How It All Started

Back in 2002, I remember playing at a venue with my band. It was up on a hill in plain view of the busiest highway in the city. At least 100,000 cars drive by everyday and see this club’s marquee.

I remember thinking, “Wow, if only we could put up a big sign about our show, a ton of people would see it as they drive by and then some would come to the show.” So we put up a big sign, easily seen as you drove down the highway. The day of the show, we waited… and waited. A total of 9 people came to the show (for all the bands combined). We relied solely on putting up 600 posters around town and on our “big sign on the highway.”

I was DEVASTATED. I felt hopeless. I basically just put up a billboard that hundreds of thousands of people saw and nobody cared about my show!

It took me awhile to figure out why.

Unfortunately… Most People Don’t Care About Your Music

Why? Because they already have access to thousands upon thousands of signed artists’ music. They already have favorite iconic bands they listen to. So how can an unknown band like me stand out amongst all of those other music options? I’m not only competing against every local band in the country, I’m competing against acts like the Foo Fighters, Guns’n Roses, Blink 182, and everyone else on the radio for my new potential fans’ attention! So when you think about that, it makes sense why nobody wants to go see a band they’ve never heard of.

I’ve talked to thousands of artists that felt lost and hopeless. They gave up. They had the talent but they weren’t using the right promotion strategies.

Here’s The Good News.

I found that people who already know me, or have some connection to me, are extremely interested in my music and hearing me play live. This is what marketing people call “WARM SELLING.” You have a huge personal network of people you and your members know, and that is your “warm market.” That is where you need to put the majority of your promotion focus. Why? Because they already care about you. That’s how you start.

Trying to sell tickets or make a fan out of a complete stranger is a “cold sell.” I’ve seen marketing experts say it’s 20x harder to make a cold sale vs. a warm sale. That means if it takes you 1 hour to sell 5 tickets to people you know, it would take you approximately 20 hours or more to sell 5 tickets to complete strangers.

Talent and great music alone is not always (usually it isn’t), enough. You have to believe in yourself, and believe in what you do so wholeheartedly that nothing will stop you. Not even self doubt or the hopeless feeling that “nobody cares about my music.”

You Must Rise Above!

You can rise above all of the other unsigned artists and take actionable steps to advance your career and build your fan base.

• Focus on your personal network. Make them die-hard fans first. Sell them tickets first. Then ask them to introduce you to their personal network and people they know! Ask them to vouch for you, share with their friends, and ask them to bring their friends to your show. You could focus 100% of all your promo energy on this alone.

• STOP WASTING TIME ON COLD SELLING! Divert all of the time you’re wasting trying to sell tickets or CD’s to complete strangers and focus instead on warm selling to people you know, people they know, and the people they know know.

If you’re going to go after complete strangers, do so on social media with strategic paid ads on Facebook and Instagram. That way you don’t waste all of your time on cold selling.

The sooner you start “warm selling” the sooner you’ll see your fan base increase faster than you ever thought possible.

Other Resources

Believe In Yourself

MyAfton Promo Plan: The Week of Your Show

Shows In Your City

The post Unfortunately, most people don’t care about your music… appeared first on Afton.

Background

Let me start by saying, I am not an artist. But I have been an entrepreneur working to build Afton since 2006 with more ups and downs than I can even remember. I feel there are so many similarities between being an artist trying to make it in the music industry, and working with a start up.

In so many situations I have had to rely 100% on my own motivation and grit to get through the grind and the hurdles thrown at our company. Artists are the same. You are in charge of your own outcomes, only YOU care enough about your music to see it through and make It happen. YOU have to believe in yourself to get where you want to be, the hard truth is no one can do it for you.

So What Can I do?

But fear not, that is where we come in. In an industry that is quick to dismiss you, we stand with you. From the beginning, Ryan and I have worked tirelessly to provide you choices, resources, and support in finding shows, building your fan base, and successfully performing. Compare it to a marathon… You have to show up to train, but we can provide you with the right shoes, training routines, and cheer you on from the sideline.

In any aspect of your life, you have to believe in what you do and execute.

As Jen Sincero says in her book You are a Badass:

“Our thoughts become our words, our words become our beliefs, our beliefs become our actions, our actions become our habits, and our habits become our realities.” 

So start small. Take a moment everyday to appreciate yourself and encourage yourself, then do it again tomorrow. Ignore negativity and really lean in to your music and the career you want to have. It may not happen overnight, but believing in your self is a transformation that will benefit all aspects of your life.

