tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4363783918310948399.post8972002985235939602..comments2023-04-22T13:46:02.469-05:00Comments on kcjazzlark: The Business Modelkcjazzlarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658066303545306165noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4363783918310948399.post-25568152294967231582011-07-24T22:48:28.362-05:002011-07-24T22:48:28.362-05:00Good comment, Anon. As much as I may berate The Ph...Good comment, Anon. As much as I may berate The Phoenix for morphing into more of a blues bar than a jazz club, I'm told they've done that because blues fans spend more money.kcjazzlarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02658066303545306165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4363783918310948399.post-91398729318105628252011-07-24T09:31:00.157-05:002011-07-24T09:31:00.157-05:00I tried for years to figure this out. This is what...I tried for years to figure this out. This is what I came up with:<br /><br />How do non-jazz bars/clubs make money?<br /><br />Bands are not paid a premium just to show up. The musicians are generally paid a base pay and/or they get a portion of the door. Here's the huge difference: their promotional effort determines their pay.<br /><br />I could not understand why band Jazz band A that brings 8 people gets the same pay that Jazz band B who brings in 80 people.<br /><br />The liquor/food should pay the bills and create the profit. The band is there to boost the sales. With Jazz clubs you run into a unique problem. I'll attempt to illustrate.<br /><br />Jazz customers<br /><br />A. The golden oldie- 2 ice teas (they are on medication and can’t drink), splits and appetizer, sits at the table for 4 hours<br />B. The groupie- 1 drink .50 tip sits at the bar for 4 hours (jazz groupies are reallllll creepy)<br />C. The grumbler- Soda water, sits at the bar for 4 hours and bitches about the $3 cover charge<br />D. The let down- 2 bottles of wine, appetizer, dinner dessert and some kind of coupon/discount that cuts their bill in half<br />E. The student- a coke with 20 free refills no tip, sits at the table all night then wants to hang out with the musicians after<br />F. The musicians- lots of drinks, basically giving back the money you pay them<br />G. The regulars- 4+ drinks great tips<br />H. The money- Young, lots of drinks, shots, big tips. They are loud, the band and patrons get pissed and you have to ask them to quite down and they of course leave. And then your stuck with the pissed off grumbler and golden oldie. It’s always real awesome when the band yells at the loud people from the stage. That paying customer is never coming back, but hey you still got the grumbler.<br /><br />A lot of nights, that’s it, that’s your customers for the entire evening. So that’s somewhere around 25 people. You’ve got $75 in cover and $500 in sales. Your band expects a number in the 3 figures, your bartender gets $50 your busser gets $50 your cook gets $75 your servers get $30. Your cost on the food and drinks you did sell may get covered by that last bit of money but that doesn’t even touch the rent, utilities, taxes blah blah blah. If the big nights make up for 4 days a week of this crap you can stay open.<br /><br />So when musicians say “ The room was full, why are they saying they didn’t make any money.” This is it, this is why.<br /><br />A musician's reputation and ability mean nothing to a business if people won't come to see them.<br />Pay the band $50 for their gas money and give them 2 drink tickets each. Give them some input on what they want to charge at the door. Let them keep the door money after paying for a door person.<br /><br />End Rant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com