Saturday, October 8, 2011

Notes on the Occupation


I wrote a piece for Coilhouse Blog about Occupy Wall Street. READ MORE...


"People around America are confused, interested, annoyed, supportive, angry, joyous. But no one seems quite sure what Occupy Wall Street is.

“It’s like the 1960′s.”

“It’s the democratic answer to the Tea Party.”

“It’s just dirty hippies.”

There are as many explanations for what Occupy Wall Street is as there are people involved in it..." READ MORE...

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Motion Consumes Distance



As I was out walking today I thought about how the motion of my legs propelled me forward through space. The distance between myself and my destination got shorter and shorter. Being eaten up.
"Motion consumes distance." I said.

I bring myself closer to things by moving towards them. I bring myself closer to my goals in the same way: by motion, though it's not always physical.

I move a lot. I'm a little obsessed with motion. Getting closer...

Which is why I have launched a UK and Ireland mini tour. It is a pre-sold tour which will only happen if I sell enough tickets. I'm doing six dates (though I only mention five in the video.)

Also not mentioned in the video is that Molly Crabapple will be doing the art for this tour!
NOVEMBER:

- 21st Manchester  -  w/ She Makes War

- 22nd Leeds    -    w/ She Makes War

- 23rd Dublin    -    w/ She Makes War

- 24th Birmingham    -    w/ She Makes War

- 25th Brighton   -    w/ She Makes War

- 26th London



She Makes War is a musician from London who will be doing the tour along with me.



I won't be touring for a while after this, so if you want to see me: THIS IS YOUR CHANCE.


October:

- 4th Boston (Free,  RSVP here: http://www.morganshotelgroup.com/rsvp/ames-sessions.html )

- 16th San Francisco - w/ Gabby Lala  http://www.brickandmortarmusic.com/event/66835/

- 22nd Portland - with Myrrh Larsen http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=153547161400486

- 27th New Orleans - w/ Helen Keller's Ukulele http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=201653956557445



November:

- 4th Boston

-12th New York City

- 21st Manchester -  w/ She Makes War   http://kck.st/pWkjWk

- 22nd Leeds -    w/ She Makes War   http://kck.st/pWkjWk

- 23rd Dublin -    w/ She Makes War   http://kck.st/pWkjWk

- 24th Birmingham -    w/ She Makes War   http://kck.st/pWkjWk

- 25th Brighton -    w/ She Makes War   http://kck.st/pWkjWk

- 26th London http://kck.st/pWkjWk




The Molly Crabapple Posters for The Impossible Tour (pre-sold dates)
People who bought tickets through Kickstarter get copies of the posters.







&n

Sunday, September 4, 2011

By way of a little update

I left New York on Wednesday morning and arrived in Melbourne on Friday morning. It is cold here! We have fires and drink hot tea and wear scarves. Very different from my sweaty summer in NY. This fuzzy blue hot water bottle is my best friend.

Since arriving I have been sleeping, eating scones, helping Jim with the animation, and doing my part to make sure my pre-sold tour gets sold.

I'm happy to report that with 56 hours to go half of my pre-sold "Impossible Tour" has sold!

 

Shows that will happen!

 

NOVEMBER 4th - Boston, MA


NOVEMBER 12th - New York, NY


OCTOBER 15th - San Francisco, CA


OCTOBER 27th - New Orleans, LA


OCTOBER 22nd - Portland, OR


 


Shows that may not happen



OCTOBER 14th - Los Angeles, CA


OCTOBER 23rd - Minneapolis, MN


NOVEMBER 5th - Hartford, CT


OCTOBER 21st - Seattle, WA


OCTOBER 13th - San Diego, CA





 

I'm really excited about the shows that have been funded and I cannot wait to come to those cities and put on amazing shows. There's still a little bit of time left to buy tickets, so if you want a show now is your chance.

