Categories
Job Board News

Music Industry Job Board (11/2/14)

A lot has been written about the supposed dire state of the music industry, but truth be told there are a number of successful and growing companies, including record labels, that are thriving in 2014. In this column we bring together every job opening we can find from the companies responsible for building the future of the  business and present them to you, our reader, in hopes of aiding you on your journey to join the global music industry professional family.

Each Sunday we scour the internet for the latest and greatest job postings throughout the music industry. You can help us better serve our community by sending any job openings you find or have to james@haulix.com. Be sure to include the name of the company hiring, a detailed description of the position being offered, a desired start date, contact information, and any additional supplemental information you feel may be needed.

Job openings:

Social Media Manager (Total Assault)

Job summary: As a Social Media Coordinator, you’ll be responsible for overseeing the social media profiles for a handful of music and/or entertainment clients. You will be charged with creating a social editorial calendar, bringing unique / creative ideas to the table, and executing a defined strategy. The position focuses on ensuring our social media campaigns are fully optimized, forward-thinking and possess consistent movement towards client goals (engagement, growth, awareness, etc.). The social media coordinator will also seamlessly integrate social campaigns with our internal marketing team. This position is a support position, but candidates should be comfortable expressing thoughts, marketing strategies, analytics and general campaign status to clients be it via phone, e-mail or in person.

Partner Marketing Manager (Ticketfly)

Job summary: Reporting to the Senior Manager of Marketing Services, the Partner Marketing Manager is responsible for helping Ticketfly clients maximize their marketing potential. This role will serve as a strategic marketing consultant to Ticketfly’s top venue, promoter, and festival partners to help drive important goals like building brand awareness, acquiring new customers, and selling more tickets. The Partner Marketing Manager will act as Ticketfly’s in-house subject matter expert on digital marketing best practices, diving deep into client marketing activities to develop marketing plans, guide implementation, and measure results.

Digital Marketing/Events Coordinator (C3 Consulting)

Job summary: This individual will be responsible for a broad range of digital marketing and event coordination activities. They will develop social media campaigns to managing customer leads through Hub Spot. The individual will couple the social media campaigns with industry/customer events designed to drive interest in electric vehicles. You will be part of a small team that manages all marketing, branding, public relations, digital activities and events. This position is responsible for all digital activities.

Communications Coordinator, School Of Music (University Of Tennessee)

Job summary: UT School of Music seeks a Communications Coordinator to publicize all music concerts and events, and who is also talented in graphic design and copy editing. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: brochure design, sending e-newsletters, working closely with the School of Music Recruitment Committee and Advisory Board, other on-campus communication’s offices,off-campus news agencies, purchasing advertising, and overseeing all related public relations for the School of Music. Some attendance at evening and weekend events may be required.

Marketing Manager (Peavey Electronics)

Job summary: Responsible for all marketing, advertising, promotional activities, and participation in product development. The Marketing Manager is responsible for developing and maintaining market strategies to meet organizational objectives and reports to the Chief Operations Officer.

Senior Category Marketing Manager, BizPro (EventBrite)

Job summary: In this role, you’ll be part of a team responsible for growing a vast world of events—from large conferences to weekly meet-ups, from tech to healthcare to nonprofit to education sectors. You will develop strategies and execute key activities designed to grow our market share in target segments and convert more organizers into Eventbrite advocates. You’ll work cross-functionally across our Marketing, Sales, Product and Design teams to drive initiatives forward, and ultimately help accelerate Eventbrite’s growth across these core markets.

Digital Marketing Manager (Pandora)

Job summary: Pandora is looking for a Digital Marketing Manager to join the growing Marketing team in Oakland, CA. The Digital Marketing Manager will be responsible for creating, managing and analyzing direct response mobile and web marketing campaigns as well as continuously identifying new opportunities for Pandora to acquire and reengage users.

Content Marketing (ReverbNation)

Job summary: ReverbNation is currently hiring for an articulate, motivated, and skilled marketing professional to become our Content Marketing and Community Manager. This hands-on position will report to the Director of Corporate Marketing and manage the company’s core content marketing efforts, social media and Artist-facing communications.

