To Pay To Play Or To Not Pay To Play ...

To pay to play or to not pay to play, this is the question...

There's a lot of opinions out there on this subject. Some people are against it and others are fully open to the idea of pay to play. Young artists wanting to improve their profile and get more and better gigs under their belts are often drawn into pay-to-play schemes. I read a great article on this subject which I agree with completely and inspired this blog entry!

Scott James from Hollywood, CA writes,

"So the question is … what is it worth to play the Knitting Factory, the Whisky or the Viper Room? That all depends. If it’s your life’s dream to play the Whisky then maybe selling 50 tickets is a good deal for you. If you’re committing to selling the tickets because you think someone might be there from Interscope Records and sign you to a recording contract then you are WRONG. When you are ready to be signed then you won’t have to sell tickets. The promoter will already know who you are, or at the least, you will be able to prove to them that you draw a lot more than 50 people."

There are a lot of different reasons a band will "pay to play" while other bands are totally against the idea of it. The fact of the matter is, it varies from band to band. What is good for you may not be the best for the other guy, or their fans. So how do you know if a pay to play situation is good for you?

Scott James also writes,

"What I suggest is that you play the venues where you will draw the highest percent of capacity. If you draw 80 people, then find a venue in your hood that holds 50. Don’t play the Roxy where the room is going to look practically empty. Play to as full of a room as you can. The energy will be MUCH better. The perception will be MUCH better."

California is known for pay to play behavior, but it happens across the nation. The strategy is the same. Think about this, if you are on a bill at a well known club with 5 other bands and are required to sell 70 tickets and are begging people to buy the tickets and you pay for the remainder of the tickets to meet your quota, then when it's time for your set, hardly anyone is there! If the club holds 500 people and you have 40 people show up, it really does not look good for your band and the fans energy level will be low. Maybe they will regret paying $15 for the ticket to not have a great show when they could have went down the street to the local pub and a full house paying only $5 admission. So you really have to ask yourself if it is worth it?

Maybe you have an opportunity to open for a National Act and want to add it to your press kit, you still want to carefully examine your goals. If you don't have a good crowd, will the club/promoter ask you back on another show? Pay to play is common practice for promoter and larger venues, whereas they do you a favor by letting you perform in their venues, but is that favor worth the price you’re paying? In some scenarios it could make sense, like trying to break in a venue’s regular rotation of bands, but it should be a well prepared and detailed business decision. You can see it as part of your promotion budget, but don’t expect most club owners and promoters to give a rat's ass about your expectations, they’ll mostly just want in on as much money as you can give them. To them, it's business and it should be to you as well!

I say, play it smart. Play venues that hold your crowd capacity and grow your fan base with you. As Scott James continues to state:

"So when you’ve firmly established your rep in your neighborhood and everyone knows that they need to get to your shows early and that they are going to rock – then kick it up a notch at a slightly larger venue. Always be bigger than the venue. YOU are the show – not the venue. YOU bring people. YOU have the power. You don’t have to be over-the-top about this and you certainly shouldn’t be arrogant and unprofessional – just know it in your heart and negotiate and make your decisions with that frame in mind."

There is one exception to the pay to play rule. Sometimes, bands "buy on" to major tours. For instance, if a top selling group is doing a big tour, a band may "buy on" to the tour to be the opening act, so they get a chance to play in front of a large crowd. Generally, these kinds of deals should be reserved for these exact circumstances - top selling acts, large venues, large money tours. Buying onto a tour should not enter the picture when you're just getting started in your career.

I would like to hear your comments on this topic. We've all been through it. Share your story!

Thank you for reading and as always, SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC!!

Children And Music

The highlight of my life was when I became a GRANDMOTHER. Yes, I said it. They don't call me Gramma though. Nope! They call me Nana and I'm ok with that! My Mother is the Gramma.

My daughters are amazing and when my oldest made me a Grandmother, I couldn't wait to show her off! Cheyenne is now 10 years old and I love every moment I spend with her and my 4 year old Grandson, Dorian. Cheyenne likes the music I listen to and sings along with me in the car or wherever. She really likes Aretha Franklin and her favorite local artist is Vayden. When we are driving in the car, Jessika will burst out into song and it makes me laugh. Kristi used to bounce to her favorite songs and the whole car would shake! Wonder what people thought at the stop light? lol

Like my daughters, I take my Granddaughter to as many local shows as I can. Mostly Carvin Jones Band shows as he is her Godfather. She's been by Carvin's side since she could walk. The day she took the microphone over and started singing while Carvin was playing was quite memorial. The look of surprise on his face and then he stepped aside and let her go! She gave a great performance to the crowd that night! We were so proud! You can watch the video here: Cheyenne Singing With Carvin Jones Band She was 5 years old. The recording isn't a good one, but you can see the way she gets into it! The end of the song/video, where you can actually hear her singing, can be seen here: Cheyenne Singing Part 2 . If you have 3minutes to spare, the videos are so cute!

I'm a firm believer that you should share in your child's musical life. Whether it's supporting their school program or their interest to play guitar and then later change to drums, just because. Listen to their favorite stations as much as you feel they should listen to your favorite music. I also feel you should promote their experiences at concerts. Whether it be a local show or their favorite mainstream performers. I used to take my daughters to concerts often and would alternate each time I went. Kristi's first concert was That Damn Show put on by 98KUPD at the Peoria Sports Complex. An all day concert with about 20 bands. Despite the heat, we had a great time and she even got an autograph from the Phunk Junkeez! It was on her sisters shirt and Jessika was not amused but Kristi was so proud and we had shared a most memorial day. Jessika's first concert was HER choice, 311 and Sugar Ray at the Cricket Pavilion when she was 6 years old. Sugar Ray was her favorite and when he got on stage she wanted to go up and shake his hand. She could not understand why she wasn't allowed. "But Mom, he's RIGHT THERE!" she kept saying. lol To this day, we still enjoy going to concerts together. I can honestly say that music has brought all of us closer.

How The Name Lady Hathor Came About

I often get asked, what is Lady Hathor and how did that name come about? I used to say, " Hathor is an ancient Egyptian Goddess for music and dance and I bare a title of Hathor."  People still didn't know what that meant but that's how I left it. Trying to keep the mystery alive. The pronunciation is most commonly mispronounced and that seemed to be the biggest question,  "how do you say that?" To me, it's pronounced Heart-thor, leaving the "r" almost silent and is the Egyptian way or rather, Hawth-or.

This is the real story ...
When my youngest daughter, Jessika, was little I used to read her stories before tucking her into bed. Some of her favorite stories were about ancient Egypt. Cleopatra was her favorite of stories.  Together, we learned of what they wore, how they believed, the Gods and Goddesses and talked about how things are now, the differences and when Hathor, Goddess of music and dance loved by everyone and how she bared several different titles, came about Jessika was excited and said, "Mom, you're like the Goddess Hathor!" She was referring to me getting into the music industry.

As time went on and the more we read, instead of playing with Barbies or having tea,  Jessika liked to play dress up and reenact ancient Egypt. She was Cleopatra and dubbed me "Lady Hathor". The family thought we were crazy and often joked, but somehow the name caught on and the more I told friends the funny stuff Jessika would do or things we had learned the more the name "Lady Hathor" was brought about. I used to joke about it when talking or working with the  music, "Yea, Lady Hathor did it again", or comments of that nature. So, when I decided I needed a stage name and web presence, I used Lady Hathor and it stuck with me all these years. For over 8 years, no one in the music industry even knew my real name except for my closest of friends. It wasn't until Facebook that people learned what my real name was! I still find that amusing. lol