Bands wanted for exciting gig opportunities!

[GrooveBase 10]

Hi all, Gbase Promotions based here in Sheffield are looking for exciting rock bands to fill gig slots throughout this year and beyond. The next dates are 20th November and 18th December this year at West Street Live.

 

We also work with Sheffield O2 academy, Corporation, Plug and venues around the UK.

If you are interested in showcasing your music to a new wider audience with the opportunity of regular bookings on our venues list, then please visit the Gbase Promotions page on Facebook to find out more.

 

Thanks

The Gbase team

[Moosey 10]

Good venue.

 

Are the gigs paid can I ask?

 

 

Posted from Sheffieldforum.co.uk App for Android

[GrooveBase 10]

Hi, no the gigs are not paid and it's free entry for customers, however there are a few beers for the bands

[IYKOS 10]

holla if we fit with anything you have coming up. We'd be interested.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/If-You-Kept-On-Spiralling/510609032340307?ref=bookmarks

 

https://ifyoukeptonspiralling.bandcamp.com/album/if-you-kept-on-spiralling

[Turnip1959 10]

Hi, no the gigs are not paid and it's free entry for customers, however there are a few beers for the bands

 

Put your hands in your pockets and pay the bands for their time instead of exploiting them.

[Ghostrider 11]

WSL only pay bands for fri/sat night gigs. Its been like that for years.

Same as a lot of other venues...

[Turnip1959 10]

WSL only pay bands for fri/sat night gigs. Its been like that for years.

Same as a lot of other venues...

 

It might have been like that for years ghostrider so it was and still is with slavery and war and many other unpleasant things - doesn't mean it should continue. It'd be good if local bands could get together and resist the oppressive and exploitative practices of the entertainment industry

[Jared 10]

Bands with large followings can get paid at WSL midweek too!

 

We offer venue hire where bands can keep 100% of the door take subject to an advance deposit that is fully refundable if we break even with the costs of running the gig on the bar.

 

We agree that every band should get paid in principle but if the money isn't there from either the bar take, door take or both then there is nothing to pay the bands with and if unsigned bands with no/few fans started demanding payment then we wouldn't give them gigs/would stop doing gigs altogether in the same way that if pub team footballers started demanding wages for playing Sunday League amateur football then there would be no Sunday leagues. Playing music, like playing sport, is just a hobby until the demand exists for it to become paid/a profession and we sadly cannot afford to pay people to pursue their hobbies.

 

The purpose of our gigs is to allow new bands to build a fanbase so that they can be in a position to get paid gigs in the future and we even give vouchers for free drinks away to passers by to try and get them in to watch the bands in an attempt to increase the audience size and help them make new fans. No other gig venue in Sheffield does this to our knowledge.

 

Too many bands are forced to sell tickets to friends, families and loved ones in order to get gigs at many of the venues in the city (an example of pay to play) and we stand against that. If a band can make us money then we will share that money with them but the plain facts are that most bands can't, yet they still need somewhere to learn their craft in front of a small or decent sized audience without having to pay for, or tax their loved ones for, the privilege of taking to the stage.

[Turnip1959 10]

Bands with large followings can get paid at WSL midweek too!

 

We offer venue hire where bands can keep 100% of the door take subject to an advance deposit that is fully refundable if we break even with the costs of running the gig on the bar.

 

We agree that every band should get paid in principle but if the money isn't there from either the bar take, door take or both then there is nothing to pay the bands with and if unsigned bands with no/few fans started demanding payment then we wouldn't give them gigs/would stop doing gigs altogether in the same way that if pub team footballers started demanding wages for playing Sunday League amateur football then there would be no Sunday leagues. Playing music, like playing sport, is just a hobby until the demand exists for it to become paid/a profession and we sadly cannot afford to pay people to pursue their hobbies.