Lead Product Marketing Manager, YouTube Music (Youtube)

Job summary: As a Marketing manager, you are a fully dedicated business leader, shaping the future of one of our many Google products. Whether you’re on a consumer product (like Gmail, Search, Maps, Chrome, Android) or a business product (AdWords, AdSense, DoubleClick, Analytics), you take part in a complete marketing experience as you lead every facet of the product’s journey. From determining positioning, naming, competitive analysis, feature prioritization and external communications, you help shape the voice of the product and help it grow a loyal consumer base. This means you work with a cross-functional team across sales, corporate communications, legal, webmasters, product development, engineering and more. The role enables you to shape the product development process, organize product launches from beginning to end and form future marketing strategy.

Marketing Content Coordinator (Sony)

Job summary: As part of the US Latin Marketing team, the Marketing Content Coordinator is responsible for creating and keeping current a “holistic view” database / portfolio of artist-specific marketing assets that will support multichannel marketing programs, business development / licensing presentations, digital sales initiatives, physical sales initiatives and other programs as might be required.

Marketing Operations Coordinator- Arts & Theatre (LiveNation)

Job summary: The Marketing Operations Coordinator will lead the daily implementation and coordination of marketing activities, requests and communication across internal and external project teams. The individual will respond to requests from internal (principally Marketing Services Specialists) and external clients by using system tools to implement marketing tasks. He or she will assist in managing and scheduling regular updates for clients and assist the MSS team as required in day-to-day delivery of tactical marketing activities.

Sr. Product Marketing Manager (Bose)

Job summary: Bose Corporation was founded in 1964 by Dr. Amar G. Bose. Today, the company is one of the largest and best-known audio technology developers and product manufacturers in the United States and throughout the world. Bose is known for home entertainment systems and speakers, the Wave® products, premium automotive music systems, noise reducing headsets for consumers and pilots and sound for public spaces and musicians. We are seeking a new Sr. Product Marketing Manager to further these efforts.

Director, Sales & Marketing (The Orchard)

Job summary: This position is LA-based. Reporting to the VP of Sales & Marketing, the Director of Digital Sales & Marketing will be responsible for developing and fostering key relationships with the sales & marketing teams of worldwide digital and cable retailers. He/she will champion the Orchard’s growing slate of theatrical and digital releases, driving incremental revenue, merchandising and marketing opportunities and overall category management of the portfolio.

Digital Marketing Manager (Pandora)

Job summary: Pandora is looking for a Digital Marketing Manager to join the growing Marketing team in Oakland, CA. The Digital Marketing Manager will be responsible for creating, managing and analyzing direct response mobile and web marketing campaigns as well as continuously identifying new opportunities for Pandora to acquire and reengage users.

Director of Sales, Live Nation Media & Sponsorship (LiveNation Philadelphia)

Job summary: This successful sponsorship sales professional will be responsible for creating and selling branded, high-impact music marketing programs across our music properties. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Create, package and sell solution-based music marketing programs for Live Nation amphitheater, club, promotional and digital properties and assets, as well as meeting or exceeding revenue and key account goals.

Director, Online Marketing (Warner Music Group)

Job summary: This position is responsible for marketing the Warner Music Group catalog across the online spectrum. The individual in this role will work with the Sales and Marketing Department, collaborating to bring creativity, strategic direction, and best practices in all online marketing efforts across company websites, social media properties and streaming partners. This role is also responsible for outreach to potential online partners to further expose the Warner Music Group catalog to new fans. This position is also responsible for staying in tune with the latest online marketing trends, constantly searching for new partnerships and opportunities to expose the WMG catalog across all online platforms and digital distribution channels, including internal and external partner websites, social media, streaming partners, and apps.

Sales Representative (BMI)

Job summary: The Sales Representative secures high-quality licenses in accordance with the licensing sales process by performing the following duties: Manages all assigned opportunities. Assist in the marketing function, and develops territory plans for approval by team management. Performs traditional sales calls as dictated by the sales process. Makes collections calls as specifically assigned.

