A fee for being at a concert in SL?

That is not my point.. the suggestion I made would make as much money for the singer and the venue as the way MK is proposing.. Musicians make money now.. if the previous poster is correct MK charges 20 - 25K per gig.. I'm sure that is more money than most make in SL..

However.. I will repeat again.. that to charge 500L makes it elitist. SL is not RL and one of the joys of SL is that people that in RL that cannot get to gigs (be it financial or physical reasons) can in SL. Please stop saying 500L is nothing.. In SL 500L is a lot of money to many. Heck when I was a noob it took me forever to save up 200L to get my first outfit.

"OK here is an alternative suggestion that would not force people to have to pay..

what they could do.. was the performer charge the venue say a reasonable 5K instead of the usual 20K, then give 50% of tips to venue.. MK claimed average tip is 500.. so - 30 there, tips = 15K.. he gets the 5K + 7.5K ( plenty.. more than fair for 1 - 1.5 hours) and venue makes 2.5K profit for every hour they have a singer there.. People would still be free to tip the venue on top of their tip to performer.."

Tell me why that wouldn't work?? If you work out the 500L cover charge at 30 avs.. equals 15000 - 20% to land owners/hosts whatever = 3000, leaving 12000 for singer..

This way, the people that can't afford to pay 500 could still get to see the shows..

Barbarella, there's nothing wrong with your suggestion; I'd be surprised if there weren't SL musicians who play using models like that . I've worked any number of ways, playing in RL: tips only, tips with a guaranteed minimum, fee plus tips, door proceeds, portion of door proceeds, door proceeds (possibly split) with guaranteed minimum, fee plus door proceeds (possibly split). Plus plenty of variations on those (including, getting stiffed by the venue). Most of the time, I play for free because music is my hobby, not my living.

Of course, MK has the right to use any model he likes, and the rest of us are free to participate or not. An advantage of MK's suggestion is that the sim doesn't get lagged by folks who attend but never tip.

It's not "elitist" to charge a fee that some can't afford, it's simply business. According to American Heritage, elitism is "The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources."

While MK has every right to charge, I'm more likely to attend a venue using Barbarella's model. But I'm not going to insult him for his choice of business model.

Hello

As a live concert musician in SL, I too have considered in the past several models with much thought, including a fee for tickets. However, I concluded a long time ago to do somewhat of a mix of strategies. The two primary strategies I've implemented inlude:

1. Doing many free concerts for voluntary tips so that all can enjoy, even those who are new and do not want to spend lindens just to hear my music.

2. Charging venues, but charging a "reasonable" amount - much lower than most, even though I'm established and have a following now.

The one time I did charge a fee for tickets, it was only a token 100L, hardly exclusionary for most people.

Employing several strategies helps the venues control costs and also allows anyone to attend.

My TRAX listening booth is here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Trax/186/175/27 for anyone who is curious.

Musicians do deserve to get paid for their hard work and equipment. I don't use commercial background tracks (which aren't available for most of the songs I sing anyway or they're inferior) but rather arrange, perform and record all of my own studio tracks which takes a lot of arranging skill and hours of hard work performing and recording the tracks.. Still, I find that combining my strategies is best for all concerned even though it may mean less income for me. The tradeoff is worth it - at least for now.

The musician that is the topic of this thread, and any other live performer, has the right to employ whatever strategy they feel works for their situation without being ostracized.

All the best and may live music long live in SL!!

Ian

I am very involved in the music of SL as a patron and have hosted a show r two. Its what I do go to concert several a night. I pay 500L standard tip to the musician and I also pay the venue close to that. I think if you can pay them you should and not a 20L tip. What they provide to SL is truley amazing and a great one you would have tp pay much more then that if you were not in SL. For the effort they put out for us its the least we could do.

Now will it work, another story. Do I think its good, possibly, But there needs to be something we can do to help musicians.

I am talking from my opinion of course and I go to at least 15 min shows a week.

I would not want them to dwindle away from SL ...lets do what we can to keep them in here.
They have many things they need to cover to have a show...dont forget there own stream alone.

So thank your venue and musician when you can.

I'm very pleased to still be seeing many valid reactions and insights here. I put the Open Letter out to SL for just this purpose.

I really appreciate all the feedback both in the forums and in the many notecards I've been receiving.

Thanks much.

M

i can truthfully say since SL created this option, i have yet to see anyone bold enough to try it, but then i don't get out alot. However...if one, just one person can pull it off successfully, the doors will begin to open.

I do think $500 is steep, start out with $50-$100..and set out tip jars as well for your performers and hosts.

This could be a very viable option, i mean if an avatar can find $1400 for a skin, surely entertainment in SL should have some value. As tier continues to rise, and there is no doubt in my mind it always will, there has to be ways to cover it, or the entire reason your in SL will be gone, and that is to be entertained.

Clubs are fun, but can be such a money pit, that is why so many don't last, unless they have some laggy mall surrounding them.

Hopefully someone will have the kahunas to actually try it, and for more than one or two events, but stick to their guns and blaze this trail for all others.

For what it's worth, Flaming Moe and I performed a ticketed concert way back in February, 2005, on Clyde, billed as the "Alone Together" concert. We sold tickets beforehand, and put those folks on the access list for the parcel. Tickets cost 250 L. We did it as a fundraiser to raise some cash to help out new live musicians with startup costs, like paying for stream rental. It worked out well, and raised some early awareness of live music with a few Lindens, including Philip.

Astrin, it is good to hear from an olbie Live Performer on this subject. Because you know what these venue owners do to keep it going. It HAS to be a two-way street. Musicians can take an active role in making sure the venues they use are at least breaking even at the end of their performances.

I believe that is the best way to spread live music across the entire grid.

I'm so pleased at the turnout for the first cover charge show and the many continued reactions from the residents. It was a beta test to test the Cover Charge System (CCS) to make sure it functioned properly. But there's no denying it is in fact a viable new business model. I plan on implementing it full scale in the near future once further testing is complete.

Many comments were given on the CCS. During the show, I took some time to speak about the CCS, its features, the reasons behind it, etc. and opened the floor to questions. Most of the roughly 80 people in attendance easily grasped the ideas and reasons behind them and offered some helpful suggestions.

It was great to have the support of many well known artists and venue owners. Yes it was a "bold" move as Cinda stated above but more than that, it is necessary. I believe it will definitely help the venues AND artists. I've heard of some "trying" it before, but to implement it completely is gonna take a bit more work and time. In the meantime, those of you who support my efforts, I thank you and hope you continue to do so by attending my shows.

The main issue with the CCS is ensuring the scripting doesn't create too much lag. Also, there needs to be a quick rezzing kiosk to accept payments. For the test, I used a one prim object with a texture applied. This seemed to work well. Ultimately, I would like to have a standard and easily recognizable kiosk of sorts which other artists/venues can use easily without having to rebrand it.

I understand it will take some time before it becomes widely acceptable. I also understand the reasons why some don't like the idea, although I disagree with most. But, I have not heard any strong enough to eliminate it completely. Change is sometimes difficult as are growing pains. SL is going through it now as is the Real World. Please keep an open mind, that's all I'm asking.

I will continue to test the CCS, taking cues from the suggestions of the residents. Please keep the opinions and suggestions coming. Please feel free to contact me inworld but please send a NOTE CARD, not IM as I likely will not get it due to SL limitations.

Thanks.