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Hiring a band for your bar or restaurant
can be compared with gambling at the casino – sometimes
you win and often you lose! However, unlike the slot machines
where you have little control over the results, a little
skill can go a long way towards making sure you have the
winning hand or should I say band?
There is no question whether
or not hiring live entertainment can bring in extra customers.
The big question is how do you want to recoup the investment?
You pretty much have three choices: Food, Alcohol, or Cover
Charges. Combine all three or pick just one. If you choose
to make your money only on alcohol, you need to make sure
you sell a LOT of it to cover the extra expense of a band.
If you have FOOD for sale in addition to the alcohol, and
it’s reasonably priced, you are well on your way
to making back the investment in a live band. The third
option, cover charges, can either attract a greater audience
or be a deterrent. In order to understand why some venues
choose to implement the “pay at the door” fee,
I asked a few owners and managers what kind of thoughts
went into their decision. |
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First, I asked Al Poliak,who has been quite successful
in filling his club, The Funky Biscuit, even with cover charges
ranging from $5 to $15 on Friday and Saturday Nights. Here is
his response:
Hmm, cover charge…always a tough topic
of discussion. Here’s what it basically comes down to.
If people are content with, and are satisfactorily entertained
by your every day run of the mill garage band playing the same
old worn out cover songs through a suspect sound system, then
there are certainly plenty of venues that do not charge a cover
and provide that type of entertainment. On the other hand, if
music lovers want to enjoy quality musicians, performing quality
music in an environment specifically created to enjoy music at
its highest level, then folks have to be willing to pay a little
extra…especially at a local / musician owned venue. Large
corporate owned venues sometimes offer great entertainment, and
they have the $$ to provide the entertainment often below what
it may cost a small locally owned venue like ourselves. However,
if you ask the musicians (both local & national acts) where
they would rather perform, who treats them better, and what is
a better overall musical experience for both them and their audience,
I believe you will find the overwhelming response will be a place
like ours. At the end of the day, we struggle financially here
at The Biscuit to continue to provide the type of entertainment
we constantly have here and that people have come to expect.
I can assure you, it’s more about our passion and far less
about the $$. That being said, we cannot do it without the support
of the local community. We seem to be getting that support, we
are certainly grateful for it, and we will continue work hard
to provide it!
Al is not alone in some of his views. Here
are a few thoughts Kilmo Doome, musician and owner of Native
Florida Tap Room & Music Hall shared with me:
I feel a cover charge is essential to remain
profitable if you want to maintain quality entertainment. For
some reason, South Florida audiences seem to remain resistant
to paying for a band. It defies logic. Why should you expect
to pay a favorite artist at a concert venue but not a smaller
charge at your neighborhood music spot. Don’t they think
an artist deserves to get paid? In reality, a GOOD band that
is creative and interesting as opposed to a mundane weekend warrior
cover band will eat up the lion’s share of your cash register
ring making it impossible to maintain high quality entertainment
and production without a cover charge. Casinos are a big part
of the problem. They can afford to pay local and national artists
out of huge gambling proceeds making it impossible for independent
local venues to compete. They are the Walmarts of entertainment
and are literally responsible for the decline of overall quality
and choice in local music venues, thus driving them out of business.
Local artists would serve their best interest if they were to
insist on venues charging a cover for their performance, maintaining
the value of their performance in the market. I’ve frequently
seen such venues give away performances for no cover for artists
that once got one. When they either change their booking policy
or close up after achieving their real financial goals they leave
an artist no longer able to get the money they could once demand
now that the public is used to seeing them for free and legitimate
venues not being able to afford them without charging a cover – consequently,
fewer gigs.
Did I mention the 4th source of revenue, gambling?
Unfortunately, not too many venues have that option!
Most venue’s that do charge a cover usually
reserve that option for the weekends. However, Boston’s
on the Beach recently begun charging a cover on Tuesday nights,
so I asked General Manager, Mark Deatley, to explain. Here is
what he said:
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We added a nominal cover
charge on Tuesdays to help offset the increase in costs
of producing the events. We have been bringing in higher
profile national and regional touring acts, so the door
charge goes to cover the additional expenses of those bands,
as well as their hotel rooms, since we no longer have our
motel.
The cover will normally be 5-8$,with a
couple of exceptions, such as 2012 BMA Soul Entertainer
of the Year BMA Curtis Salgado, and later in October, Trampled
Under Foot, we will be charging $10.00. These acts normally
command ticket prices of $25-$40 in other venue, so we
still believe there is tremendous value, and a unique opportunity
to see these acts in such an intimate setting |
Lastly, I wanted to give some balance to
this blog, so I asked Don O’Hina, Entertainment Director at
Venom Rock Bar why their most recent event poster says “Never
a cover”. I wanted to know if he had good or bad experiences
in the past with cover charges.
I personally do not like charging a cover for
Bands. There are so many choices when it comes to Live Music,
I think it’s better to get people in the door so they can
see what your Venue has to offer! I don’t ever like to
turn anyone away over a Cover!
As someone who visits more than one venue a night,
I have to agree with Don – why should I pay a cover to
see a band I have never heard of before? On the other hand, you
can side with the track record of a venue – some are better
than others at picking the kind of bands that suit your style,
even if you have never heard of them before. If they do their
research right, managers should know which bands are worth the
extra charge because if they get it wrong, the fans will not
return and they lose their gamble. As you can see, there are
two sides to every story and I hope that by shedding some light
on the question, everyone will win!
Weekend Concierge writes a monthly blog about
the trials and tribulations of searching for free live music
in and around Fort Lauderdale, FL. Past blogs and event calendars
can be found at www.weekendbroward.com
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The views, opinions, positions or
strategies expressed by the authors and those providing
comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect
the views, opinions, positions or strategies of Metro
Music Mayhem. We make no representations as to accuracy,
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