Segment Retention Manager, New Customers (Sirius XM)

Job summary: The role of the Segment Retention Manager – New Customers is to drive customer and competitive insights into the strategic market planning for new customers. The Segment Retention manager will initiate the segment analysis and on boarding journey to lead the transition to segment market plan and metrics. The manager works in tandem with the segment team to weave Planning and Insights seamlessly into customer marketing efforts to drive discovery and engagement. Create customer touch points in support of renewal & retention strategies and leverage digital media and other mediums to achieve strategic goals.

BET Engineer, Post Facility (Viacom)

Job summary: The Engineer selected should possess the technical expertise to support all facets of a medium sized Cable Network Post department. The selected candidate should be capable of the following duties:
o Perform diagnostics, troubleshooting, routine and preventive maintenance of all equipment in post-production department including tape decks, routers, servers, encoders, graphic and editing system including Avid Interplay/Isis, etc.

Sales Manager (Hard Rock)

Job summary: This individual will direct Cafe sales and marketing efforts ensuring that the business is financially successful and that it represents our brand identity in its entirety, therefore positively impacting our global operation.

Director, Digital Marketing (Warner Music Group)

Job summary: Responsible for daily management of the digital marketing team and genre-specific oversight of digital marketing strategy. Director also manages a roster of high-profile artists online, including content development and management, grassroots community building and marketing, the Atlantic “artist.com network,” tastemaker sites, and genre-related digital marketing lifestyle outlets. The Director of Digital Marketing is focused on the creation and building of Atlantic’s artist communities as they serve as the core of the direct-to-consumer initiatives and future product development, and guiding their direct reports in executing the digital strategy for the label.

Manager, Web and New Media Services (Juilliard)

Job summary: The mission of The Juilliard School is to provide the highest caliber of artistic education for gifted musicians, dancers, and actors from around the world, so that they may achieve their fullest potential as artists, leaders, and global citizens.

Pop/Rock Promotions (Warner Music Group)

Job summary: Responsible for providing premier administrative, project, and research support for VP of Alternative/Rock Formats, Director AAA/Adult Promotion, VP of Rhythm/Pop and VP of Adult/Pop Promotion. This should be done in addition to working independently and following through on all assignments.

Communications Managers, School Of Music (University Of Tennessee)

Job summary: Pay Grade 38/Full-time/Non-Exempt Position. UT School of Music seeks a Communications Coordinator to publicize all music concerts and events, and who is also talented in graphic design and copy editing. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: brochure design, sending e-newsletters, working closely with the School of Music Recruitment Committee and Advisory Board, other on-campus communication’s offices,off-campus news agencies, purchasing advertising, and overseeing all related public relations for the School of Music. Some attendance at evening and weekend events may be required.

Assistant Professor of Music Education, College of Fine Arts (Boston University)

Job summary: Boston University College of Fine Arts seeks a music educator at the rank of assistant professor who will be part of the department and is familiar with innovative approaches to music learning and pedagogy; special consideration will be given to candidates who bring expertise related to curricular design, non-traditional music students, advocacy, technology integration, and community engagement. This is a non-tenure track position.

Data Scientist – iTunes (Apple)

Job summary: We are seeking an outstanding data mining scientist who is interested in designing, developing, and fielding data mining solutions that have direct and measurable impact to Apple. This person will work within and across teams to help identify viable data mining opportunities and then implement end to end analytical solutions. The role requires both a broad knowledge of existing data mining algorithms and creativity to invent and customize when necessary. We are seeking an outstanding data mining scientist who is interested in designing, developing, and fielding data mining solutions that have direct and measurable impact to Apple. This person will work within and across teams to help identify viable data mining opportunities and then implement end to end analytical solutions. The role requires both a broad knowledge of existing data mining algorithms and creativity to invent and customize when necessary.

Business Development (Crowdsurge)

Job summary: As a member of Business Development, you will be responsible for researching, generating, and contacting potential clients that may benefit from CrowdSurge’s ticketing technology and services. You will cultivate in-depth knowledge of CrowdSurge’s current product and product roadmap to compliment your expert knowledge of the applied markets, allowing you to understand prospective clients’ needs and to convey our services in compelling manner, which underscores how they might enhance the client’s business. You will be responsible for converting prospective clients to incoming clients, and will handover the client relationship seamlessly to the Client Services team. When experiencing difficulty converting prospective clients, you will provide useful insights internally regarding the hurdles faced, in order to grow the company and its products. You will keep abreast of trends in the ticketing space and continually revise your approach to prospective clients based on the current landscape.

