“Hello, 911? There’s A House Concert In Progress!”
by Brian Vander Ark
House concerts are trending. There’s no way to deny it. I can tell, because music venues are starting to feel the competition, and are now pushing back.
I read an article in the Kansas City Star about it. Club owners are complaining that house concerts are taking away their business. “We got incredible hostility from club owners and regular promoters,” said Louis Meyers, executive director of the Folk Alliance International, which is in the process of moving its headquarters from Memphis to Kansas City. “They say, ‘I’m losing acts to house concerts. They don’t have (licensing) fees, they don’t have insurance, they don’t have a liquor license, they don’t pay advertising fees, they don’t have thousands of dollars in bills that every venue deals with to (present) the exact same artists.’
I recently experienced this “hostility” while performing at a house concert when the police were called by a local listening room owner. When confronted, he admitted to making the call but not because of the house concert. He was concerned that alcohol was being served without a liquor license. (This same owner has also complained of having to compete with a local church offering free acoustic performances during the services on Sunday morning.) When the police arrived and saw that it was merely a house concert hosted by a very sweet, music loving couple, they warned the hosts to put away the donation bowl, and the concert resumed.
So, this is where it’s going. Many club owners are pissed off, and for pretty good reason. There was a time when clubs and coffee houses could get away without paying for acts to come through. There was a time when they didn’t have to spend any time or money on advertising upcoming shows. Instead, they would leave it up to the musicians to use their social network to promote themselves. They would force bands that wanted to play on their stages to buy tickets from the club itself, and resell them to their fans. Didn’t sell enough tickets? Sorry, your show is canceled.
Many club and listening room owners have gotten lazy. They don’t want to have to work to promote. They don’t want competition. In fact, the aforementioned club will not allow musicians to play house concerts within their vicinity, if they are booked to play in their room within a certain amount of time. A hard working musician that comes through town and tries to make a few extra bucks by playing a fan’s home will be shut out of playing a public show at the club. That’s not ‘artist supportive’. It’s narrow-minded. A real fan comes to your public shows, as well as hosting (or attending) a house concert. My fan base has grown exponentially since I started playing house concerts 6 years ago. The one-time host that comes to a public listening room show has the bragging rights to say, “This artist just played in my home!”
Inevitably, music venues will come and go. Music fans grow older, and want nothing to do with going to a venue where it may be smokey, or dirty, with rude patrons there for the social scene and not for the music. House concerts are the new haven for artists. Out of over 400 I’ve played, I have not yet had a bad experience. I can’t say the same about my experience with clubs.
Musicians, friends: It’s your turn. “Pay to Play” venues will go along the wayside. Soon, you will no longer need to purchase 100 tickets from a club to resell them to your fans, in order to fill a room. Pretty soon, you will be able to perpetuate a life in music by spending your time on your music, instead of spending hours posting on music based sites, begging for people to come to your shows. House concerts may not be the answer, but clearly they are a good start.
Music fans who are looking to host a concert: List your concert as BYOB on the invitation. Look into your local laws to cover yourself.
Meanwhile, I’m sticking to my general rule: Leave the assholes behind.
Onward and upward.
Brian Vander Ark considers himself a one-hit wonder. He also attributes his lack of follow-up success to the fact he’s never been arrested. You can help by purchasing some of his music, or by reporting him to the authorities.
Well written. Keep playing. Your fans are listening.
Awesome and inspiring article! I’ve been listening you since 1994 and dig your stuff!
I agree, great post Brian.
“A real fan comes to your public shows, as well as hosting (or attending) a house concert.”-TRUTH!!! Some people don’t give fans enough credit and these club owners don’t make it easy to book no matter how much you can prove what kind of promotional support you’ll be providing.
The whole “I pay for a liquor license, insurance, yada yada” argument is bull. There is one HUGE difference here. As a house concert host, I am not making any money on these shows. On the contrary, I lose money every time I host one! If I was doing it for profit, as a business, I would expect to have those kinds of expenses. I am simply trying to support musicians.
I do think that club owners should be threatened…I work my butt off promoting these shows and making sure that it is an excellent experience for our friends and family that come, as well as for the musicians playing for us. I think we’re doing a better job than a lot of the clubs out there! The fact that this was a listening room owner that tried to shut this down, when we’re supposedly working towards the same goal, really pisses me off!
Totally! Great article! Thanks!
A friend of mine read my blog at http://charlestongrit.com/unpacked-house-music-farm and told me that yours was where mine was headed. Thanks. Keep up these articles. Bands need to hear this over and over. I also have to share a story with you. I was at SXSW a long time ago, when Beck was performing on the first wave of his emergence. The room was packed beyond belief. It got too crowded for me. So my friend and I took off out the back and walked into another bar where there was nobody in attendance. That was a huge contrast to Emo’s or wherever we were while Beck played. But the band was sounding great, had terrific energy, and their songs were interesting and catchy. We were amazed the A&R reps were watching Beck, who was already the known Buzz and missing this band, which was of course the Verve Pipe. While we were from Cleveland and talked briefly after your set about swapping gigs, clearly your star was quickly rising out of our reach. You had it together back then and you have it together now. Thanks for not stopping.
Oh boy, hand me my soap-box. I have been complaining about venues and their lack of caring for the music scene and artists for many years. I can’t speak the word “promoter” without putting finger quotes around it. These “promoters” don’t promote, they make artists jump through hoops to get a gig then don’t do anything to help sell tickets. It’s really really bad business happening out there across the country in MANY clubs. Good ones that care about quality nights for fans and musicians are out there, but rare. I can’t understand why some of these venue managers and”promoters” are even in the business. They seem to hate it! And yes Brian you are right… lazy!
House concerts are extremely beneficial to an artists cash flow and growth! The music lovers that arrange them are angels! Thank you!
As a (past) manager and marketing/ promotions and PR person, I have easily worked to promote 400-500 shows a year all artists on the roster combined. I was so burnt out from spinning my wheels trying to get in touch with venues across the country to get them to collaborate. I created innovative and fun ways for venues to work with us to help promote the shows and sell tickets and they wouldn’t even bother. I was doing back flips to promote a show and they would not even return my emails. There is a reason why local “promoters” exist… because they know how to market to their local scene. I’m in Boston, how do I know the best places to hang up posters in Cleveland? That’s what I need a promoter for, but that’s not what happens. And frankly, it’s always the fans that are the biggest help! Treat your fans like gold! They have your back better than anyone!
Oy vey, I could go on forever about this, but I won’t.
House concerts are so humane and a really enjoyable experience for both fans and musicians. If those bullying venues put that energy into promoting their shows, they wouldn’t feel threatened because they’d be selling tickets.
Brian, keep doing what you’re doing artistically and professionally, it’s all great. Your insights are important to hear.
You rock!
Great article. I’ve fallen in love with house concerts and have played some at relatives houses and my parents house. Looking to find more to play at fans’ homes soon…
Daft Punk is playing at my house! My house!!