**

 

Here's a little preview photo from the set of the "I Have Your Heart" animation:

 

Follow the progress here: http://www.ihaveyourheart.com

 

 

 

 

XxK

 


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Calling ALL Bloggers




I need you to help make my "Impossible Tour" happen. We have 10 days left to make sure all 10 shows sell 100% and I really want these shows to happen!  They only happen if we reach 100%. This touring model has HUGE implications for musicians everywhere. I really do believe that this could work for many bands. 

So here's my exclusive blogger deal (valid through Tuesday August 30th):

Write a blog about me, my music, and my pre-sold tour. You can come at it from any angle you like: the music, the innovation of the pre-sold tour idea, how pink my hair is, how sparkly my shoes are, whatever it is that you connect to. 

For your blog I will answer three questions via email: kim (at) kimboekbinder.com

I will also take an exclusive photo JUST FOR YOUR BLOG. 

Once the blog is posted I will post a link on my sites to your blog.

AND I will mail you a thank you package. In the real world mail. For real. 

It doesn't matter if your blog has 2 readers or 20,000 for this. And you can cut and paste the text below, or write your own post. The post can be any length (as long as it talks about the tour.) Anywhere between 100-1000 words is great! I just want to get the word out as much as possible.

So:

1) Email three questions to: kim (at) kimboekbinder.com

2) I'll send you an exclusive photo along with the answers to your questions.

3.) Post your blog with an embedded Kickstarter video from one of my shows and links to all ten shows. 

4.) Send me the link to your blog so I can post it. Send me your postal address so I can send your thank you package. 

You can post the blog anytime this week but I have to have your postal address by midnight on Tuesday if you want me to send you a thank you package.




Here is my press release text you can cut and paste into your blog if you want:

Kim Boekbinder Redefines The Rock Tour

Iconoclastic New York musician, Kim Boekbinder, has set the internet abuzz with her passionate rant about the state of the music industry and how she's decided to circumvent the broken system by using her vibrant social media presence to pre-sell her shows BEFORE they are even booked. Kim's first test run of the idea was launched on Kickstarter and she got her funding for a show in New York City in under 24 hours. Now she's doing a 10 date US tour: http://kck.st/pIcXeH

Ms. Boekbinder's "Impossible Tour" idea has been featured on CCN Money, BBC Radio's World Service, and BoingBoing. http://www.boingboing.net/2011/06/14/crowdfunding-the-tou.html#comments.  The attention generated from the story has her email inbox flooded with thank you messages from fans, musicians, and venues; as well as offers from internet startups trying to address the very issues that she is dealing with. 

Kim Boekbinder is The Impossible Girl; a performer, composer, musician, and visual artist who defies genre. She has travelled the world, stealing hearts and changing paradigms with her indelible live performance and her excitingly original and unforgettable music. http://www.kimboekbinder.com/about/


**

For those of you who are not inclined to blogging, posting helps! Put a link on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Tumblr, whatever your preferred form of internet communication is. And appeal to your friends directly with personal emails inviting them to be part of making the show happen. 



**

Let's get the word out and make art happen!
Thank you!
The Impossible Girl

Friday, August 19, 2011

How to be Impossible: Dancing in the rain.

Me and my brother Oliver.


So I've been thinking about doing a column in my blog called "How To Be Impossible" which would be a sort of "self-help" or "how-to" column, but you know: TOTALLY RIDICULOUS.

I haven't written anything yet because I don't know how to tell you how to shed sequins everywhere you go (because I just do it. I don't know how.) But tonight I did something I can explain. There are easy steps. And so tonight I pen my very first "How To Be Impossible" in the hopes that this will break the seal and now I can write more of these:


Tonight at around 7:04pm a most epic thunderstorm descended on New York. The sky got all DOOM colored and the trees started to dance with the wind. Lightening split the sky and thunder creaked and boomed. Rain thrashed against the windows, coming from every direction at once.

My brother and I decided we should go outside.

The light was fantastic, it wasn't really true night, but it was very dark and DOOM-y. Oliver and I sang "Singing in the Rain" and did the dance - swinging around lamp posts and clicking our heels. We ran and skipped and laughed and jumped until we were soaked through and through.