Web Developer (Reverbnation)

Job summary: Successful candidates are individuals who thrive on collaborative teams where everyone works on everything, and everyone is encouraged to contribute ideas across all levels of the organization. You should desire to work in a fast moving and adaptive start-up environment but with the stability, compensation and benefits of a successful company.

Data Analyst (TuneIn)

Job summary: As a Data Analyst, you will help TuneIn analyze, learn, gain insights, and report on the data underlying our products. With the success and wide adoption of our listening service, our challenges involve very large scale and complex datasets. The collection, analysis and gained insights from these data are crucial for the continued success of Tunein. The Data Analyst will work alongside our product, engineering, and business teams to help ensure we stay informed about the performance of our popular service and its features.

Categories
Job Board News

Music Industry Job Board (8/24/14)

A lot has been written about the supposed dire state of the music industry, but truth be told there are a number of successful and growing companies, including record labels, that are thriving in 2014. In this column we bring together every job opening we can find from the companies responsible for building the future of the  business and present them to you, our reader, in hopes of aiding you on your journey to join the global music industry professional family.

Each Sunday we scour the internet for the latest and greatest job postings throughout the music industry. You can help us better serve our community by sending any job openings you find or have to james@haulix.com. Be sure to include the name of the company hiring, a detailed description of the position being offered, a desired start date, contact information, and any additional supplemental information you feel may be needed.

Job Openings:

Associate Dean of Admissions Marketing and Recruiting (Berklee)

Job summary: The Associate Dean of Admissions Marketing and Recruiting develops strategies to support the Deans enrollment vision. Oversees ROI on all recruitment marketing campaigns. Responsible for the Admissions digital marketing strategy through leverage of technologies including (but not limited to) Marketo and Salesforce. Oversees direct mail list segmentation to generate highly effective response rate for our various summer, undergraduate, and graduate programs. Ability to think strategically and monitor/adjust tactical implementation. An entrepreneurial, results-oriented outlook.

Art Director (Blue Note Jazz Club)

Job summary: The in-house Art Director/Graphic Designer will coordinate project management and trafficking, scheduling, and graphic and web production. He/she will assist in the overall quality control for the Brand and Audience Development department. Responsible to the Director of Marketing & Publicity, the Art Director/Graphic Designer will implement and design projects based on strategic and communication goals.

Administrative/Executive Assistant (Fearless Records)

Job summary: Fearless Records (Pierce The Veil, Plain White T’s, Mayday Parade, At The Drive-in, Motionless in White) is in search of an experienced Administrative/Executive Assistant for full time work. This candidate will be responsible for assisting the management staff with priority focus on the needs of the Owner, President, Accounting, and A&R department, as well as oversight of administrative duties regarding the office needs as a whole.

Manager, Programming (Music Choice)

Job summary: This position will manage the programming of urban music formats and maintain relationships with outside entities related to these channels. Manage departmental projects and maintain external relationships that support the business.

Manager, Creative Services (Imagen)

Job summary: Imagem Music Group, one of the world’s largest independent music publishers, is looking to add a Manager, Creative Services to its Los Angeles team. Work to proactively seek and procure synchronization licensing placements for Imagem’s extensive music publishing catalog. Focus on film, television and gaming, but will also work across all media types to service Imagem’s west coast music users.

Administrative Assistant (Universal Music Group)

Job summary: As the Assistant, Consumer Sales & Marketing your primary responsibility will be to support the SVP, Consumer Sales & Marketing and VP, Direct Marketing. This includes providing general administrative support as well as digital marketing/content related projects such as Digster Playlists.

Copyright Assistant, North America (Audio Network US)

Job summary: Audio Network has a vacancy for a bright, motivated individual to assist with the company’s copyright activities in North America. The Copyright Assistant will help the Copyright Manager with a variety of tasks and responsibilities.

Account Executive- Music Licensing and Sync (411 Music Group)

Job summary: 411 Music Group is currently seeking an Account Executive in our Los Angeles office who specializes in sales for catalog (production) music, artists and custom music/composing. The company is seeking someone who can further grow the business and continue to expand and excel in an ever-changing marketplace.