We are here for you and want to be a part of your success story.

Other Resources

MyAfton Promo Plan: Extra Tips

MyAfton Promo Plan: The Week of Your Show

Shows In Your City

The post BELIEVE IN YOURSELF appeared first on Afton.

Nobody Responds to Your Booking Requests?!

I’ve been there, we all have. You spend 20 minutes crafting an email to your favorite venue’s booking person. You’ve explained in detail what your music sounds like, who you’ve shared the stage with, the tours you’ve opened for, what press you’ve gotten, and you’ve explained how many years of experience your musicians have collectively. You press send and… weeks go by without even a response!

Don’t feel bad. When I started out as a musician I made these same mistakes. I didn’t realize what the booking staff at a venue was actually looking for.

After all, they get hit up each week by dozens of signed nationally touring artists and their inbox is flooded with requests. Here’s what their inbox probably looks like:

But after booking over 200,000 unsigned acts, multiple national tours, and after talking with over 800 music venue owners and their booking staff – here’s what I’ve learned:

So What are Booking People Looking For?

The #1 thing bookers are looking for is how many fans and tickets you can get into their venue. That’s it. Everything else is secondary!

But wait! Doesn’t it matter if my music is amazing? Or that I have the best vocalist or guitarist in town? Yeah, it matters. But few venues want a great sounding act that cannot draw any fans. And to be honest, legit venues can probably book national touring acts that they think are better than you if music quality is all they cared about.

Every venue wants a good or great sounding act that draws tons of fans.

What are the secondary factors they consider?

• How good your music is.
• Actual numbers on followers, likes, and subscribers to your social sites.
• How many albums you’ve sold.
• If you’re a genre they want to host at their venue.
• Notable awards, press, or accolades.
• What tours you’ve opened for.

Here’s the typical email I receive from artists hundreds of times per week:

My ACT NAME HERE is the best rock band in the state. We opened for XYZ tours. Here’s our music links: links here

Here’s a 75 word description of exactly what my music sounds like and why we are awesome. Did I mention our music is awesome?

Collectively my band members have over 50 years of music experience. We are music veteran pros.

We charge $500. When can you book us?

Would You Book this Band?

The booking person at a club reads part of this and most likely deletes your email. Especially if they’ve never heard of you. And remember, most booking people have probably not heard of 50% of the signed touring acts out there, let alone many of the local artists in town.

You have to OFFER the booking person something of value. What’s in it for THEM?

Even when I book nationally touring acts with 200,000 monthly Spotify listeners and very large social numbers. Typically the first question the venue responds with is: What was their tour history (ticket sales numbers) last time in this city?

Top Tips for Booking Requests

So here are my top tips when talking to anyone that you’re trying to convince to book you, no matter how big you are:

1. Keep it as short as possible. If they have to spend more than 1-2 minutes reading your email, you risk them deleting it. They’re busy as hell, they have 200 emails to go through.

2. List most the enticing reasons to book you first! Think, what’s in it for THEM? 

3. All you’re trying to get is an interested response to move the conversation forward. Getting booked is not a 1 email conversation.

4. Do not lie, over exaggerate, or over promise! Do not tell them you can sell 200 tickets when you actually will sell 20 tickets. You’ll get blacklisted for sure.

The Right Approach

Example of what gets my attention as a booking agent:

Hi Ryan,

My indie rock band, Faded, will sell 40+ tickets in advance if you book us.

We sold 45 tickets and 39 tickets for our past two shows with XYZ promoter, they can vouch for the fact we draw, here’s their email address:

No act in our city promotes more effectively then we do. If you book, us your show is our #1 priority.

We only expect to be fairly compensated on what we draw, and are not asking for the club to take a financial risk on us. We are a sure thing.

Here’s our music links: (links here)

When can we get started?

By the way – Afton is always happy to vouch for our artists! We track your draw history with us, so we can verify your actual draw numbers!

Now take a deep breath, close your eyes, and put yourself in a booking persons shoes. Which band are you going to book? The first one? Or the second one?

Skip the Hype.

As musicians, many times we get caught up in all of the hype about what we do. We all have egos, we think we are the best. But venues don’t want to book you based on hype and then lose money on the show. They want a sure thing.

Like I always say, your fan base and your ability to draw and sell tickets is the BEST investment you can make in yourself so that you can book the gigs you want. Check out our other articles on how to quickly grow your fan base:
How to Grow Your Fan Base the Fastest
You’re Screwing Yourself if You Rely on Door Sales

We Want to Hear From You!