 

The purpose of our gigs is to allow new bands to build a fanbase so that they can be in a position to get paid gigs in the future and we even give vouchers for free drinks away to passers by to try and get them in to watch the bands in an attempt to increase the audience size and help them make new fans. No other gig venue in Sheffield does this to our knowledge.

 

Too many bands are forced to sell tickets to friends, families and loved ones in order to get gigs at many of the venues in the city (an example of pay to play) and we stand against that. If a band can make us money then we will share that money with them but the plain facts are that most bands can't, yet they still need somewhere to learn their craft in front of a small or decent sized audience without having to pay for, or tax their loved ones for, the privilege of taking to the stage.

 

Nice answer - I could almost fall for the nurturing altruistic tone of your reply but sorry it doesn't wash no matter how you dress it up - just like internships - "it's for your benefit musicians, we're doing it all for you" - b******t. You're businessmen selling alcohol and maybe things aren't good financially for your businesses but why does that mean that a bunch of hopeful young lads or lasses have to put in their own time and their own money to help prop you up? Unfortunately the lure of fame and fortune will probably mean you will get freebies - shame they can't see it for what it is.

[Jared 10]

Nice answer - I could almost fall for the nurturing altruistic tone of your reply but sorry it doesn't wash no matter how you dress it up - just like internships - "it's for your benefit musicians, we're doing it all for you" - b******t. You're businessmen selling alcohol and maybe things aren't good financially for your businesses but why does that mean that a bunch of hopeful young lads or lasses have to put in their own time and their own money to help prop you up? Unfortunately the lure of fame and fortune will probably mean you will get freebies - shame they can't see it for what it is.

 

As aforementioned we wouldn't do Sunday and midweek band nights if there wasn't the demand but we do them every night (literally) and new bands wanting to learn their trade are queuing up to play, so much so that the demand from bands wanting to play outweighs the supply of available gig slots. The bands don't prop us up, much like other nightclubs we make our money from our successful club nights, some of the profits from which prop up the loss making band nights. If free entry live music was the cash cow you paint it as then every bar and pub would be doing it 7 nights a week but it doesn't make profit and we're the only ones daft enough to invest time and money into a nightly commitment.

 

We are a venue owned and run by musicians and gig promoters and we know from first hand experience that we offer one of the most ethical and fun gigging experiences out there and the bands that don't agree with that sentiment don't play for us again or indeed in the first place. Bands are free to make their own choices, and in fact there are those that agree with your view point and who think that gigs should be free entry, they should be allowed to play their own material that nobody has heard of and they should be paid in hard cash, those bands choose not to play for us (though we're not sure where they play instead) and that's their right to do so. However, there's hundreds of bands every year that take to our stage and who have a great time and want to come back and we're proud of the service we provide them :-)

[Moosey 10]

Nice answer - I could almost fall for the nurturing altruistic tone of your reply but sorry it doesn't wash no matter how you dress it up - just like internships - "it's for your benefit musicians, we're doing it all for you" - b******t. You're businessmen selling alcohol and maybe things aren't good financially for your businesses but why does that mean that a bunch of hopeful young lads or lasses have to put in their own time and their own money to help prop you up? Unfortunately the lure of fame and fortune will probably mean you will get freebies - shame they can't see it for what it is.

 

Jared speaks sense. If the venue is making decent money in excess of overheads then bands absolutely should get paid. Weekends at venues like Wsl they will I'm sure make profit and they treat weekend bands well. It's the only pub venue we play for that reason.

 

Weekdays anywhere sadly doesn't see a large number of people. If any venue made loads of profit and didn't pay the band then that's not on. If the venue has 10 people it's not generally possible to pay. Bands who bring in loads of people will get paid.

 

I strongly believe bands should be paid but you also have to be realistic. If a promoter takes 200 quid in entry or from a venue and pays nothing then that's not on. If no one has made a profit then that's life.

 

I've played gigs to 3 people and I've played to 5000 plus. There's a huge scale between as to pay and deals.

 

 

Posted from Sheffieldforum.co.uk App for Android