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It is very hard to be in the local music industry, my gal who runs Rock Along Productions wades into this business with razer thin profit margins and high risk booking bands and fronting venue fee”s not because she is looking to get rich, but because she truly loves promoting local musicians and bands.
There is a ton of competition and there are also many people who just done experiment and listen to local music, all they know is what they hear on the radio and they don’t want to broaden their horizons.
Then there is the door fee, people don’t mind spending $9 to see an hour and a half movie at a theater, but will balk at spending $7 for four hours of live musical entertainment. This is a shame really, because many of these bands play original music and walk away with less than fifty bucks for a gig.
They all do this in the hopes of reaching more people and collecting more fans, which slowly but steadily happens unless the band is really lucky. Talent has less to do with success in this industry and luck reigns supreme.
So good luck to all musicians playing the local bars and clubs and the promoters who try and put together local shows.
-Justin Germino