What tips do you have for other artists when emailing booking people? What’s worked? What hasn’t worked so well?

The post How to Book More Gigs. appeared first on Afton.

“Waiting until you are ready is the same as expecting it to never happen.” –Mel Robbins, 5 Second Rule

As musicians, often we find ourselves waiting until we feel “completely ready” before we take action. Or even worse, we wait for someone else to do the work for us. This is one of the biggest mistakes we can make! I learned this the hard way throughout the years as both a musician and promoter. How often have you let self doubt, fear, and the feeling that the timing is “just not right” keep you from taking action that will propel your music career forward?

Stop Waiting!

Stop waiting to be discovered. Stop waiting for your big break. Stop waiting to get signed by a record label. Stop waiting for the best venue in town to notice you. Stop waiting to write the next song. Stop waiting to record. Stopped waiting to book that gig. Stop waiting to approach new potential fans and tell them about your music. Just stop waiting – and take action.

If you wait until you feel completely ready – nothing will ever happen! Our brains are so quick to give us 100 reasons or excuses to not do something. But when you take that first step, when you just do it, you start to control your own destiny.

Are You Waiting to Get “Discovered?”

Thousands of musicians have asked me the same question over and over. “How do I get discovered?” The answer I always give is simple, yet powerful:

Learn to promote and market your music and live shows effectively, build your fan base, and draw 100-200 fans every show.

That’s it. If your music is good, and if you create a fan base and a large draw for every show you play – you will be discovered. You will be noticed. “It” will happen. You will stand out to Industry gatekeepers that you’ve been begging to pay attention to you for years.

What’s the secret? Sell 100 tickets to every single show you play. Then sell 500 tickets to every show you play. Then sell 1,000 tickets to every show you play. Draw more fans than any other artist in your city. That’s it.

The moment you realize that YOU already have everything you need to make your music career happen, and that you don’t have to rely on anybody else or on luck – that is the powerful and life changing moment when you’ll realize that success is within your reach.

Please don’t wait around for something good to happen to you. Go out, take control of your music career, and make good things happen for you.

Check Out the Afton Musician Podcast!

Listen to the Afton Musician Podcast Now!

I’d love to see your comments! What’s one thing you’ve been “waiting on,” that you can take action on today? What’s been holding you back?

The post Don’t Wait Around for Your Big Break! appeared first on Afton.

In our last blog, we gave you some suggestions on the fundamental items of your merch table. Now what?

Achieving Maximum Exposure

Let’s go a bit deeper into putting together and managing your merch table at your shows. These are some solid tactics that will help you sell or use those T-shirts, hoodies, pins and stickers you ordered for maximum exposure.

Clubs usually have a merch table that artists can use for selling merch. However, you should have a small folding table you can easily bring with your gear to the show.

That way, on the off chance the merch table is broken, another act has taken it over or the table’s simply missing from the club, you still have one. But usually the club has a table there already.

Make sure to get to the venue early so you have time to set up your merch table and to make sure you have a prime location set up.

I’ve personally played shows that don’t have enough room for everyone’s merch tables. That usually ends with someone sitting in the corner with a box of shirts and CDs in the hopes that fans would even see them.

Don’t be the sad act without a merch home. Get there early and set up shop asap!

Crucial Elements of Your Merch Table

Once you have your box of merch (an old suitcase makes a great portable merch box) and your folding table, make sure to have the following:

• Signage for your table with prices of everything you are selling, website address and whether you take cash or card. (Square readers are a great, affordable way to allow fans who don’t have cash on them to buy something). A basic item list printed out or hand-written and taped to the table will do just fine.
• A small cash box or manilla envelope with a little bit of basic change for fans who have cash. The simplest tactic is to break up a couple twenties into 10 one-dollar bills and 4 five-dollar bills per twenty-dollar bill prior to the show. You can do this at a bank or customer service of a grocery store.
• Tracking sheet for all sales/giveaways.
• A small battery powered table lamp. You may not need it, but if the club is really dark and your merch table is in the back, it’s going to be difficult to make transactions and see the right change, see the signage, the merch or your fans! No one wants to go to creepy corner in the back of a dark club to buy something they can’t see.
• You can’t go wrong with a tip jar for the band and/or the person running the table!
• And don’t forget to have a sign-up sheet (or cards you pass out to audience members before and after the show) for your email list!

Man (or Woman) the Ship!

