The Granite Rock Magazine Needs Bands!

[littlered90]

The Granite Rock is a student magazine based in Aberdeen, we are holding a fundraiser on 29th May and need local bands and soloists to perform on the night. Comment or contact me privately for further info.

 

https://www.facebook.com/thegraniterockmagazine

[Flights]

Where about's you holding the fundraiser?

[littlered90]

Tunnels.

[Gypsum_Fantastic]

You might get more of a response if you provide more info.

[littlered90]

We are holding a fundraiser in Tunnels on Wed 29th May to promote The Granite Rock magazine and need local bands to perform a three/four song set, all promotions and PR will be done in advance by myself and the magazine editor and tickets will be sold in Aberdeen college and on the door. If you are interested, could you please send me some links so I can hear some of your bands tracks?

 

Please note this is an unpaid gig.

[TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH]

I am glad that you are doing all promotions and PR before the gig.

[Flights]

3/4 songs seems like an awful short period of time for a band to play.

[davewarden]

Dont know if the sarcasm is needed but you might need to tell people a little more as selling tickets for an unpaid gig reeks of a rip-off..

[The Milner]

What will the bands gain from playing a free gig for this?

 

Not being arsey here, but your details are limited, a 3/4 song set is very short, its a lot of hassle setting up a band, sound checking the band and what have you for a 15 minute slot, for you to get bands to sell tickets for a 15 minute slot, get paid nothing, you must be offering something back that will be of benefit yes? 

[MarkDrummer]

Where's the incentive for bands to play it? The way it looks from here is that you're selling tickets for a gig and paying the bands nothing - appreciate it's a fundraiser but a 3-4 song set is really short - also, if you're only looking for that short a set, there must be a few bands you'll need to play it. 3-4 songs is approx 10-15 mins set.

[Flights]

You would probably be better getting 3 decent bands and letting them play for 35/45 minutes each. Better for the bands and more importantly the audience. Setting up can take a wee minty, especially if the band insist on using all their own equipment, and it's not an awful fun to watch. Doubt much folk would want to sit through more than 3 stage set ups. As for the whole unpaid gig thing, that's just crap. You should pay the bands something, doesn't even need to be that much really, just enough to cover a bus ticket and a couple of beers.

Since it's for a magazine the promise of some exposure in return for playing the gig would be a nice thing to offer as well.
 

As for the promotion and PR I hope you're not planning on creating a Facebook event and inviting all your friends. That doesn't work. Putting on a gig involves a lot of work and a fair bit of time. Nothing makes me madder than this new breed of Facebook promoters!

 

We might sound like a bunch of dicks but we're actually trying to help you. An Aberdeen based music magazine is something everyone here would probably support but unfortunately you aren't selling the fund raising night for it very well at all.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Flights

[littlered90]

Hi Guys,

 

Each band will be featured in the September issue of The Granite Rock. The Granite Rock is a student publication, the magazine provides students (like myself) with not only an entertaining read but somewhere to submit work that wouldn't normally be published and experience in publishing/journalism, without funding this is impossible. We will also have tables available in the venue for the sale of merchandise by the bands performing. So far we have had a great response.

[neepheid]

There's no way I'm playing for free when there's money being taken at the door that isn't being used to help eradicate cancer or some such like noble aspiration.  When the venue will get paid, the bar staff will get paid and the sound engineer will get paid, why is the musician's (crucial) contribution to the evening not valued at all?  For the love of all that's tangible and intangible, we're not mercenaries - we're just looking for some kind of a financial acknowledgement that we went up on stage and DID SOME WORK.  Yes, playing music is work, and the bit you see on stage is just the tip of the iceberg of purchasing/maintaining gear, rehearsal costs, travel costs, self-promotion and (most crucially) TIME.

 

So to summarise your pitch it boils down to this for me - you're asking me to do my hobby for free and absorb all the attendant costs so that you can get financed to indulge yours?

 

No thank you.

 

If I've got the wrong end of the wrong stick then I will gladly apologise in exchange for some enlightenment.

[The Milner]

Thats the way i read it. What your offering in return is a few words in a magazine, and the use of a table on the night, both of which could be achieved without the need of playing for nothing. The table, to be honest, is insulting, i can bring my own table and set it up anywhere in the building, it should not be used as an incentive.

 

Bands dont just turn up able to play a set of songs, there is a lot of money and effort goes into it, only for the bands to be told the more important thing is a new magazine making running costs, whilst the bar staff, and sound guy make their usual buck, how much money has the bar staff paid to be able to work there? Would you expect them to work for free for your night? 

 

Im glad you've had a great response, i wonder from what kinds of bands to be honest, but if you get enough onboard to go for this then fair play to you. I personally wouldnt want to be involved with the deal on offer, if others think differently then fair play to them. 

[girl anachronism]

Agree with most of the above. Out of interest, have you by any chance done your research to find out about similar projects in Aberdeen?

There's a couple that spring to mind- Hercules Moments and what was New Noise on Aberdeen Student Radio, for example. Both of these provide platforms and exposure for local music, invest a lot of time and effort putting on and promoting gigs, releasing samplers and allowing people to contribute written work or appear on their shows. I'm sure that they have/had overheads too, but from what I've heard, still paid the bands. At the end of the day, you're asking people to provide a service, it's only right that you pay them.

[Flights]

Almost as shite as the current trend of 'Wanna play a gig? Ill give you the tickets that you have to sell then take 75% of what you make from selling tickets because I'm the promoter.'

[HateEvent]

I think quite simply that you should be the one sacrificing the money for this as opposed to the bands. 

[MarkDrummer]

So back to my original point then - you're charging a fee for promoting your magazine and offering the bands nothing? Still doesn't add up. As someone above has said, there are many not-for-profit organisations in Aberdeen who still pay bands when charging a fee for what is essentially a service.

 

Appreciate that your magazine needs funding but this shouldn't come at the band's expense - have you looked into advertising within the magazine for example?

 

Setting up a table to sell merchandise isn't a big enough incentive either.