Why is it so hard to get fans to come to your shows?

ubw newbie Joined: Dec 10, 2007 Posts: 36

“Booking gigs is easy.It’s getting a person to come that’s hard. So here’s how it works:

You look around at coffee shops and little bars that no one goes to and the owners are thrilled to have you come and play. But they can’t afford to pay you. You go and tell everyone you know to come and bring friends. The first gig you play you get 50 people to come. Then you’re thinking “This is so sweet! I love playing for a packed little house! And I made three hundred bucks selling CDs!” So you book again.You get pumped for another show and another $300.

This time 20 people come. It’s a little disappointing because you don’t have the feel of a packed house, but you put on a good show and have fun playing your tunes–knowing that the crowd loves you because these 20 people bought your CD at the last show. So you don’t sell anymore CDs but they love you give tips so you end up with $26 and you had fun.

You book again but his time you advertise, put up posters in music stores, churches, colleges, and you’ve only spent $15 on the posters. Now you’re ready to make another $300 on CDs.You show up at your gig and the place is quiet. You talk with the owner of the place for a half hour and decide to start playing just to practice hoping that carfuls our people will show up late to your 2-hour show. You know college students are never on time anyway.

After you’ve played through a couple songs 2 cars enter in the parking lot and in walk one groupie from the first two shows and your parents”.
(http://www.myspace.com/ryedwardsmusic)

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Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:53 pm

Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:49 am

Hmm... maybe instead of making fans, perhaps the hype just made them go. Sometimes it's not the promotion, but people's reactions to the promotion and the artist. If your music sells too fast, watch out. Early to rise, early to fall.

ubw newbie Joined: Nov 08, 2007 Location: US Posts: 11

Maybe you could keep the momentum going by having people sign-up on a fan list. This way, when you have new shows, you can keep all 300 people who came to your first show posted on your whereabouts. You gotta keep people engaged. It's just like retail - why do you keep going to Nike or Gap or whatever every time you need new digs? It's because you have a brand affinity with them and they companies keep you engaged through contant advertising in magazines, tv, billboards, etc. For a band that's starting out, the most cost effective way is through the internet (myspace, friendster, etc.)

ubw newbie Joined: Jul 01, 2008 Posts: 4

One thing to consider is how often your shows are and how often you blast your list and try to get everybody to go. If you do it multiple times a week, people will start getting numb to it and ignoring it like spam, but if you pick a select few shows that you think are more important than others, you may have a better chance of getting more people out. Just my 2 cents.

Why is it so hard to get fans to come to your shows?

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