You should always have someone manning the merch table throughout your show, whether it’s you, a bandmate, a friend or fan.

My last band always made sure the person at the merch table (aside from band members) was attractive, dressed for the part and engaged every person who walked by or came up to the table. Fans are much more likely to approach a smiling attractive person than a scowling, stand-offish introvert.

If your merch person is lost in their cell phone, rude or doesn’t really want to be there, it’s not gonna help you sell any shirts. Our merch girl became an informal member of our crew and one of our fans’ favorite aspects of our live shows.

Make sure your merch person knows how to handle the transactions.

Show them how to use the square reader if you have one, and make sure they know the prices for everything and where the cash box/envelope is.

Make sure they track inventory sales and promos.

And remember, when you play an Afton Show, you keep 100% of all of your merch sales at ours shows!

The Merch Table Hang Out Session

We encourage you to use your merch table not only as a place to sell merch, but also as a place to meet and interact with fans.

Invite the crowd back to your merch table after you play. Hang out there before your set.

Offer a free sticker to people who come talk to you at the merch table after your set, be creative so that you have a LINE of people at your merch table as soon as you’re done playing.

Have your lead singer or YOU, if you’re a rapper or solo artist, walk from the stage to the merch table after the last song and make an announcement to meet up at the merch table.

Our founder Ryan Kintz did this for every show he played as a band, and his band always had a crowd of people lined up at their merch table after their set.

Hanging out at the merch table is a tactic that even national touring acts use, as it gives fans a chance to have a face-to-face meeting with their heroes and it helps you sell shirts, CDs and get people signed up for your email list.

Don’t Be a Cheapskate

When it comes to the actual sales of merch, don’t be a penny pincher.

Offer discounts and deals like a couple bucks off if people want a shirt, sticker and CD. Buy two get one free. Get a free sticker with every t-shirt. Whatever. Be creative.

You can put this on your signage or you could simple offer it verbally to your fans as a one-time special.

If a fan is a buck or two short of being able to grab a shirt from you, sell it to them for what they can afford. This makes fans into super fans who will tell their friends how cool you are.

It also put another walking billboard for your act in motion.

If You Build It They Will Buy

Once you’ve got the hang of running a merch table for your basic gear, and you start making some money, DON’T POCKET OR SPEND THAT MONEY! Use it to reinvest in adding new pieces as time goes on.

Having as many different types of merch as you can is a great idea. Bring in new shirt designs. Add beer koozies with your band name on them. Get some posters (and always sign them!). Flash drives with your music preloaded on them.

Anything you can think of that your fans may want. The more diverse selection you have the more “deals” your fans can cash in on.

If you only have a CD, shirt and stickers than within 1-2 shows your fans will essentially own all of your merch!

Got any cool tips or tactics that have worked for your merch table? Drop us a comment below. We’d love to hear from you!

The post Merch Table Tactics That Work appeared first on Afton.

The Ugliest Words in the Business

Three of the ugliest words in the music industry are “PAY TO PLAY”.

For a new musician or artist, or even seasoned veterans, finding out a potential show falls under the umbrella of a “pay to play” gig causes concern.

What is “Pay to Play” Exactly?

If you want to get down to nitty gritty details, technically every show is a pay to play performance.

Whether it’s the sold out arena show or the mom and pop coffeehouse, someone is paying for that show to happen.

Often times, it’s a promoter or manager, sometimes it’s the act themselves (if it’s a DIY rental). Sometimes it’s the venue.

The hope with every show is that whatever money is paid out is recouped at the end of the night.

Booking shows can be a risky business if you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s why tickets sales are so important.

But what we’re talking about, of course, is not your average show (whatever that means). What we’re talking about it is the dirty three-word “pay to play” gig.

If you’re not familiar with this concept, it’s pretty straight forward. Someone charges an act a fee (PAY) in exchange (TO) for a chance to perform (PLAY).

Often times, the gig is an opening slot for a larger nationally-touring act. Or it’s simply the opportunity to play an esteemed venue.

The Most Common Tactic

The most common tactic involves charging an act a flat fee for a specific time slot. This fee can range anywhere from $100-5000 or more! These arrangements usually don’t involve selling tickets (as the promoter has already made their money from the act’s payment).

In these scenarios, the artist isn’t compensated. No matter how well the show did. This is the age old “exposure” gig. “You’re playing to get your music out there”, they’ll say.

Often these deals are not in writing, there’s no formal contract, and it’s a cash-only transaction. In the worst situations, some acts are swindled completely.

