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Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
I just heard about this from a player whose band is to perform at the Indianapolis (Indiana, USA) Irish fest. The bands are contracted to play and are paid (when we played there we were paid well, in fact) and some lodging is provided for the performers.
Apparently the festival is requiring a $100 fee for the band to sell their cds at the festival. I don't know if this fee gets them any special advertising or product placement, but if it's just a gate fee and doesn't add any services it seems unnecessary and ... just ... wrong.
Do you folks know of any other festivals that do this? I've never heard of it before, at any of the Irish fests in the midwestern USA anyway.
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
I've never heard of a flat fee, but it's very common for a festival to take either a percentage of the performers' gross (usually between 5 and 15 percent) in exchange for the festival staffing the CD sales table for the performers.
A flat fee structure is heavily biased toward major headline acts who can expect to sell large quantities. It seems that this festival is attempting to protect those headliners from competition from lesser-known performers for the audience's spare cash.
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
I don't know much about what happens over there but it doesn't seem right.
When performers from US come to our folk club, they ask us if we "take a cut" for selling their CDs and I believed this to be the standard practice over there.
We actually don't charge at all although they're welcome to donate a freebie for the raffle. However, if there is to be any charge a percentage of the takings seems to be a fairer system.
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
Hey Steve,
Seems rather greedy of the folks organizing the festival and as Gary mentioned rather slanted towards the bigger name acts if you ask me. I thought CD sales tables, those that are set up to sell the performer’s CD’s anyway, were staffed by volunteers.
Was this spelled out in the contract? If so the performers knew of it before entering into the contract and accepting payment. If not and the organizers are adamant about collecting the fee it would seem to me, and I am not a lawyer, the performers have the choice of not performing and returning the monies paid to them less any reasonable expenses directly associated with their attempting to fulfill their contractual obligations or performing and either paying the fee or not selling any CD’s.
Not that I would expect to be one of the performers but I can tell you that if this had just been sprung upon me I would simply not perform. If there is one thing I am adamant about it is that a deal is a deal and is not changeable at the whim of one party to the contract with out the other’s consent period.
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle forbids musicians from selling their CD from their performing stage. The musicians, who are not paid, have to pay 15% of their CD sales to the festival in addition to state and local taxes and buy a city sales permit. If they sell CDs through the festival store they just pay sales taxes and the15% fee.
So this last May I sold 38 CDs, but got a check for only $114 when I was due $504. Seems the festival made a major goof and underpaid most and overpaid others. It was straightened out after another week, but I'm sure they lost a lot of money in the process.
When musicians perform for free, but then have to pay money to sell their CDs under very restrictive circumstances, it creates a lot of ill will.
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
I know here in Canada the festivals are required to pay the taxes on transactions done on the premisis, so to speak. So to avoid any confusion the fetival sells the product and takes %15. Likewise folk clubs and concert venues. Now, personally I think it sucks but if you consider that musicians visiting Canada don't have to get visas (unlike the US where they charge you an arm and a leg to get in with absolutely no guarantee of actually getting in) it's actually a pretty sweet deal.
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
Well, it's time for stv to eat a little crow here, and apologize all around for some poor behavior on my part. I've found out that the pal who mentioned it to me didn't really tell me (or have) the whole story.
Another friend from here on the Sess. has beat me to it and has gotten a reply from Mary at the Indy fest and passed it on to me.
I am sorry that I accepted the first story and was willing to believe that the Indy folks were in the wrong, and I apologize for passing it on before I got the real word back. Mea culpa.
Here's the real story:
"Hi,
CD's can be sold at the stage by band volunteers or others while bands are on stage with no fee involved. This is an opportunity for bands to have their CD's available all during the event at a festival tent.
Bands have indicated in the past that they would like to have their CDs available for more than just the period of time that they are on stage. The fee is in lieu of a percentage of
sales as most other festivals do. It was thought to be easier than tracking sales by band. There was no intention on our part to gather moneys from bands in order to "allow" sales of their CDs at the event.
Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
I just heard about this from a player whose band is to perform at the Indianapolis (Indiana, USA) Irish fest. The bands are contracted to play and are paid (when we played there we were paid well, in fact) and some lodging is provided for the performers.