It is amazingly freeing to do something that doesn't "make sense." Running around in a storm is so much fun. Watching the lightening, loving the thunder, getting soaked. It is extra fun with a family member or friend, but also quite satisfying and sometimes even more freeing to do this alone (I know from experience.)

It doesn't further my career or get anything done. It doesn't give my body nutrients or cure cancer or solve the (insert hyperbole here) crisis. But it is fun.

And fun is so so so so so so so so SO IMPORTANT.

That photo above was taken just after we came inside, the flash sort of obscured how soaked we were, but nothing can hide our excitement.




How To Be Impossible in three easy steps:

1. Find EPIC thunderstorm.

2. Go outside in it.

3. Dance.







Thursday, August 11, 2011

"Such Great Heights" is out NOW!

My duet with Amanda Palmer has been released. You can listen, love, download here:



Wednesday, August 10, 2011

CNN and the Pre-Sold Tour

I did a CNN Money interview. Click on the image to watch it on the CNN website. Molly Crabapple was also interviewed, we talk about Kickstarter, art, pre-sold tours and more.



The pre-sold tour is humming along nicely. No completely sold shows, and we've got a few straggler cities, but I have high hopes and it is early yet.

I also have some fans who have taken initiative and put up Facebook events to try to get me to their cities: Tampa, FL, Chicago, IL and even Dublin, Ireland and the UK.

Tampa Florida went up two weeks ago and only has 11 people requesting me so far. It makes me a little sad of course, but it illustrates how hard it is for me to get the word out about my shows.

It also illustrates the distortion of internet "fame" and social media perception. I may have 11 fans in any given city who all talk to each other and because they are part of a community of many thousands on the internet who like my music they think I am super famous and wanted by a large group of people in their home town.

Many people have written to me to say "Please come to CITY X, no one ever comes here, we always get passed over, we are always left out." And I understand the frustration of living in a city that is not on a popular tour route. I know you love music as much as anyone in a big city. You may even love music more. I'd love to come play everywhere. I'm not snobby about cities, I'm not "passing you over" because your city isn't "cool" enough. Musicians don't often take chances in smaller, or unknown cities because we lose a lot of money when we do. Being an independent artist I just don't have money to lose.

My pre-sold touring concept puts far more power in your hands, if you choose to accept it. You can put up Facebook events and promote them to get me to try one of my pre-sold shows in your city. And for those cities that had people write in to get me to play there:

OCTOBER 13th – San Diego, CA 12%

OCTOBER 14th – Los Angeles, CA 10%

OCTOBER 15th – San Francisco, CA 46%

OCTOBER 21st – Seattle, WA 4%

OCTOBER 22nd – Portland, OR 43%

OCTOBER 23rd – Minneapolis, MN 11%

OCTOBER 27th – New Orleans, LA 43%

NOVEMBER 4th – Boston, MA 27%

NOVEMBER 5th – Hartford, CT 15%

NOVEMBER 12th – New York, NY 38%

 

The ball is now in your court. I've given you the tools to make the show happen and now it's up to you. Once I reach funding then I do the rest of the work. But we get to do this together. That's why it's special.

I believe in you!

 

Love,

K

Monday, July 25, 2011

First Pre-Sold Show Recap



photos by Kate Black


Watch the webcast:

Watch live streaming video from makerbot at livestream.com



I spent weeks making 440 paper flowers out of 1800 sheets of tissue paper because I wanted this show to be visually amazing. The wonderful people at MakerBot let me take over their space, helped me build a stage, filmed the webcast, and even printed me out in 3D while I was playing!



Folding flowers.

Flowers get flounced by handy Australians.

Flounced!

The flower wall is assembled. 200 flowers in all.

The stage is built.

The flower wall is hoisted into place behind the stage.

The show.
photos by Jim Batt


Stage and projections by Bri Olson
photo by Ryan Anas


Credits:
Projections by Bri Olson
Poster by Molly Crabapple
Sound by Nathaniel Chambers
T-shirts by Melissa Dowel
Door and random help by Foley
Webcast by Eddie Codel
MakerBot love by Keith Ozar
Flowers by Kim Boekbinder, Jim Batt, Oliver Boekbinder, Ryan Anas, Autumn Drouin, 
Dax Tran-Caffee, Katelan Foisy, Sean Wyers, and Betty Turier.