They find themselves locked out of the venue the night of the show. They have already paid a ton of cash to perform. The “promoter” is nowhere to be found. The show manager has no record of them on the bill, and the act never even gets to perform!

This type of pay to play situation goes on at all levels. From the small local shows all the way up to large national tours. When it happens on national tours they call it a “buy on“.

In virtually all cases of pay to play, the act who paid to play doesn’t see a dime in payment.

Is it Illegal?

There’s nothing technically illegal about pay to play. Some see it as the way the industry works.

But for many musicians and artists out there, it’s just an ugly deal they’d rather not engage in. Respectfully so.

So, Is Afton Pay to Play?

That brings us to the $10,000 question: Is Afton pay to play?

Some people, websites and media outlets have certainly labeled Afton as such. But the reality doesn’t live up to the charge.

We have never been pay to play.

Here’s why: The artists we book never pay to play our shows. No artist ever pays us anything out of pocket for unsold tickets.

Our booking services are FREE. There are no up front fees to play Afton shows. We don’t require acts to pay up front for a block of tickets. No one pays us back for any tickets that they didn’t sell. We don’t charge any hidden fees.

Everything we do is completely free to the artist. All ticket revenues come from the FANS, not the artist.

We’re There Every Step of the Way

We do exactly what is agreed upon in writing and are always honest with our artists. We don’t just book the shows and check out.

We’re with the artist every step of the way to help them succeed. We supply advice and promotional support on multiple fronts. From flyers and handbills to social media spotlight ads, featured posts and featured artist blogs.

When an artist wins, we win. We take the risk on every artist and show we book. It’s in our best interest if that artist succeeds. If they lose, so do we.

To ensure success, we work directly with our artists. Our booking reps are available anytime for one on one support at all points, before and after the show.

Show Management And Support

The night of every show, we have a show manager in person, at the venue. They are in constant communication with support staff at our headquarters and working with artists on the ground.

The show manager runs everything from artist check-in and soundcheck to locking in set times.

They are there working with the sound engineers, club managers, hosts, DJs and artists to ensuring ticket sales are accurate. They report all artist/DJ/club payments.

Show managers stay on site through the end of the show, making sure it runs smoothly and without a hitch.

Afton wants every show to go well. We want the artists to sell as many tickets as possible and give everyone involved the experience of a lifetime.

When this happens (which it does 98% of the time), it’s a triple win. We win, the venue wins and the artists win.

We all make some money and we all have a great experience to look back on.

Accountability and Follow Through

When we make mistakes or something doesn’t go as planned, we hold ourselves accountable. We work diligently to make it right.

We aren’t taking anyone’s money and running. We’re always available to work with artists, venues. We’ve been in business for a long time with our approach and we’ve grown every year.

If we were pay to play, we wouldn’t succeed for as long as we have. We wouldn’t have worked with tens of thousands of artists all over the country. We wouldn’t have expanded as large as we have if we were a shady, corrupt pay to play operation.

Here’s something to know about how we work that’s important to this issue. Artists get paid even if the show is a loss for us.

We take on all the risk, pay all show costs up front. Our cut is never guaranteed. But the artist’s cut is. They are compensated as promised, no matter how the show sells, if they uphold their end of their eContract.

It’s disheartening anytime we get mis-labeled. We are adamantly against pay to play. The company was founded to be strictly against this business model and approach.

What’s the Catch?

All we ask is for an artist to sell some tickets. If the artist does, they make money!

Here’s a link to our artist payment structure.

That’s the catch that we are always asked by skeptical artists.

We have learned that selling tickets does matter. The catch is that we ask the artist to sell tickets. Which is not so out of bounds, when you realize that’s the catch of any show an artist would play!

No venue wants to open their doors to an empty room, and no one wants to play an empty room.

That being said, it’s very clear in all of our communications with artists they are never paying for the tickets. There are no financial penalties if an artist doesn’t sell tickets.

If an artist doesn’t uphold their end of the eContract, the only penalties they receive are shorter sets or last pick on their set time. If they don’t sell ANY tickets, their set can be cancelled or rescheduled. All of this is explicitly stated in our artist agreements.

We send weekly emails and texts, blogs, help articles, one-on-one correspondence and a plethora of perks and incentives to help artists sell tickets.

In the end, we pay the artists to play our shows. We are proud of what we do, and we always act with integrity and honesty at all times.

