It's always advisable to hire a
band that is well-established and has a known track record. Many bands are "pick-up" bands meaning they are
not a band at all, but one person that hires outside "musicians" only for gigs that more than likely have
never even played together before!? Some bands use stolen promo & demos taken from other
bands, or have hired musicians from other bands for their promo to make themselves "appear" like
they are a legitimate band!? More often than not, the person that does the booking for this
kind of fake band isn't even a band member or sends someone else to the event and takes a large
percentage of the booking fee as an "agency percentage". This occurs usually unbeknownst
to the other band members & clients. Bonofide, legitimate
booking agencies typical only charge 10%-15% as
a finder's fee. The negative result of booking
entertainment in this fashion is a loose, bad
sounding, unprofessional performance. BOOGIE
FEVER receives complaints about bands like this
all the time.
BOOGIE FEVER has been
together for over ten years and throughout that time it's been the same five guys all along with only one
personnel change in that entire time. Even if a client doesn't book BOOGIE FEVER for their event, I would highly
advise them to insist that it be noted on any contracts or agreements that the band members
that show up to their event, are the SAME band members in any promotional video(s), CD's,
DVD's, websites or any other promo. This insures clients won't be unpleasantly surprised
on the day of their event by a bunch of strangers they've never seen or communicated with before.
Otherwise, a client may end up paying a premium price for an inexperienced band that they
will be extremely unhappy with.
THE COST OF LIVE ENTERTAINMENT:
We are occasionally asked
why it costs so much, in some cases, to hire a live band? After all, the band is only performing for a
few hours and they're taking breaks as well? One way to explain the cost is to think about getting a house built.
The person who is having the house built not only has to pay for the building materials, but
also for the labor in putting those materials together to form a house. This labor can often be
more than the actual cost of the materials.
With live music it's no
different. When a client hires a band, they are paying not only for the music & entertainment, but also for the
labor of setting up & tearing down all the equipment and transporting it to and from the event, the
travel expenses (we all know how high fuel costs are now) and the travel time along with all the other
incidental expenses that come with running a live band. (Clothes, vehicle maintenance, instrument
maintenance, equipment maintenance, promotional costs, etc.) A three hour performance usually
comprises, on average, a total of about eight hours of time and work from the moment the band
members load equipment and leave their homes to when they return, depending on the
location of the event.
When a client books a budget
band at a discount price or a pick-up band as mentioned above, they can expect a group that will:
1. Show up late & leave early
2. Take long breaks or ignore itineraries or
schedules
3. Have sub-standard or even non-functioning
equipment
4. Will not adhere to contractual agreements
5. Have undesirable & sometimes dangerous personal habits
in the way of drugs, alcohol or even cleanliness that would not be permitted in any
workplace
6. They may even conduct themselves inappropriately towards
guests or wear inappropriate clothing.
7. Look the part, but sound horrible and amateurish.
This is probably the biggest complaint BOOGIE FEVER receives.
BOOGIE FEVER has seen it all and
grudgingly been a part of bands like this. This is why we started our own band and is where the old adage of "you
get what you pay for" is never more true. We hold ourselves to an extremely high standard and
truly respect and appreciate every one of our clients. A large percentage of our bookings are
from past clients and referrals. With BOOGIE FEVER, we try to be professional ALWAYS! Our
professionalism is what we pride ourselves on and what we are known for. Our many
testimonials from satisfied clients prove it.
BOOKING AGENTS & BOOKING SERVICES:
While there are many legitimate and honest booking agents &
booking services, the sad fact of the matter is, most are
unscrupulous thieves whos only interest is to relieve, from
clients, as much of their money as possible.
When a prospective client
calls a booking agency to hire a band, the agent will often toss out the first outrageous fee to the client they
can think of, knowing that most people are not comfortable negotiating or not aware that band fees can be
negotiated. For those that are aware, what is being negotiated? It's not the price of the
band, the agency already has a general idea of what the band will work for. What is being negotiated is
the agent's "commission". As mentioned above, honest legitimate booking agents charge
between 10%-15%. The rest can charge up to 30%, 50%, 75% or more. This means if a client
hires a band for $2,000, the agent could take $1,500 in commission at 75% and send the band $500
after the gig is over. This, for making a few phone calls!
Typically, a booking agency will
call around to see whatever band is available, (it's rarely the best band for a client event), and will
always go with the lowest bidder or whatever band will work the cheapest in order to put more money in their pocket.
This goes back to the concept of hiring budget musicians. Musicians that work cheap tend to be
substandard, difficult to work with musicians. Clients will be able to tell
immediately from the first note. It is very difficult to find quality full-time musicians that will work
for marginal compensation, so clients are left with the rotten eggs that will do nothing to help the success of a
special event, and in many cases do everything to ruin it.
In contrast, BOOGIE FEVER
does all their own bookings. We have a few trusted agents that we work with on occasion but for the most
part, when dealing with BOOGIE FEVER, clients are dealing with the band directly, with no middle man.
The benefit of this is, clients do not have to throw $100's or even $1,000's away to an agent for
making one phone call to the band to set up the event. There is a perpetuated myth, perpetuated by
booking agents, that booking through an agency will secure a quality band? As stated, agents do
not have a clients best interests in mind . . . but theirs!
On the other side of the
coin, there are some really horrible bands out there that no agent would ever think of working with no matter how
unscrupulous! So how do clients decide on who to book for their events? Look for professionalism in
answering questions, timeliness in replying to inquiries, quality of promo,
testimonials from satisfied clients, past venues, past events, frequency of gigs, band longevity, etc. If the band is
new and untested, it is in the best interest of the client to look elsewhere. Paying clients should not be
Guinea Pigs for any band.
BOOGIE FEVER has been a band for
over ten years as mentioned, and our combined experience as musicians easily spans many decades!
Bands that can't find work usually don't stay together for very long . . . . GOOD LUCK!