Entertainment Manager (Temple Entertainment Network)

Job summary: It is the primary responsibility of the Entertainment Manager of Temple to ensure delivery of the highest caliber artists & shows to our guests. All duties are to be performed in accordance with departmental and property policies, practices, and procedures.

Copyright Data Entry Analyst (Music Reports, Inc)

Job summary: Heavy Data Entry. Manual review and matching of song and release details using on-line research of song and release information. Manual entry and update of administration data within custom software database.

Executive Assistant (Marcus Linial Presents)

Job summary: Marcus Linial Presents is an entertainment company that executes music bookings, band management, and more. This multi-talented company includes Fun Music Presents and Fun Music Artists. Marcus Linial is also the former owner of the iconic live music venue Canal Room. His recent start up Fun Music Presents produces two weekly shows Back to the Eighties Show with Jessie’s Girl and Saved By the 90’s with The Bayside Tigers at Le Poisson Rouge. Our office is located in DUMBO, Brooklyn conveniently off the F and A/C lines.

Content Review and Fraud Specialist (Tunecore)

Job summary: TuneCore is seeking a qualified, detail-oriented candidate for a Content Review and Fraud Specialist position. As a Content Review and Fraud Specialist, you will work to review all TuneCore releases to prevent copyright infringement and other types of fraud. Additionally you will be responsible for making sure all releases meet the digital stores’ formatting guidelines.

Booking and Promotions Rep (Sean Healy Presents)

Job summary: Booking and Promotions. We’re looking for someone that can conceptualize, produce and manage events from beginning to end, including and emphasizing on local band booking. This position requires you to always be current on the local rock music scene and to be one step ahead of our competition. Knowledge of other genres is a plus. You must be able to take a date and turn it from nothing into something, without external direction. Creativity and ambition IS A MUST!

Director of Programming, Music (Maker Studios)

Job summary: Maker Studios is seeking a strong leader to establish and maintain the content programming strategy for our music vertical, which includes the Maker Music channel and our global network of Music talent. Working with the General Manager, this lead will establish and develop the vertical’s slate of content while tracking content performance. This person will keep abreast of the competitive trends within the industry. Working across matrix teams including Production, Development, Marketing, and Sales, this leader will represent Maker Music in all areas of content programming and content development.

Senior Research Analyst (Ticketmaster)

Job summary: We are looking for an experienced Senior Research Analyst to manage all customer research projects through website and email surveys across all our international online properties and brands. You will be joining the Research and Digital Analytics team within the wider Insight Department, which sits at the heart of the International business providing actionable insight on consumer behaviour, business performance and industry trends. The team works across a large variety of data sets, markets and business units to help shape the company’s strategy through data analysis.

Account Executive (AEG)

Job summary: AEG Global Partnerships is seeking an Account Executive who is a self-starter with Sponsorship, Exhibitor, and/or VIP Hospitality sales experience to work with our growing team. This individual should possess a strong sales acumen and knowledge of Lifestyle and/or Sporting Events space. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of an innovative team responsible for sales growth of AEG owned/managed lifestyle and sporting events.

On-Air Coordinator (MTV France)

Job summary: We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated and dedicated individual to join our team. This On-air Coordinator will help coordinate the workflow between the 2 different creative departments: Milan Design Studio for MTV Channels, based in Milan and Nick creative Hub for Nickelodeon, based in Paris. The On-Air coordinator will be the contact point between the 2 creative teams and the French departments in Paris (Legal, Production, Marketing, Programming, Digital etc) and the Amsterdam transmissions to help MDS and NCH deliver the best product.

Executive Assistant (Dates and Mates)

Job summary: Person wanted for radio host and CEO of international dating advice site. The ideal candidate will possess excellent verbal and written communication skills and must be proficient in Word, Excel, HootSuite, PowerPoint, WordPress, Final Cut/iMovie, and CRM experience a plus! This role will be responsible for editing, scheduling, and writing blog posts, social media management, writing newsletters, plus basic editing and uploading of video and audio clips. Some personal and administrative assistant tasks will also be required.

