Pay to play hits the big time

[jasoncslaughter]

It looks like the NFL is going from not paying the Super Bowl halftime performers to asking them to pay for the "privilege" of playing.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... y-20140819

The issue here isn't whether Katy Perry or Coldplay could drop some cash to play the show (and really I couldn't care less), it's the precedent that the NFL is trying to set. A lot of bars and clubs in major cities have been switching over to the pay to play model, and the end result is poor for everyone. I know that plenty of clubs in New York will let anyone play as long as you're willing to pay the upfront fee. You then have the opportunity to make the money back by bringing people in, and if you have a large enough crowd, you can theoretically still make money from the gig. Clubs like this in the short term because they don't have to employ people for booking and promotion, and it puts the responsibility on the musicians to draw a crowd. In the end, though, it's bad for the club as well, as they can no longer try to create the kind of scene that will encourage regular visitors. In other words, they profit in the short term, but the model isn't sustainable. Kind of seems like every business plan now.

[ColonelFatso]

It's the same shit here too. I don't play any rock instruments, but I know a number of people in professional-grade bands who are having difficulty justifying the effort it takes to find gigs that won't lose them a ton of money. And if this keeps up, the legions of shitty cover bands slowly choking out the live music scene here are just going to get shittier. Probably nothing will change at the upper echelons of either talent or popularity, at least at first, but the middle ground - where some of the best local acts live - might collapse quicker than we think.

[options]

it's bad for the club as well, as they can no longer try to create the kind of scene that will encourage regular visitors. In other words, they profit in the short term, but the model isn't sustainable. Kind of seems like every business plan now.

yeah, this is really sucks. can't say that I'm surprised by it, though. it's like how Clear Channel bought up just about every major radio station in the US, then standardized the playlists across the board, resulting in local artists not getting radio play in their own backyard and the entire country hearing the same few songs multiple times a day...

[MovingTarget]

Wow, that is unbelievable.

[Ed Oscuro]

rent seeking 2014

ban the league