June 2007
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A Statement From Fran SnyderSinger/Songwriter and concertsinyourhome.com founder Fran Snyder offers his two cents: I hear from more and more artists that if it weren't for house concerts, they would tour much less or not at all. Sometimes, a good house concert on the weekend can subsidize doing less profitable club shows during the week. As it stands, few artists can make it on house concerts alone. Most HC opportunities are on weekends, which is typically when clubs want to book bands instead of solos and duos anyway. And besides, many of the folks that go to house concerts wouldn't likely attend club shows anyway. Many (certainly not all) clubs and coffeehouses have done a poor job of presenting music for many years, forcing talented artists to play 6 feet from the espresso machine or underneath a TV showing the "exciting" basketball game. This hurts good venues much more than house concerts ever could, because it feeds the public's notion that it's perfectly OK to sit near a performer and totally ignore them, or worse yet be a total distraction by talking loudly during the show. Granted, not every performer is great, but public manners have gotten so bad and our society is becoming so self-absorbed that I'm convinced even an act like James Taylor would largely be ignored if he played in a Starbucks. I wrote a blog about that here: http://myspace.com/concertsinyourhome It's a challenging time for the music industry, live and recorded. It's no reason to scapegoat house concerts. My 2 cents, Fran Snyder An Interview With Jeff KahnJeff Kahn, owner of Cyber Café West in Binghamton, NY, chimed in with his stance on House Concerts, and the value of live music: AP: What is your experience with House Concerts, Jeff? JK: I have artists play here that have played house concerts. I know of them. There are a few around here. AP: Do House Concerts pose a threat to Club Owners like yourself? JK: I have no problem with it. We don’t really make money from music. I’m just happy to see the artists get their paycheck. I mean, if twelve people go to a House Concert, then it’s not a big deal. There isn’t much money to be made anyway at this level. I pay ASCAP. I pay BMI. I pay a billion people. The last people I want to blame are people who have shows in living rooms. It’s not House Concerts. They’re not the problem. They get people interested in music. They’re not the criminals. This is a symptom of something larger. AP: What is this symptomatic of? The business in general? JK: Well, first of all, a lot of people won’t support and pay for music they don’t already know. And a handful of Artists can entertain the world through videos, cds and arenas, why do you need someone in a café with an acoustic guitar. Most of the money funnels upwards. Second, people need a place to play. Artists want to be heard, and less and less venues exist for original music. Most of the cafes doing live music I know that existed in the decade the Cyber Café has been around have closed. So, House Concerts provide a needed space, and if they were subjected to the expenses of a real business, they wouldn’t last long either. Is this unfair? Sure, but …. well…the notion of unfair, let’s just say there are worse things out there. Things that are much more unfair. AP: Are you referring to the industry itself? JK: There is definitely a war on small, independent businesses. The danger comes from above, from the bigger forces, not from living rooms. AP: You said that you pay ASCAP & BMI. Now, are those fees for playing CD’s in your café, or for the live music performances? How does the payment scheme work for those licenses? JK: I pay for everything. Both. All. When I first opened up, the very first week, ASCAP came by and wanted $1600 a year. And I took their threats for 5 years before they came up with a ‘reasonable’ proposal. AP: What is the pay structure? Is it transparent? Do you know what you’re paying for? JK: Now BMI- BMI bases their fees on a formula, based on the size of the room. The capacity. I pay for the number of nights of live music we host, times the capacity, and then they factor in whether you charge a cover, if you have a CD player, dancing, no dancing, etc. It is an elaborate formula. ASCAP- has their own chart. Having formulas makes it seem scientific, like it’s natural to give them money with no regards to the reality of the situation. AP: Is it upsetting paying fees for hosting live music that, by your own admission, you are not even profiting from? JK: It’s very frustrating. I’m there to support the music, and…it’s just a bunch of lawyers. Between the 2 of them (ASCAP & BMI), it’s nearly $2,000 a year. And if you’re big enough, they’ll take you to court. I think of them as racketeers. AP: Getting back to House Concerts, there seems to be an outcry among club owners for House Concert presenters to pay equitable fees for music performance licenses, and insurance. Should house concert presenters pay the same fees you do? JK: It’s like a Tupperware party, ok? It’s in that realm, really. Of course, a line always needs to be drawn somewhere. If it gets big enough, and if people are charging. But, for regular Tupperware parties, no. Of course not. AP: Do you charge for attendance to your live shows? JK: Sometimes, which all goes to the artist, and sometimes that old voluntary tip charge that most folks have no problem ignoring. AP: So you had to adapt to pay the costs? JK: For a long time I made nothing from music. In the beginning, I wouldn’t charge at all. There was a voluntary tip jar. And I was booking Grammy-nominated acts. I mean, it wasn’t about the money. And it took me three years to finally put a value on it. AP: On the music itself? JK: Yeah. I realized that people will appreciate music if you put a value on it. AP: How so? JK: For example, back when I wasn’t charging, I had this Grammy-nominated act, an acoustic guy, he played the Town Crier the night before for $20 a ticket, and I have him on stage for free, and all through his set, people were talking, and it was like, “I’m sorry if I’m annoying you with my music.” So again, if you put a value on it, people will have more respect for it. People will appreciate music if they have to pay for it. Even a couple of bucks makes someone stop talking for a minute and actually listen. An Interview With Russ and Julie ParisRuss and Julie Paris, the legendary presenters of Russ and Julie’s AP: How- and more importantly- why did you begin hosting house concerts?