This was such a wonderful experience. I'll be launching Kickstarter pages for my pre-sold tour this week. Anyone in Florida should check this out: Bring The Impossible Girl to Tampa, FL


Thank you for supporting my first ever pre-sold show!


Abigail Amalton
Adam T
Alan Spindel
Alicia
Ana Cerro
anagenesis
Andreas Beck
Andrew Janke
Anna J
Annalee Terranova
Arianna Biasini
Arthur Omeljaniuk
Atlanta Camilleri
Audrey
Autumn Drouin
Ben Hayes
Brian Lopez
Brianna Lueders
BriAnna Olson
Bryan Chance
Cameron Horn
Carter Laren
Cheeky Buckfest
Chris Hamilton
Chris Kalata
Claire
Corey Sheesley
Courtney Varga
Cynthia von Buhler
d freymann
Dan Smart
Danielle Lavigne
David Fulcher
David Maynor
David Renshaw
dawn
Dawn Nikithser
Dennis Friend
Dennis Preski
Denny-Ray Carstens
Dietmar Bloech
Douglas Young
Drtom
Ellen
Fidel Jiron Jr.
Gary Falk
Ginger Raner
Graham Arnold
Greg Nesbitt
Gudrun Thäter
Guillaume Laurent
harry w skene
Heath White
hep1013
Ian Gazzotti
Ian Lewis
J Whitney
James Jackson
Jana
Janice
Janna Rhodes
Jared Boles
Jena
Jessica Berglund
jim ramsay
Josh Hoffmann
Kaebel Hashitani
Karina Cetin
Kate Lee
kateblack
katelan
Katie McManus
Keith Jenson
Ken Kilen
Kiska
kris cowen
Kristin Brenemen
Lac23
Laurie
Lewis Winter
Mark
Mark Anderson
Matt Mullany-Green
Matt Wicking
Megan Kingery
Meghan
Meghann Gilligan
Menachem Luchins
Michael Davis
Michael Diaz
Mike Knauer
Molly Crabapple
Monica Arrington
mwolff
Myrrh Larsen
Nelia White
NightGal
Patrick McCracken
Philip Tchernavskij
Quinn McDonald
Rachel Boyadjis
Rick
Rita Flores
Rita J. King
Robyn Tillery
Ryan Anas
Saki Waki
Sam Mancuso
Samuel Erikson
Sara Robisch
Sarahmarian
Sean Francis
Seth Gover
Shawn Patzkowsky
Shelton
Shervyn von Hoerl
Silpa
Skaja Wills
Smidge
Stav Meishar
Summer Laws
Sylva J
Thingumbob
tim kardos
Tim Kellen
Tim Reynolds
Tomás Ford
Tony Gatner
Travis Amiel
Trisha Cornelius
Wayne Watrach
wendy boffo
xombi
Yao Xiao


THANK YOU!!!!!!!













Monday, July 11, 2011

New Music Video: Impossible Girl #3



On Vimeo


On Youtube





A short history of this music video:

This is the first video Jim Batt  and I ever shot together. Jim just happened to have an old bathtub in the woods of his family home and walked bucket after bucket of hot water out through the trees so that my mid-winter bath would be nice and warm. Impossible Girl #3 is not a song I think about often, I hardly ever listen to it and I never play it. It isn't that it's a bad song, I just don't need it anymore. I wrote it at a time when I needed it and then that time passed. I do think it's pretty and the video makes me happy. 



In other news: Yesterday I became a unicorn!
Molly Crabapple plays the virgin who tames me.






AND...

I have 19 tickets left for my first ever pre-sold show in NYC on July 21st. Get them here:   http://www.kimboekbinder.com/store/tickets

*The unicorn horn made for me by M.A.D. Hatter in Melbourne.


Love,

Kim


p.s. I finally got a new computer and it is making my life way better. I'll be able to record demos, do webcasts, edit videos, and so much more - all without needing to be constantly plugged in and crashing all my programs several times a day. Yay functionality!






