Divil A Bit
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2005
- Messages
- 224
Forgive me if this is long. It's my first ever post and I've a lot to say.
Having recently returned to the live gig scene in Dublin after 7 years, I'm astounded as to how things have changed for the worse.
It is now normal for bands to pay 250 euro - 350 euro for the privelige of hiring a venue for the night. Let's expose this as the scam it is. Other pubs without live music are making plenty money, so one that has live is using the band's talent (and charging them) to make even more money.
Let's get rid of the 'pay to play' scam and expose it. I'm sure that all venues do very nicely thank you without your 250 euro on top. (And don't mind the 'we gotta cover the soundman's costs' bullshit). Do they also talk about the doorman, the barman, the manager, the cleaner etc. NO.
I have an 'in' for a licensed venue in Dublin which could run as a co-op which is given to the bands/artists for free. In turn, bands can have a say in how it is run.
Secondly..Bands I'm dissapointed in us. We've all fallen for the 'publicist' crapola. OK, you want to release your record which you just finished mastering. But, without a label (which wasn't the case ten years ago) you have to do all the marketing yourself. But as you have found out (like myself) or are about to find out....you need a publicist who is in the daily pocket of Journos/DJ's to get airplay on radio, press reviews, gig mentioned, tour, in fact,...for two grand if you ain't got one, it's kinda pointless.
I have been disappointed to discover the amount of supposedly right on DIY bands who are pretending it's down to the music. You are fooling only yourself in the end.
We are all vying for the same wee bit of space and it's got too crowded.
Hold on. Can we not pull together to produce, say, an 'honest' 4 page free sheet, which is dedicated purely to Irish bands? Let's have it out in the open. In the 90's HOPE produced a freesheet called 'React' which gave my band the confidence in ourselves to go further.
But I am guilty of running to Hot Press with my little press release hoping in vain to get even the smallest mention...without a publicist, what a loser I feel. Hot Press is dying. It now gives away free copies in Trinners so that it can retain its circulation for potential advertisers. It is a dinosaur which should be put to sleep. BUT it paves the way for a replacement run by tuned in folk, unswayed by bribes and PR.
Finally, fair play to the person associated with the Jove Olympia bash. I don't know the person(s) but I would certainly be interested in their opinion. Do you guys realise we are living under a dictator monopoly which is ruining our music experience in our lives? This does NOT exist in any town in the UK or Europe. If fact , I played gigs in squats in Europe and UK and you get treated first class, free food, free booze, free place to crash, great gigs and overall, a lovely memory. Can you imagine that here at present? Don't make me laugh. But things could be so easily different if WE wanted.
Big up to HOPE.
Sorry if it's a rant but isn't that the point of this.
Having recently returned to the live gig scene in Dublin after 7 years, I'm astounded as to how things have changed for the worse.
It is now normal for bands to pay 250 euro - 350 euro for the privelige of hiring a venue for the night. Let's expose this as the scam it is. Other pubs without live music are making plenty money, so one that has live is using the band's talent (and charging them) to make even more money.
Let's get rid of the 'pay to play' scam and expose it. I'm sure that all venues do very nicely thank you without your 250 euro on top. (And don't mind the 'we gotta cover the soundman's costs' bullshit). Do they also talk about the doorman, the barman, the manager, the cleaner etc. NO.
I have an 'in' for a licensed venue in Dublin which could run as a co-op which is given to the bands/artists for free. In turn, bands can have a say in how it is run.
Secondly..Bands I'm dissapointed in us. We've all fallen for the 'publicist' crapola. OK, you want to release your record which you just finished mastering. But, without a label (which wasn't the case ten years ago) you have to do all the marketing yourself. But as you have found out (like myself) or are about to find out....you need a publicist who is in the daily pocket of Journos/DJ's to get airplay on radio, press reviews, gig mentioned, tour, in fact,...for two grand if you ain't got one, it's kinda pointless.
I have been disappointed to discover the amount of supposedly right on DIY bands who are pretending it's down to the music. You are fooling only yourself in the end.
We are all vying for the same wee bit of space and it's got too crowded.
Hold on. Can we not pull together to produce, say, an 'honest' 4 page free sheet, which is dedicated purely to Irish bands? Let's have it out in the open. In the 90's HOPE produced a freesheet called 'React' which gave my band the confidence in ourselves to go further.
But I am guilty of running to Hot Press with my little press release hoping in vain to get even the smallest mention...without a publicist, what a loser I feel. Hot Press is dying. It now gives away free copies in Trinners so that it can retain its circulation for potential advertisers. It is a dinosaur which should be put to sleep. BUT it paves the way for a replacement run by tuned in folk, unswayed by bribes and PR.
Finally, fair play to the person associated with the Jove Olympia bash. I don't know the person(s) but I would certainly be interested in their opinion. Do you guys realise we are living under a dictator monopoly which is ruining our music experience in our lives? This does NOT exist in any town in the UK or Europe. If fact , I played gigs in squats in Europe and UK and you get treated first class, free food, free booze, free place to crash, great gigs and overall, a lovely memory. Can you imagine that here at present? Don't make me laugh. But things could be so easily different if WE wanted.
Big up to HOPE.
Sorry if it's a rant but isn't that the point of this.