Did you pay heed to a “calling,” so to speak? Was it divine The whole concept of smeone performing in a home instead of a concert The response from that first house concert was so overwhelmingly For musicians, House Concerts make excellent filler dates between club It isn't particularly House Concert presenters who should feel threatened; we all should feel threatened at this attempted violation of our rights of assembly and privacy. Such cases are a reminder to House Concert presenters that they need to
be careful to run their House Concerts like private parties and not A recent article on the Colorado case mentioned that the problem was House Concerts have been around since the Middle Ages when traveling If restrictions are placed on people's rights to have a private party (1) We have dozens of past performers that have expressed an interest (2) We get unsolicited CDs and press kits from musicians around the (3) We get lots of referrals. Referrals from past performers account (4) Nearly half of our schedule in recent years has come from artists (5) Lastly, we do sometimes contact musicians who we would like to host a show for. There is something special about hosting a show for one of our long time favorite artists. For us to book an artist, we have to love the music and feel If we had to pick just one, it might be the weekend the legendary Los A rediscovered classic for us is the 1972 self-titled album by Batdorf & Rodney. John Batdorf just performed here and played a mix of his old and new material, so it was great to pull out a couple of old Batdorf And Rodney LPs from the closet and listen to them again. John Batdorf and James Lee Stanley recently recorded a wonderful album together called "All Wood And Stones" which is covers of Rolling Stones classic with a southern California acoustic feel. Other music being played quite a bit in our home lately includes the And just today we picked up the new special CD set "The Traveling Some More Responses From House Concert Presenters1)How- and more importantly- why did you begin hosting house concerts? Did you pay head to a “calling,” so to speak? Was it divine intervention? “We heard Don Conscenti when he was playing with Ellis Paul in New Jersey, and wished we could hear him do a show too. When I told him he could play at our house any time, he asked me "when?" The rest is history, but it's really all about loving the music.” “2 main purposes - 1) to introduce new artists that would not draw enough to justify a concert in our main series. 2) Having music in our living room is great!” 2) Aside from turning your home into a stage, how do you make the house concert experience different from a club or theatre show? “House concerts are different from a club or theatre show in that you are literally just a few feet from the performer and he is a guest in your home. I ask guests not to talk or get up during the concert so as not to break up the energy between the performer and the audience. I remind them that we are not at a party, we are being serenaded by a nationally acclaimed performer. We take a 30 minute break midway in the concert to allow folks to stretch their legs, shop for CDs, talk with the performer, and get refreshments. I serve light refreshments, wine, juice, water, coffee and allow guests to bring food or beverage of their choice. There is an excellent tip sheet on Dave Potts web page that is helpful to new house concert hosts and attendees. His website is www.davepotts.com. “ “No sound system, everybody just sits on whatever chairs we have available and has a good time.” 3) Should club owners and bookers feel threatened by you? Are they threatened by you? “No, they shouldn't feel threatened. We're very small and we don't book in competition with clubs, but we can help build an audience for them by introducing our friends and neighbors to particular artists or a type of music that the clubs may book. No one has ever appeared threatened by me!” 4) In light of the recent case in Colorado, do you think that house concert presenters should feel threatened? “Maybe not threatened, but you must be aware of the possible problems.” 5) How do you select the artists that you invite into your home? To what degree is the process a labor of love? “I have only invited artists that I have heard. Because I have a young daughter who is present during the concerts it is important to me to select artists who do not use profanity and who play family friendly music. I prefer artists who use only one or two instruments and who know how to interact with the audience in a way that makes them feel involved.” 6) What is your most memorable house concert? Any stories come to mind? “There are too many, but it's not just about the music: The extraordinary Peter Mulvey playing chess with my daughter before another fabulous show; Deirdre Flint greeting every guest personally before the show even began; David Goodrich playing quietly and beautifully in my living room in the morning while I made coffee; performances by candlelight and performances interrupted by fireworks just a couple blocks away. It's all good.” 7) What are you listening to these days? Any notable new releases? Rediscovered classics? “I recently discovered Tim Gearan and am loving his latest CD, "Moving Day." Susan Werner's "The Gospel Truth" is moving and wonderful. And I'm delighted to have a great new CD from Eric Weinberg, "Get Back Up Again," in my player right now.” “Nathan Rogers, Tom Paxton re-releases, Crooked Still, Joe Jencks, Wendell Ferguson, Tracy Grammer.” |
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