Wednesday, June 29, 2011

7" Vinyl Record with Amanda Palmer




In March 2011 Amanda Palmer and Kim Boekbinder sat on a couch in a warehouse in Melbourne, Australia and sang a song called "Such Great Heights," by The Postal Service. 
It was the end of the night at the end of the tour at the end of the world. The duet is simple and  beautiful. It is a snapshot of a time when two busy musicians found quiet in a city at the end of the earth. 
The song will be released on a 7" record, along with an original song by Kim Boekbinder called, "On the Other Side of the World" which is a song about being in love with someone on the other side of the world, ie: Australia. Australians are wonderful. 
Only 1000 lavender colored vinyl will be made. The packages will also include high quality stickers and 5x7 art cards with the album art and a digital download. Each record will be hand numbered and signed by Kim.
The songs will also be released as a digital EP after the 7" is released.
The album art is by the NYC duo, Teetering Bulb www.teeteringbulb.com who have done beautiful art for comics, graphic novels, album covers, book covers, and more.


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Value Experiment




Since releasing my album I have done several experiments. Sometimes my album is available as a free Pay-What-You-Want download. Most people download it for free, some people give me money. And mostly it seems like it works out okay.

A few weeks ago I put the minimum cost for my album at $5 and most of those who have chosen to download it have given me $10-$15. But most people have actually just not downloaded it at all and I have seen my download numbers drop off. Interestingly enough I have made the same amount of money.

But what does that mean? Is it more valuable for me to have more people downloading my music? Or is it better to place a value on my music so that people respect it?

Are people more likely to enjoy music they pay for? Or are they more appreciative of a gift from the musician?

They say that music is free now. But what the hell is free?

The freedom for more people to create? Or the freedom for more people to starve?

I can set a price for a CD or a vinyl record because those cost money to make. But it is expected these days that digital downloads are available for free. Sometimes the musician offers the music for free and sometimes you have to steal it. But either way, if it's music, and it's been recorded, it is yours for the taking.

The good thing about being an independent musician is that I can do these experiments without having to pass the idea by some committee of suits worried about the bottom line. I also don't have to find answers to all my questions above. Because the answers change for each person. A few weeks is not enough time to really know what the effect is, but it has made me think about the question of value in music.

Do you value my music because I offered it to you for free? Or do you value it because you paid for it?

Am I engaging in a culture of openness and sharing? Or am I devaluing all music by being one of the problem musicians offering my music for free and making it harder for other musicians to charge if they wish to?

What it comes down to is that it is ridiculous to me to place a value on my own music using a monetary system. I can say my album is "worth" a minimum of $5 for you to download. But in reality what $5 means to me and you is different. $5 could be a meal, or an entire day's food, or maybe it's just the morning latte.

I got an email from someone who found my album online and loved it, and even though it was free when he found it he did not download it because he valued it so highly that he didn't want to take it from me until he felt he could give me what it was worth to him, but as he has no extra spending money he decided to go without.

You might make $100 an hour, in which case giving me $5 only costs you about 3 minutes. Or you might make $7.25 an hour (which is the US Federal minimum wage,) in which case giving me $5 is almost an hour of your time which you most likely cannot afford because life is expensive.

And maybe you only listen to one of  my songs occasionally. Or maybe my entire album is on repeat and it has changed your life. But how can we even begin to quantify that?

I have decided to end my experiment of having a minimum cost to download my album, because I don't want to decide the value of my music for you. My music has value for me regardless of how many dollars it makes me. And whether you make $100 an hour, or minimum wage, my music could be the background to your bus ride, or the anthem which helps you make it through another day.

Maybe I'll do another experiment with charging for my album. Or maybe I'll decide I need to value my music using dollars. But today, and for the foreseeable future, I'm happy to offer my music to you for the price you can afford: be it $0 or $1000.






Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Song Sketch - The Last

I've put up a new album on bandcamp.com, this will be the place I put new songs this summer. Just simple demo recordings.