Show Host – KHAY (Cumulus Radio)

Job summary: Cumulus country leader KHAY in Ventura, CA has a rare morning show opening. If you’re ready to join a station with a long tradition of serving the community and winning we want to hear from you. If you LOVE getting in front of listeners and have fresh ideas to grow the morning show and want to live and work in paradise, this is your place to be. You’ll need strong, proven on-air ability with a great feel for today’s country music and lifestyle. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are a must. You’ll need the ability to work well under deadlines, be proficient in digital production, have great problem solving and organizational skills, work well with others, a great work ethic, while working in a fast paced environment.

Analyst, Artist and Participations Audit Group (Warner Music Group)

Job summary: The responsibilities of the candidate hired to fill this position will include gathering the data and other information from the relevant WMG label’s books and records that will be made available to the auditors in question during their fieldwork for each audit, and assisting senior members of the Audit Group with the review of incoming audit reports, the analysis of those reports, the development of our responses to those audits, and other tasks related to the overall management of the audit process.

Music Agent Assistant (Confidential)

Job summary: Prominent Agency specializing in Electronic Dance Music is looking for an experienced assistant. Must have at least one year at an agency (internships do not count). Able to handle heavy phones, scheduling and high volume transactions on an extremely busy desk. Must be MAC proficient, a team player with attention to detail and effectively communicate under pressure.

Financial Analyst (Universal Music Group)

Job summary: Universal Music Group – IGA Finance Department is currently seeking a full-time Financial Analyst in the Santa Monica, CA office. Duties include, but are not limited to assisting with the coordination and preparation of the plan and periodic revenue forecasts, assisting with the development of new proposals (e.g., artist renegotiation, etc.) including break-even analysis, capital investments and pricing and royalty structures, preparing internal artist profit and loss statements, and preparing ad hoc reports as needed.

Versatile Musician (Buzzfeed)

Job summary: We’re looking for professionals with experience in the creation of original online content. You should be an versatile musician who can create parody music / lyrics / impressions – Think Jimmy Fallon type. Residents work as part of our BuzzFeed Video’s production teams, helping to bring their experience, voice and possibly performances to create new, awesome videos. Each team has it’s own specific focus, and you’ll be an integral part of their production during your residency, helping to conceive, write, produce new videos for BuzzFeed’s video channel.

Music Supervisor, Sports Marketing (Fox Sports)

Job summary: The Music Supervisor must be an energetic and resourceful individual who supports the Creative Team at FOX Sports Marketing. He/She will be responsible for obtaining, organizing, maintaining, and updating all music in the On-Air Promos Music Library that is used/needed for promos, sales reels, and campaigns created by FOX Sports Marketing for the networks we service. This person must act as a mediator between FOX Sports Marketing and FOX Sports Music for license requests, cue sheets, etc. The Music Supervisor will foster and cultivate relationships with music production houses, labels, new artists, etc.

Categories
News

Repeat After Me: I Will Not Pay To Play Shows

Hello, everyone! I know we said yesterday was going to be the last advice column the week, but this could probably qualify as one as well. When you know you have to write about something, however, you just have to sit down and write. That is what happened with this post over the last twenty-four hours, and I think it’s safe to say there will be more discussion on this topic in the days and weeks to come. If you have any questions about the content of the blog, or if you would like more information regarding the distributional services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Sometimes you know exactly what you want to say and when you want to say it. Other times, life comes along out of nowhere and slaps you in the face with an idea or thought you then immediately feel compared to share with others. It’s a momentary eruption of thought that can be influenced by anything, and that is especially true in the digital age. For me, such a moment struck last night as I was scrolling through my Twitter feed, and I will admit up front I was initially looking at my phone in hopes someone would be sharing something I had written earlier in the day. The answer to my inquiry was a definite no, but before I put my phone down to throw a personal pity party for myself a tweet from Michigan punk favorites The Swellers caught my eye and I knew right away there was a topic we needed to discuss on the blog today.

“We’ve been a band for almost twelve years, played on five continents and never had to sell tickets to play a show,” The Swellers wrote. "You don’t either.”

