By French Davis (a/k/a David Flomberg), Yellowscene | If you don’t read this article, you/your band will get screwed! | Content is value. Sadly, it’s evident that the people responsible for distributing content have long forgotten that fact. From the streaming model — e.g. Spotify, Apple Music, etc. — that cratered the financial value of recording artists’ music to the SAG/AFTRA strike now stretching into its second month, it’s apparent that the list of entities who want a piece of the value of art created by other people has grown exponentially greater than what the movie houses and record labels of yesteryear chiseled out.
And while SAG/AFTRA has some measure of leverage in this battle, for musicians it’s a David and Goliath story where Goliath wins, whether it’s in the local scene or when it’s on a national stage. In this case, it’s the “Pay-to-Play” model, where musicians literally pay a promoter or the venue to perform on the stage. And while it’s not a new concept by any measure, it is creeping into new areas of Colorado’s music and arts scene.
On The Big Stages
When The Weeknd performed for the Super Bowl halftime performance in 2021, he didn’t make a dime.
In fact, he spent more than $7 million on the production, according to Billboard magazine (“Super Bowl Halftime Shows Cost Millions. Who’s Paying?” Billboard.com, Feb. 5, 2021) — the most expensive “pay-to-play” event a musician will ever encounter.
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But in Colorado, that practice has never taken hold — certainly not at the myriad small-to-midsized venues dotting the Front Range. Occasionally, major touring acts allow local acts to “sign on” to their tour as an opener at a large venue for a fee — but again, that’s for access to a major act’s sizable audience and it can be worth the cost for that kind of quantifiable exposure. However, that’s the exception. Not the rule.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly pay for a professional musician is $36.01. That’s for the performance — not rehearsal/practice time, composition, arranging, or any of the other effort that goes into the job. It’s important to note: this information is based on trackable data. The vast majority of musicians’ income is still untrackable. When John Smith plays a gig at Frank’s Tavern and gets paid with a check written to “John Smith” — there’s nothing telling the BLS that payment was for a music performance — even if it’s still reported as “income” to the IRS. Since the BLS data comes from musicians successful enough to have a recognizable, steady income as such, it’s reasonable to assume the actual average pay for a musician is far lower. In Colorado, anecdotally at least, it appears most professional musicians average between $50-$100 per gig.
Pay to Play on the Local Stages
Bridging The Music Promotions LLC, founded locally by Jonah Lipsky, now headquartered in New York, doesn’t operate according to the Centennial State’s established norms. The consensus among both proponents and detractors of BTM call it the same thing: “Pay-to-play.”
BTM books an artist for a specific event where BTM has secured a venue. That artist is responsible for selling an agreed-upon number of tickets for that event. BTM gets 100% of that revenue. For the next cohort of tickets sold above that number, the artist keeps 100%. For every ticket after that, there’s a split between the artist and BTM. If the artist doesn’t meet the number of ticket sales agreed upon in the first cohort, they are still responsible to cover the difference to BTM.
On June 21, BTM emailed me unsolicited (I founded and manage an Oingo Boingo tribute band called Reptiles and Samurai) to see about performing their “miniFEST”:
“Hi Reptiles and Samurai… I just wanted to see if you’re possibly available to perform on September 23rd at Denver miniFEST at Herman’s Hideaway? I have a really good lineup for this show already, but I am looking to fill a few more slots. If you are available please let me know and we can discuss. Also please note, we offer all performers a free HD video of the event, you will play in front of a new audience and we also pay very fairly based on your attendance. In general it’s such a good event for networking, expanding and growing your fanbase. Feel free to email me here or we can jump on a call.”
The timing was serendipitous. I had literally just spoken with local musician and Colorado Musicians Union co-founder Sarah Mount (profiled in YS: “Spotlight on Sarah Mount,” June 12, 2021) a week before about BTM’s business model because of a Facebook post she published decrying this model. Her post on the topic — where multiple local musicians weighed in referring to BTM as a “scam” — was responded to with a cease-and-desist letter from BTM’s attorney, Mateo Perez, esq. We’ll revisit that in a moment.
I scheduled a call via that email and ended up on the phone with Lipsky.
“We use a ‘business partnership’ kind of situation,” Lipsky said. “Everyone we book must sell at least 35 tickets and the next set of tickets is profit. So if you sell 70 tickets at the base price of $22, you make $770 at that point so there is a lot of money on the back end of things where you can do really well on ticket sales. We also live stream the event… We pay you $5 to $7 on each live stream order, separate from the ticket requirement, so you start making money for those right away. We give you a clear HD video of the entire event. We give you a free group video on stage on our Instagram page, and if you want an edit, it’s only $100. Based on that do you have any questions?”
“How do you handle your marketing on your end?” I asked.
“We have digital posters with all the artists on them, online calendars, we also make collages with all the people involved. Most importantly we keep everyone motivated, organizing as leaders so as to get a really good night, and with everyone selling tickets it makes it beneficial — when you don’t have that you are playing to a small audience.” Additionally, Lipsky said he sets aside some money for paid social media promotion. “Typically a couple of hundred dollars.” Lipsky said he had 12 acts lined up, each with a 30-minute slot to perform. But whether or not it actually happens at Herman’s Hideaway may be in question.
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Ultimately, regardless of where the value lies for novice musicians, the million-dollar question remains: How does the pay-to-play business model impact the profession in general?
Ask most professional musicians in Colorado, and they’ll tell you the answer: Poorly.
Learn more about the Colorado Musicians Union at https://www.comusiciansunion.com.
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Go here to read the full article, complete with photos of the contracts, etc.:
https://yellowscene.com/2023/08/24/spotlight-on-pay-to-play/
Meet Dave Flomberg | Writer, musician, creative director (aka French Davis). There is so much to say about Dave, aka French, that we think you should read these articles:
https://yellowscene.com/2020/02/29/french-davis-a-master-of-many/
https://shoutoutcolorado.com/meet-dave-flomberg-writer-musician-creative-director
Spotlight on Pay to Play – In Denver