I wrote this song while thinking about friends, artists, who've had to resort to getting day jobs to pay the bills. Now, I'm not against working to pay bills. I've certainly done my bit of punching time clocks. In this past year I have worked freelance as a writer, editor, graphic designer, and one night as catering staff at an event. My job was to wear black and pick up people's dirty dishes, but you know... glamorously.

What does make me sad is falling into the trap of thinking that some other job is going to pay a bunch of money AND leave time for art. I've had all kinds of jobs, and still done art. But day jobs eat up a part of me that I believe is too precious to be eaten.

Yes. I know. I am a very sensitive artist. And for most of my life most people I know have not understood how much it killed me to work, day in and day out. The freelance stuff is okay, it changes, it keeps itself fresh. But the other jobs, like waiting tables which was my highest paying job ever = DEATH.

Sensitive artist (see above.)

And you think, "I could be a stripper. Or a hooker. Taking my clothes off, and having sex, those are both things I do for free. Maybe I could do them for money?" But no. You couldn't... well I couldn't, but if you can and you like it then YAY! And I hope you're making a good living.

And then I think, "If I just waited tables a few nights a week..."

"And if I wasn't so scared about being able to eat then my life would be better."

"And maybe if there wasn't so much pressure on my music having to be 'successful' it would make my music better."

"If I could just BREATHE without feeling the cost of each breath..."

But nothing is free and I know from experience that each breath taken in a job is worth far more than any money paid me.

So yes, I work other jobs when I need to. I do what I have to do to get by.

And sometimes I think I just can't make it. I can't go on anymore like this. Living on the edge of financial chaos like I do.

So I wrote myself a song to remind myself why I keep going.



The Last

It's the last unicorn you'll ever see
Resigning itself to a life
In the cold winter sea.
It's the last love you'll ever know
So don't let it, don't let it,
don't let it, don't let it go.

How hard can you fight when you know you will lose,
But when it's your life how can you choose?
It's not a game you didn't come here to win,
You just try your hardest and do whatever you can to live.

I know what you think there's an easy way out,
You fell in the pit with the voices of doubt.
I know that they tell you you're not good enough, 
"Get a job, make some money, life isn't that tough."
But it is.

How hard can you fight when you know you will lose,
But when it's your life how can you choose?
It's not a game you didn't come here to win,
You just try your hardest and do whatever you can to live.

It's the last unicorn you'll ever see
Resigning itself to a life
In the cold winter sea.
It's the last love you'll ever know
So don't let it, don't let it,
don't let it, don't let it go.

Oh don't let it, don't let it,
don't let it, don't let it go.



*

Gosh, I had no idea this post would be so long. But you know, another thing is: I know people with jobs who live on the edge of financial chaos. Sometimes those people make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and they just can't ever dig themselves out of a hole. 

And then there's most of the earth's population living in poverty. So if I can eat anything at all and sing songs then I'm doing okay.

I also know that each person has to decide for themselves when they've had enough of something and when they need something new. I don't have a family to support which makes my topsy turvy lifestyle sort of viable. 

And there is always the possibility that one of these days I will say, "ENOUGH! I want a house, and a bed, and a place to put things. And I want things. And healthcare. And to be able to give more to charities. And to not be always talking about my shows that people should really, REALLY come see."

That could happen. I could get a job. Any day now. But not today. And probably not tomorrow. Either.

So come to my SHOW

p.s.  Today I learned that the word 'Passion' comes from a root which means to suffer, and endure. Yeah...




Monday, June 20, 2011

Notes From a New Platform

Contained herein is a followup to my pre-sold touring ideas. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about check out my first pre-sold concert HERE or the BoingBoing post about me HERE.

This is an interview with Brad Lagasse of Dukits.com, a developing web platform that will be pre-selling shows just like I'm talking about. All the attention on this pre-sold tour idea made me realize I was just about one one-millionth of a second ahead of the curve and just happened to be the first person to put it into words and sell a show (pre-sold tour impending!)