Don’t Just Take Our Word For It

Thousands upon thousands of artists can attest to this. You can see that for yourself: www.myafton.com/references

You can also read some of the recent success stories from some of our artists here: https://myafton.com/blog/afton-artist-success-stories/

It’s very understandable to be a bit skeptical, especially in our industry!

But we are NOT Pay to Play. We never have been, we never will be and we stand behind our business model 100%.

Our goal is first and foremost to help artists launch their music careers. We help artists achieve their musical goals and we are with them every step of the way. Afton was was founded on that principle and it’s what we strive to achieve every single day.

We don’t hide from criticism, as evidenced by this post. And we welcome a dialogue from anyone who still has objections to our business model.

If you’d like to touch base with us drop a comment below, hit us up on social media or drop an email anytime at feedback@myafton.com  

The post Is Afton “Pay to Play”? appeared first on Afton.

How long is too long?

If you’re just starting to get your music out, you’re probably pretty excited to play everything you’ve written. You probably have every single song in your set laid out perfectly. You probably made your set way too long.

When it comes to getting more fans, you need to pace yourself.

A super long set can actually damage your ability to draw new fans. Keep it short. 15-30 minutes is a good range. Anything longer and you’re losing people. That’s one of the reasons Afton Shows set times are the length they are.

“Leave Them Wanting More”

As the Hall-of-Fame soul legend Bobby Womack once said, “Leave them wanting more and you know they’ll call you back.”

This should be your mantra when performing a live show for potential new fans, not just in the beginning, but throughout your music career.

Don’t burn them out. Leave them wanting more!

Go All Out Then Get the Hell Offstage

For your first few shows, especially, play your 4-5 BEST SONGS EVER and play them with full confidence, passion and enthusiasm. Don’t hold back. Become the star you know you are. Go all out! Give yourself some time to talk in between songs to the crowd, then get the hell offstage.

Right after a show is the single best time to make some progress on your fan base and grow your audience. Don’t waste that opportunity by disappearing to the green room or the parking lot to “celebrate” your epic performance. Use that time after you melted faces to meet those people, sign them up on your mailing list, sell CD’s, and get them to your merch table.

If you blow your audience away with a killer short set, the chances of them becoming a fan and buying your merch go through the roof. If you wear them out with a long set, the tables will turn and you’ll find yourself hanging out alone with your crew after your marathon set wondering why no one is showering you with praise, adulation and cash.

Do They Know All the Words?

The ONLY people who want to hear you play 1-3 hours are your die hard fans. But you still want them coming back for more. And the longer the set the more you lose people. If they don’t know your music they get bored.

Think about an artist you now love and know all the words to their songs. Did you know all those words the first time you heard them? Of course not.

That takes time. The 1st time you heard them, if they played 2-3 hours you might have never become a fan.

It’s only AFTER you know every song and lyric by heart and it’s familiar to you that you want to see them play for three hours straight.

What About National Tours?

If you did not bring 80% or 90% of the crowd, and if you are not the headliner, there is no reason for you to play a super long set.

These days, most national headliners (where ticket prices are $30 to $50+) are only playing a 60-90 minute set, tops.

The exception may be prog rockers like Minus the Bear or The Dearhunter or jam bands like the Grateful Dead or Phish.

But those acts are playing to a die hard existing fanbase every show who know the words to all of their albums. They didn’t start out playing long sets, they had to build that audience first.

Legends Need Not Apply

The Eagles and Pearl Jam can play a three hour set. Because every song is a HIT SINGLE and they play to sold out stadiums. If you’re not The Eagles or Pearl Jam, or you’re not selling out stadiums, don’t play a long set. Even one hour can be too long, especially if you’re just starting out.

It’s not just rock bands. Most touring rappers play 20-30 minute sets. Even rappers like YG or Lil Wayne only play about an hour live. Public Enemy and Snoop Dogg can perform an hour and half long shows, but they are long-standing legends and fans are more likely to stick around for their sets.

That being said, even your favorite artists, even the legends, can find themselves performing in front of a yawning, distracted crowd of fans checking their texts if they go too deep into their “new album” or weird, rare cuts no one knows.

First Date or Job Interview?

Think of playing your early shows like a first date or job interview with your fans. Have you ever been on a date or interview that just went on too long? If so, you know how these potential new fans are feeling.

Don’t squander this opportunity to impress them. Keep it short. Keep it electrifying. And you will most likely see those new fans at your next show, and they just might bring some friends with them.

Remember: Leave Them Wanting More!

Using this one simple tactic, you will see your fanbase skyrocket with every show you play.