For as long as I have been a part of the this industry, which at this point is well over a decade, pay-to-play performances have been a topic of debate in the music community. Some will have you believe they are a necessary evil that exists to protect promoters from booking bands who do nothing to promote their own shows, while others – including myself – will tell you they are little more than a bullying tactic used by essentially needless middle men and women to make money off live music without needing to promote or perform themselves.

So, what is ‘pay-to-play’?

There are a number of ways to describe pay-to-play situations, but essentially it is any situation where promotion companies require musicians to pay a “fee” to get on a bill for a show (aside from application fees to appear at musical festivals and conventions). You may be paying with your own money out of pocket, or with funds gathered through advanced ticket sales, but as long as you are paying the venue/promoter/etc. before you step foot on their stage then you have found yourself in a pay-to-play situation. Independent promoters developed this method of booking to take advantage of naive talent, and over the years a countless number of excuses have been developed to cover up this fact, including the need for artists to help cover venue costs. That is not your job, and you should never feel obliged to pay a promoter, including in circumstances where they incur expenses at the end of the night. That is a risk that accepted when they took on the role of promoter, and anyone who is an actual professional will never ask that you help chip in to cover their loss. There is of course an exception to this rule if you are somehow directly involved in the planning of the show, say as a ‘co-promoter,’ but 99% of the time that should not be the case.

Are there good pay-to-play situations?

In short, no. Artists are asked to enter into pay-to-play situations because the promoter either has very little faith in the success of the event or because they know it will be a success and want to cash in as soon as possible with the free promotion presented by local talent. If the show you are paying to play on involves a national headliner, there is a good chance the tickets you are selling will go towards paying that touring act’s booking fee. You know who didn’t have to sell tickets in advance? The touring act who gets the money from your sales.

As I mentioned a few paragraphs above, the risk of loss/expenses in on assumed by the promoter when they decided to book the show. You are not responsible for making sure they break even at the end of the night, and you are definitely not responsible for guaranteeing a profit. You are responsible for showing up on time, performing your set to the best of your abilities, and doing your best to not be a dick to anyone in charge. You’re the talent, not the lead salesman for a promoter who offers you little-to-nothing in exchange.

These companies are asking artists to promote. What’s wrong with that?

When you require someone to do something you are not asking them anything. You are demanding it. Artists should promote shows because that is part of their job as musicians, yes, but nothing in the job description of a musician states that they will market until a specific amount of people agree to purchase a certain product. In pay-to-play situations artists are being forced to hard sell fans, which has been proven to be a terrible marketing approach in music, and furthermore they are made to assume the promoter’s risk, as well as the stress associated with handling the cost of putting on a live performance.

From personal experiences, I have known many small bands to make last minute calls to family and friends hoping people will buy tickets to a show – even if there is no way that person can attend – just so the artist can perform for fifteen minutes an hour and a half before some mid-level national headliner comes out and half heartedly thanks the ‘local talent’ that opened the show. In situations such as this, which happen daily in cities and towns across the country, who benefits except the absent, uninvolved promoter? No one.

It can also be argued that pay-to-play actually hinders marketing efforts, as it forces artists to focus on those they believe they can immediately sell on attending a performance and makes no mention of the need for general, routine marketing. They may send out a few digital posts asking those in need of tickets to contact them, but at the end of the day they are going to focus on hitting whatever threshold they need to meet, be it a number or tickets or an amount of money, and then the initial pressure is off. Once an artist meets the goal set by the promoter they can play the show, and even if the only people who show up are the twenty people who were able to come out of the twenty-five that artist convinced to buy tickets there would be nothing the promoter could say to put the blame on the artist because the artist had, at least on paper, met their obligations as talent.

This is all great information, but if we’re being entirely honest Haulix is a company dedicated to fighting piracy. What do you know about booking?

GREAT QUESTION. We may have built our company online, but as individuals our team has years of experience working with live music, both as promoters and musicians. That said, we understand that when dealing with matters related to tour life it can be more reassuring to hear things from people who are currently involved in your area of the music business. With that in mind we reached out to a number of influential people, including Nate Dorough of Fusion Shows and DC Area show promoter Tyler Osborne, to learn their thoughts on pay-to-play:

"I think it’s bullshit. If you’re required to pay to play an event, that’s not at all cool. Bands should never have to fork over money or do any sort of crazy thing just to get on a gig. However, I am a big believer that for local acts, their draw is best when they help sell tickets to their fanbase.

