"... So How Many People Are You Bringing?"

Have you, as a musician, heard that phrase? If not, it's a matter of time, and you'll hear it whether you're a solo act, a cover band, an originals duo or a 12-piece big band. I would know, I've been asked that in every single one of those variations. From the US, to Spain, Dubai, and now Vietnam.

This question sounds innocent at face value, but it can completely derail your show and working partnership with a venue, because it shifts your role from "musician" to "event manager and musician", the latter of which entails substantially more work and should command an additional fee... But most beginners only realize after they've put in the immense amount of work it takes to drum up an audience and get paid less than what they would have originally.

That being said, there are valid reasons as to why a venue owner will ask this, and today we'll explore where it makes sense to be expected to bring a crowd, and where you, as a musician, need to put your foot down, and more importantly, how to do it tactfully.

"When you define what success looks like in a performance with the venue, you buy the insurance that they will not be able to move the goal-post when things don't go the way they imagined and failed to communicate."

It Matters More Than You Think

The difference between when it's acceptable for a venue owner to ask, and when it isn't comes down to the type of show you're bringing to the venue:

• Scenario 1: Acceptable | You're bringing an original project, that will find it much harder to entertain audiences that were going to the venue regardless of whether or not you were there (walk-ins) OR it's a ticketed venue that doesn't have any walk-ins. It's not impossible, I know great musicians who can do it, but typically, audiences will not be as entertained if an artist they don't know plays music they've never heard before. Therefore, asking about a built-in audience is fair, because they can't guarantee that walk-ins will stay for long. Not to mention that ticketed venues that showcase original projects will typically allow festivals as well, so multiple bands can play and have multiple audiences on-site. Your measure of success in this scenario is how many people you were able to bring to a show, both from a business and branding perspective.
• Scenario 2: Unacceptable | You've been hired as a cover musician, duo or band to entertain audiences that were going to the venue regardless of whether or not you were there. In this scenario, you're playing covers, playing for the crowd, entertaining them in the traditional sense. Here, your mission and your job is to keep people happy, seated and spending money. The reason it's unacceptable to ask for an in-built audiences in this scenario is that cover performances are happening all over any city at any given time. There is no scarcity of people playing Wonderwall or Take Me Home Country Roads. Your measure of success in this scenario isn't how many people you can bring, but more how many people you can keep in the venue for as long as possible.
• Scenario 3: 50/50 | You've been invited to perform with your tribute project. For those who might not be familiar, the difference between a cover band and a tribute band is that a cover band plays songs from multiple artists, eras, genres, anything they think will entertain an audience, whereas a tribute band plays the music catalogue of one or max two artists or bands, typically focusing on the vibes of the band more so than pure entertainment. An easier way to understand it is that a cover band is meant to appeal to as many people as possible, and a tribute band is meant to appeal to hardcore fans of the band they are "paying tribute" to. Got it? Moving on. Tribute bands typically have a built-in, hardcore audience that will watch them wherever they go, but also have the potential to entertain walk-in audiences, therefore the objective is less clear here, that's why you need to communicate clearly with the venue to make sure you're on the same page. Your measure of success in this scenario is a mix between how many people you were able to bring, and how many people stayed to watch the whole show and kept drinking

Cover musicians are providing a service. Original and Tribute musicians are providing an experience.

Friends Vs Fans

Differentiating these two groups is essential to marking down what success looks like to both you and the venue, because when the time comes to count drink tickets, Fans have very different behaviours to Friends & Family, and only one of them is beneficial for the venue, and ultimately, you, the musician.

Fans are people who might not necessarily exist in your personal life, they heard your music in another gig or on the radio and thought that you sounded great. They can become involved in your personal life, but the way you met is through music, and crucially, your music. They like your aura and persona, and when they attend one of your shows, the whole night, including the venue, is the experience of engaging with you. They take in the venue, the energy, the people around, the expensive drinks... and create memories based on the whole night. To fans, a great night is a night with friends, a killer live band, having one too many drinks and partying hard after.

Friends & Family, on the other hand, experience shows very differently. To them, a great night is seeing their friend, brother, mom or cousin play. The venue is just the backdrop. They typically spend less money, which is the opposite of what the venue wants, because they're not there for the venue or even the experience, they're there for you, and you'll be playing whether they spend money or not, so why spend money? To Friends & Family, a great night is a night where you had a great time, and they got to experience and record that. The venue is the backdrop, not part of the experience.

Venues are asking cover musicians to bring their friends and family so they can buy literally one drink - and sometimes even going halfsies on one! - for the entire night and take up the entire front-row table. Make it make sense.

Fans only happen when you have an original project, that can be 100% new music or a concept band that has a fun event idea. But if you're a cover musician or band, you're not going to get a troop of people to follow you around town. The reason is what we've spoken about before: There is no scarcity, no exclusivity, in fact, most working cover musicians play multiple times a week! Their shows aren't an event to get out of the house for, they're a weekly nice to have.

Entertainer-type cover music is a product. Venues can either afford it, or they cannot. It's not on the musician in this specific case to bring an audience, but to the venue itself.

How To Reset Expectations, Especially For Cover Musicians

It's clear that if we've gotten the question in a cover project then there are mismatched expectations already, and a failure in communication about what success looks like for you, as the musician. In corporate speak, it's time to discuss your key performance indicators (KPIs).

Having a conversation at the time of booking about what success looks like is such an overlooked thing, that I may have to write another article talking about questions you need to ask venues that book you, to activate your stress-free musician life.

If the booking was done a while ago, you may have to have the conversation again, and either remind them, or let them know first-time what your KPIs look like for other venues and partners.

I like focusing on KPIs because it reduces the "you said, she said" type interactions that can often take over these conversations. When you define what success looks like in a performance with the venue, you buy the insurance that they will not be able to move the goal-post when things don't go the way they imagined and failed to communicate.

It's as simple as:

"Hey, I'd like to talk about my upcoming performance. I want to understand what your idea of a successful gig is, and how I can best adapt to that."

But What If They Hold Firm On Their Demand?

Well, it's up to you whether you can fulfill your promise or not. But speaking from experience, it's much better to decline this type of work, than it is to accept and then fail to meet the metric.

And if all else fails, send them this article!

Have you heard that question before? How did you respond? Comment below!