The post Is a Longer Set Hurting You? appeared first on Afton.

The Long and Short of It

From time to time we hear from upset artists we work with who say we are getting the lion’s share of the money made from the shows we book.

I know what you mean. It’s easy to look at the % of money paid to our artists and think, “Wait, does Afton get to pocket ALL the rest of that money?”

The short answer is: …No.

Here’s Why!

Many musicians (our founder included, before he started this company) forget about how many show costs there are to put on a show. Afton bankrolls your entire event. Meaning, we pay for everything. We pay the venue rental, sound tech and/or DJ, security, all venue staffing, and any other venue fees, extras, overages, or sometimes a bar guarantee (without so much as a drink sent our way!)

Before we pay those costs, we payout to artists first. Artist payout is guaranteed. Even when Afton loses money on a show, acts are still paid exactly what was promised in the eContract. Click here for the artist payout structure.

Where The Money Goes

So, after Afton pays our artists, pays for all venue costs, etc. I guess you could say that we then “get” the rest of the money leftover (if any).

But that leftover money is NOT our profit. We then have to take that money and pay for our expenses that were required to make your show even happen: booking staff, support staff, the Afton Show Manager, software platform upkeep, office rent, internet, accountants, taxes, graphic/web upkeep, marketing – the list goes on and on… and on.

So where does the money go?

1st – To artist payout

2nd – To ALL venue costs associated with your show

3rd – (If enough money is leftover) To ALL of Afton’s overhead, operating costs, and what our staff did to make your show happen.

At the end of ALL of those expenses, we get to “pocket” the rest of the money. Which by the time it gets to this point, is FAR LESS than what the artists are getting paid. If our goal was to make big bucks, we would be trading stocks, not booking local shows!

Cringeworthy

So when a musician points their finger and loudly shouts “Afton pockets ALL of the money that’s not paid to artists!?” I literally cringe.

That statement is the farthest thing from the truth. No, Afton is not pocketing or profiting 50% to 70% of all the money that comes in.

That is literally impossible, unless venue rent was free and their staff and Afton’s staff ALL volunteered their time pro-bono, unpaid, to make your show happen. We both know that’s not the case.

I wrote an article about my experience when my band rented out venues and put on my own shows. My band would have made like 2-3x MORE money playing for Afton than had we rented out the venue ourselves.

What About DIY?

We encourage artists to try to rent out venues themselves if that’s a route they want to go. But even then, we’ve found the work required for our artists to sell 50-100 Tickets, which gets them a $200 to $500 guarantee payout on an Afton show, ends up being FAR LESS work then if they had risked their own money to rent out a venue and done all of the work Afton does to put on their own show.

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You Don’t Have to Be 21+ to Have a 21+ Fanbase!

21 and older shows are where a lot of show opportunities are at. So if you and/or your members are under 21 years of age, how do you book 21+ shows and draw out fans who are over 21? Are you stuck waiting until you are over 21 to start playing these shows?

The short answer is no.

First of all, realize this: many venues and shows that are 21+ ONLY for fans actually allow performers who are 18 or older – or in many cases, performers can be any age!

Here at Afton, we believe almost ANY local artist can sell 15-20 Tickets. It just takes the right strategies and the right amount of hustle. Even if it’s a 21+ bar show, and even if you don’t know a lot of people over 21 years old. This is a great way to break into this new market – which will help you book more shows in the long run since many venues these days are 21+ only. This is well worth the effort!

Afton works with many underage acts who use these tips and end up selling 20 or 30 tickets to fans over 21. They literally build their fan base of 21+ fans from very few to many and never realized they could do it.

Here’s What To Do

1. Make a list of everyone you and your members know collectively who are 21 or older. They are your TARGET for this show. They are going to be your springboard 21+ fan base. Even if you only know 4 people who are over 21. Think about this – the average person knows about 80 people, and their social media network has about 300 people on it. So that means if you only know 4 people who are 21 or older (as an example) THEY are the key to unlocking a new 21+ fan base and being able to sell lots of tickets for any 21+ show you ever book here on out.
2. Personally contact that list of people you know who are 21+. Call them, text message them, email them or direct message them on Facebook. Have a personal conversation and just be up front. “I don’t know many people over 21 but MOST clubs are 21+ ONLY. That includes my upcoming show! These venues won’t book me unless I can draw a crowd. Would you like to buy a ticket for my upcoming show? What can I do for you that would get you to invite your friends who are over 21 and help me get the word out to your personal network?