Apparently the festival is requiring a $100 fee for the band to sell their cds at the festival. I don't know if this fee gets them any special advertising or product placement, but if it's just a gate fee and doesn't add any services it seems unnecessary and ... just ... wrong.
Do you folks know of any other festivals that do this? I've never heard of it before, at any of the Irish fests in the midwestern USA anyway.
stv
# Posted on July 17th 2006 by stv culchie
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
I've never heard of a flat fee, but it's very common for a festival to take either a percentage of the performers' gross (usually between 5 and 15 percent) in exchange for the festival staffing the CD sales table for the performers.
A flat fee structure is heavily biased toward major headline acts who can expect to sell large quantities. It seems that this festival is attempting to protect those headliners from competition from lesser-known performers for the audience's spare cash.
# Posted on July 17th 2006 by GaryAMartin
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
I don't know much about what happens over there but it doesn't seem right.
When performers from US come to our folk club, they ask us if we "take a cut" for selling their CDs and I believed this to be the standard practice over there.
We actually don't charge at all although they're welcome to donate a freebie for the raffle. However, if there is to be any charge a percentage of the takings seems to be a fairer system.
# Posted on July 17th 2006 by John J.
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
Hey Steve,
Seems rather greedy of the folks organizing the festival and as Gary mentioned rather slanted towards the bigger name acts if you ask me. I thought CD sales tables, those that are set up to sell the performer’s CD’s anyway, were staffed by volunteers.
Was this spelled out in the contract? If so the performers knew of it before entering into the contract and accepting payment. If not and the organizers are adamant about collecting the fee it would seem to me, and I am not a lawyer, the performers have the choice of not performing and returning the monies paid to them less any reasonable expenses directly associated with their attempting to fulfill their contractual obligations or performing and either paying the fee or not selling any CD’s.
Not that I would expect to be one of the performers but I can tell you that if this had just been sprung upon me I would simply not perform. If there is one thing I am adamant about it is that a deal is a deal and is not changeable at the whim of one party to the contract with out the other’s consent period.
I hope you can get this sorted out.
Peace,
Ed
# Posted on July 17th 2006 by ejsant
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
Funking Barstewards how dare they
# Posted on July 17th 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle forbids musicians from selling their CD from their performing stage. The musicians, who are not paid, have to pay 15% of their CD sales to the festival in addition to state and local taxes and buy a city sales permit. If they sell CDs through the festival store they just pay sales taxes and the15% fee.
So this last May I sold 38 CDs, but got a check for only $114 when I was due $504. Seems the festival made a major goof and underpaid most and overpaid others. It was straightened out after another week, but I'm sure they lost a lot of money in the process.
When musicians perform for free, but then have to pay money to sell their CDs under very restrictive circumstances, it creates a lot of ill will.
# Posted on July 17th 2006 by Stewart
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
I know here in Canada the festivals are required to pay the taxes on transactions done on the premisis, so to speak. So to avoid any confusion the fetival sells the product and takes %15. Likewise folk clubs and concert venues. Now, personally I think it sucks but if you consider that musicians visiting Canada don't have to get visas (unlike the US where they charge you an arm and a leg to get in with absolutely no guarantee of actually getting in) it's actually a pretty sweet deal.
# Posted on July 17th 2006 by Patkiwi
Re: Indianapolis fest to charge performers $100 to sell their CDs
Well, it's time for stv to eat a little crow here, and apologize all around for some poor behavior on my part. I've found out that the pal who mentioned it to me didn't really tell me (or have) the whole story.
Another friend from here on the Sess. has beat me to it and has gotten a reply from Mary at the Indy fest and passed it on to me.
I am sorry that I accepted the first story and was willing to believe that the Indy folks were in the wrong, and I apologize for passing it on before I got the real word back. Mea culpa.
Here's the real story:
"Hi,
CD's can be sold at the stage by band volunteers or others while bands are on stage with no fee involved. This is an opportunity for bands to have their CD's available all during the event at a festival tent.
Bands have indicated in the past that they would like to have their CDs available for more than just the period of time that they are on stage. The fee is in lieu of a percentage of
sales as most other festivals do. It was thought to be easier than tracking sales by band. There was no intention on our part to gather moneys from bands in order to "allow" sales of their CDs at the event.
Mary"
Please ignore me from now on...
stv
# Posted on July 18th 2006 by stv culchie