If you are a musician and/or a fan of music please sign up to receive updates about Dukits.com - it won't hurt and the more interest they have the sooner (and better) they can launch. And if they turn out to not be your type of thing you can unsubscribe at any time. 

On to the interview!



1. How will Dukits.com work?

Artists/Bands propose a concert date, venue, ticket price and minimum/maximum amount to be sold as well as a deadline for the tickets to be purchased by.  If enough fans buy the ticket within the timeline, their credit cards will be charged and tickets are issued by us.


2. How did you get the idea?

We were researching the Group Buying power trend and as a music lover, I saw it as a no brainer.  This solution takes away a lot of risk for both the venue and the artist while shifting the power back to the emerging artist. 

A lot of emerging artists have a great social media presence but until now haven’t figured out a way to engage their fan base in a meaningful way.

This is a very niche market as the U2’s of the world pre-sell everything, yet the bands with little to no following can’t drum up enough fans to go this route.  Therefore this solution is geared toward bands/artists in your sweet spot.  You have enough fans and a good social media presence to leverage our tool.



3. What payment platform do you use? Google, Paypal, Amazon, other?

We use a credit card processor; take all majors.  No Paypal yet.  Might happen in the future though.



4. Will Dukits.com be booking the venues, or is that up to the artist?

We first considered working on the booking side but quickly realized that we couldn’t scale in that model.  Therefore, our solution will provide a form page for the artist to submit all the details including the venue.

It will be up to the band to negotiate with the venue to ‘pencil in’ a date in the future and give a time line for which the artist can confirm the date or let venue resell the time. 


5. What percentage of the money does Dukits.com keep?

There are variables here but on average it’ll be between 7%-15% That is only if the show goes on, if they don’t then we take nothing.


6. Are there any other fees we should know about?

Depending on the failure rate of concerts, we may implement a set up fee for bands that continue to put up shows that don’t go on.



7. What are the potential problems you foresee?

- Promoters seeing this paradigm shift as a threat and acting accordingly.

- Bands either buying their own tickets to play a certain venue therefore pissing off the venue when they play to an empty building or not appropriately qualifying the venue, i.e. They said they had an agreement to play on a certain date but they didn’t.  What next?

To offset some of these challenges, we have set a long term goal of developing strong relationships with venues across north America and staying on top of dodgy bands abusing the system.



8. What is the best thing about Dukits.com?

We are not a huge corporation.  This site is built to put on concerts for emerging artists; a market virtually ignored but huge when you look at the numbers.

Our vision is to produce a site that empowers bands to succeed on their own, provide an amazing user experience for the fans, and generate something so much bigger than just ticket sales.


9. The worst?

We are not a huge corporation.  Our resources, for now, are limited.


Thanks, Brad!




***

Brad brings up an interesting point about mega-famous bands: once an artist gets to a stadium level they announce a tour and if it doesn't sell well enough they cancel the tour. No one comes out and says, "Hey, buy tickets because if you don't the tour won't happen." but it amounts to the same thing. 

It is also quite common for the tour promoters to buy up a block of tickets so the show appears to be "SOLD OUT!" even though it isn't, just so the dates on the rest of the tour will sell well. 

I'm not going to buy up my own tickets. I'd rather just be honest and say, "Hey, buy tickets because if you don't the tour won't happen." Because I know people are smart enough to look at that and understand. 

I have been hearing from a lot of artists about the difficulty of filling venues, even popular bands worry about making enough money because shows are so expensive to produce that people really only start making money at a close to sell-out level. In a 1000 seat venue you may not start to see a profit until over 800 tickets have been sold. So the show could look packed and amazing and full of energy, but still leave the artist with an empty bank account. 

As an aside: last month when I was first telling people about my pre-sold tour ideas people kept saying, "Oh, so its like Groupon." And I don't know from Groupon because I don't use it, but I guess it's a way to understand the concept. 

Next interview: Comedian Paul F. Tompkins on garnering enough interest in a city before he books a show there. 

Past interview: Notes From a Venue Owner - Jamie Zawinski, owner of DNA Lounge in San Francisco, expounds on the difficulty of booking live music.