Your Fans Want to Help You

You’d be surprised. If they like and know you, they probably want nothing in return! They WANT to help your music career. But it always helps to tell them you’ll give them a song shoutout, or free merch if they bring friends.

That’s how it starts. Instead of making excuses, or even worse, instead of selling yourself short with an attitude of “I’m screwed I don’t know anybody old enough,” start with WHO you do know that is over 21.

I’ve had artists do this and the few friends they have who are over 21 literally GIVE that artist their phone and email contacts and say “Here, you have my permission to hit up my close friends, I’ll vouch for you because your music is good. I want to help you!”

There are SO many ways to sell tickets and grow your fan base to people over 21. This is just one. Here are some more!

More Tips to Grow Your Fan Base

HOW TO SELL 20 TICKETS:
https://myafton.com/blog/how-to-sell-20-tickets/

BEST STRATEGIES TO GET THOSE LAST MINUTE FANS TO COMMIT:
https://myafton.com/blog/best-way-to-promote-your-music/

DOOR SALE “PROMISES” ALWAYS BAIL:
https://myafton.com/blog/relying-on-door-sales-always-screws-you/

Mind leaving a comment on this article for me? Love to hear your feedback.

The post Don’t Have Many 21+ Fans Yet? Don’t Worry appeared first on Afton.

How much money can you make with Afton Shows?

One of the biggest questions we get from unsigned artists and musicians who sign up at Afton is “How much are you going to pay me?”.

It’s not only a reasonable question, it’s probably one of the most important questions any artist or band should ask when they are offered a show, especially in the early days. Assuming you haven’t reached the point of getting a specific guarantee (which is a great step for any band) we offer our own guarantee to artists and bands. Each artist we book is guaranteed to be paid according to this pay scale and their eContract no matter what, even if Afton loses money on the show. So this is way better than a traditional door split.

Afton Pay Scale for Unsigned Artist Shows:

In our experience, we’ve found that our pay scale is not only fair, but in many cases, more money than you would be getting paid to play a show you book yourself!

Take note of where the big payout increases are for a show. So many artists don’t understand where the pay jumps and they miss out on maximizing their payout!

You get the biggest pay jumps at 20 sold, 35 sold, 50 sold, 75 sold and 100 sold.

Example 1: Artist sold 15 Tickets.
Artist will make $35 extra with just 5 more ticket sales!

Example 2: Artist sold 24 Tickets.
Artist will make $50 extra with only 11 more ticket sales!

Example 3: Artist sold 40 Tickets.
Artist will make $100 extra with just 10 more tickets sales!

I hate to see any act fall short of the next big pay jump just because they weren’t aware of it. So make sure you and all members know how pay works. Because I want to help maximize your payout for your next Afton show!

A Personal Note

I was the vocalist of a fairly popular local band many years ago and we regularly brought in anywhere from 150-500 people per show. One of our turnouts brought about 400 people, with a $10 ticket price, I believe. At the end of the night, after we paid for the venue and the staff (sound tech, door person, lights, merch staff, bar staff), the marketing materials, the ad we put out in the local press, the three other bands on the bill and tipping everyone…we pulled in about $300 for our band

If that were an Afton show, we would have only needed to bring 75-99 fans to make that money, and if we had the same draw, our band would have made WAY more money than we made with the Afton pay scale! We also would have not had to worry about all of the hassle of finding the other bands, making sure they had their promotional material taken care of, making sure they had tickets to sell, doing all the press and promotion and paying and scheduling everything ourselves)

Can you DIY? Absolutely

In addition to my own experiences, I talk to a ton of musicians every day here at Afton. Most of my friends are musicians. I’ve asked for their thoughts on this kind of pay out, and they all agree, this pay scale is not only fair, but on the high side! Especially for a show they don’t have to book and pay for themselves.

Now, all this being said, if you can make more money elsewhere, then you absolutely should! Afton is always about choice. We are just an option for you to book shows with, we never claim to be the only route to go. But for any artist that thinks that Afton isn’t reasonably paying you, then you might want to check your numbers and ticket sales again. And honestly ask yourself this: Could I have made MORE money selling the same number of tickets I sold for an Afton show? I doubt it. But if I’m wrong, I’d love to hear about that deal in the comments below!

More Information

For more information on artist pay check out this link:
https://myafton.com/artistpay/

And remember, this pay out is on TOP of the extra Perks you earn along the way to help you get more tickets sold: https://myafton.com/perks/

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