” isn’t always as simple as it sounds. And, often things are “left on the table” and not thought through.
For venues, they may cut deals without much knowledge of the soloists or the groups they hire. References are good to get, listening to performers’ music at their website or leaning on a performer’s reputation might suffice to gather up assurances that the performance will meet the best interests of the venue and their clients, or audiences. This gets back to trying to solidify the venues’ return on investment smartly.
Another idea for venue managers is to think in terms of the performers’ needs and interests.
Having a checklist available to preempt questions of performers can help. And the list, below, can be used for musicians to ask helpful questions. A venue could have the logistics, financial or other information on a standard from, modified to fit each performance.
Performer Pay – How will the performer be paid and to whom should a bank check be written? Checks should be noted as “Paid in Full.” If the performer’s compensation is limited to tips or includes tips, it should be explained. One perspective that tends to be forgotten in compensation is the overall time and effort performances take to accomplish. A gig can easily take about an hour to pull gear together and pack in a vehicle, the time to get to and back from the venue, and unpacking gear at the venue, the reloading of gear and the work putting the gear back in a performer’s home and staged for the next gig. Load-in and Load-out isn’t fun. So, paying for a two-hour performance, literally takes the performer(s) several more hours to “git ‘er done.” So, compensation should be viewed from a recognition of the “real time” factor. A venue’s compensation decision needn’t necessarily pay for the full amount of time taken to put on a show, but at a minimum the venue manager, should appreciate the overall effort.
Rain or Shine (Outdoor performances) – Outdoor performances are always subject to weather conditions, so in the event of bad weather the venue manager should contact the performer(s) that a gig has been cancelled as soon as practicable, or let them know when a pre-determined inside location will be available for the show.
Performance: The performances date, day of the week and performance time(s) should be clearly stated, including breaks. If a performer is hired for a two-hour show, will there be a break and how long is the break? No need for the band to figure this out. The venue manager should allow for reasonable breaks and where they should fit into the show.
It is to the venue’s benefit to have listened to a performer’s music to ensure the musical genre or style complements the venue’s interests. Musicians may have examples of their music at their website, on Youtube, etc. that can be immediately available for venue decisionmakers.
The musician(s) should be told of the venue’s performance setting; the size and layout of the stage, chairs (armless) available, the nearby electrical outlets, the sound system, any on-hand venue support, and restroom locations.
Load in – Load Out: Both solo players and groups can be gear heavy. If possible, let them know and plan for them to have a close and convenient parking spot to unload their musical equipment, as well as the same for when they depart after the show. It’s also good form if the venue has someone to help, if practicable. Performers too should figure out the best way to load-in and out, using carts, bags for cords/mics, etc. to minimize trips.
Meals & beverages: If the performers are playing at a restaurant or other venue with food and beverage, let them know if they get a menu item and drink for free, at a discount or if food and drink is their own responsibility. This may seem awkward, but do it anyway. And, performers don’t typically expect refueling at their gigs…maybe at house concerts.
Emcee: Work out how the performers will be introduced to the audience. Most performers are fine introducing themselves, but if the protocol includes the host arranging an introduction, inform the performer.
Dress Code: Although most performances are fine for casual or business-casual attire, some situations call for performers to be dressed in tuxedos or other finer clothes. Let the performers know before working out compensation, as a need to rent a tux will need to be considered by the performer(s) with respect to how much to charge for the gig.
Professional Courtesy: Always seek to work with performers professionally and in a friendly courteous manner. But, don’t let that dissuade you from informing them when they need to be informed on anything that supports your venue’s best interests. And for those hosting open mics, always thank every performer for their contribution to your venue, regardless of the quality of their well-intended free performance(s).
Although the above checklist suggests venue managers use it, the list should also be a reference for musicians to discuss their own performance needs or concerns, to help ensure a splendid time is guaranteed for all.
About Rick Landers – Guitar International’s publisher and editor, music book publisher, co-author (“Successful Press Releases for the Working Musician”), festival entertainment director, host for Blue Melody Sessions house concerts, singer-songwriter, has served as a songwriting contest judge (Country/Contemporary Folk) for the Songwriters’ Association of Washington, was a staffer at Virgin Records (Coventry, U.K.), and was a communications executive for a federal government agency. Rick has interviewed such music legends as: Les Paul, Buddy Guy, Roger McGuinn, Judy Collins, Scotty Moore, Slash, Randy Bachman, Jimmy Webb, all members of The Immediate Family, Robert Cray, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, and many more.