One of the biggest pushes we make in the concert industry is to get people to buy tickets in advance. That way, it’s sealed that they’ll attend. You can budget based on advance sales, whether you need to spend more marketing dollars or not, how much money you can spend on hospitality for the bands, staffing, etc. If someone does not hold an advance ticket, they may decide the day of the show that the couch looks nice, that they’d rather stay home and watch TV, etc. All of our marketing efforts are pushing to get people to come to the show, however they choose to do so, but it’s easier on everyone if they buy tickets in advance.

So when a local act is added to a show, they have the unique ability to physically deliver tickets to friends and family who would attend. So at Fusion, we give artists the OPTION of selling tickets, and usually pay better the bands who sell more tickets. We also pay bands who don’t sell tickets, if the show itself does well. But no one with our group is ever forced to sell. If they’re just not into it, that’s OK by us.

Unfortunately, some of the folks who want to make a huge fuss about pay-to-play will lump the way we do it into some sort of "scheme”, and we couldn’t be more against pay-to-play situations.“ – Nate Dorough, Fusion Shows (Founder)

"Does it make sense for a promoter to have opening bands sell tickets to play their shows? Sure. That doesn’t mean as a band you have to. We played houses or rented out VFW halls and chose the places where we could build our own fan base. It worked. I still feel guilty when we play a show and the local band had to sell tickets. Sure it helped us get our guarantee, but they did the legwork. The goal is to become an entity to where you get asked to play by a promoter because everyone knows you draw people. Or be good/cool enough to where the headlining band asks you directly. Selling tickets is the insurance policy, but in the grand scheme of things it isn’t guaranteeing those people staying to watch the other bands. Make a good reputation for yourself by promoting the hell out of your shows, building your own scene and following through with a killer show. That’s how you can sell tickets.” – Jonathan Diener, The Swellers

“It would be easy for me to just give a one liner and say "pay to play” is completely bullshit, and yes that is the case, but there’s more to this. In my time involved in music I’ve seen this play out in many different ways. Most of the time I see promoters give a band X amount of tickets and have them sell as many as possible and then have them pound the pavement hocking tickets to whomever will fork over the money; most often parents and close friends come in to save the day and the show for the promoter to cover the cost of the headliner. Now, this is BS on so many levels. First off the promoter has put all the pressure on the bands to make the show a success and absolved themselves from any risk. Also in doing this, the promoter diminishes the value and morale of the bands that they want to sell their (the promoter’s) tickets. Shows need to be a two-way street with promoters and bands working together and being paid fairly to have a truly successful show. A lot of times bands feel trapped, having to play this game in fear of not being booked again at that venue and that fear is abused by SOME – not all – promoters to keep bands in their pocket. This also bleeds the scene dry and makes concert-goers not give a shit anymore because they’re tired of being hassled by bands to buy tickets. Another somewhat common practice is for a promoter to say you need to sell X amount of tickets or you can’t play. This is the worst of them all. Bands bust their asses to sell tickets, over-post on social media, and still need to come out of pocket to play the show. This makes for a shit show on so many levels…..the bands are pissed out of the gate that they did not meet the promoters goal, that their fan base is not what they thought it was and so on and so on. Then the promoter is pissed because now they fear having to come out of pocket to make ends meet. All that being said it often turns into a crap show with fans/friends/family showing up and watching their kids/friends band and then leaving, leaving it a half empty or less show for the headliner. So I’ve said what is wrong but the real question is how to fix the problem. That’s a way harder question that I think about a lot. So I would love to hear from the fans and bands on what they think would be fair.“ – Danny Fonorow, Jonas Sees in Color

"I know some bands get some good use out of it, but as a concept pay to play shows generally suck. Some scenes are so deeply entrenched in this model that it’s almost necessary, but within the punk scene, if you make good music, people will notice and your band will play shows. I never have and never will run or have my band do play to play shows, there’s just no need at the DIY level.” – Tyler Osborne, DC Area Concert Promoter

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