SoundsXP Message Boards - Indie, Indiepop, Nu-Folk and Alt-Country Forums

No names need to be mentioned but what's the most inept or evil bit of promotion you've suffered? (anyone mentioning a SoundsXP gig at Bar Monsta will be banned).. For me it's any of the gigs where it's clear the promoters have no interest in the music and have cobbled together a random collection of bands purely to get 4 different sets of fans through the door. The Water Rats last time I was there springs to mind...

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Has something against Spotify...

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Has something against Spotify...

From the "info for bands" space on the Crucial Music website (promoters at The Dry Bar and The Comedy):

Is having a Facebook and a myspace for the band a requirement ?- YES-absolutely -no facebook and myspace - no gig

Do we need to bring fans?- YES minimum amount of fans is 4 paying fans -YOU WILL NOT PLAY IF THIS BASIC REQUIREMENT IS NOT MET-PLEASE CANCEL IF YOU THINK YOUR FANBASE IS NOT SUFFICIENT

The cost of putting on gigs is substantial to say the least so avoid the obvious pitfalls of doing too many ggs .Also tell your friends and fans about the gig in advance via myspace ,facebook and phone text.The successful bands who we rebook all do their utmost to get their fans to their gigs and it works

ALSO YOU MUST LIST THE GIG ON YOUR MYSPACE-seriously if you do not list it we will cancel your gig with us .This is a minimum requirement

Is there a guest list? No-we use smallish venues and we do not make enough money to have this facility as the cost of putting on gigs and maintaining the equipment is very high

What is the door charge? £6 or £5 with a flyer from the GIGS 1 page

do we get paid? Yes if you bring at least 30 people then you get £1 per person rising to £2 per person if you bring more than 60 people.We keep a strict record on the door as to which band brings who etc

So plenty of reqiurements from the promoter and a whole £30 if you bring £180 pounds worth of paying customers through the door, but what do Crucial Music do in return? Fuck all !!!
When Paper Dolls played there last week, neither Time Out nor Guardian Guide received any information from Crucial (the so called promoters); the gig was only listed because friends of the band (who were over from Seattle, so hardly likely to know where to list London gigs themselves), work at both publications.

Plum should also be admonished for blowing out independent promotions at short notice at The Water Rats, in order to put their own bills on.

Hats off to Tim at The Windmill and Stacey at the Buffalo Bar the two most honest, not to mention competent people to put on live music in London.

Heh I played for those cunts at Dry Bar the other week... I brought no-one in and they were lucky to get that. Horrible stuff.

Plum Promotions promise to get back to all artists about gigs... two submissions to them through their website and I'm still waiting.

Seriously, can't we have a good promoters thread? In my early band days I used to have to pelt it out of work early, leg it across town for the load in time they told us to get there for (else we wouldn't get a soundcheck) and I'd turn up on time sometimes an HOUR before the promoters got there. Plaistow turned up at a gig once and the venue wasn't even open... terrible.