Vol 2, Issue 11: Alternative Sources of Revenue Pt II: Tribute Acts & House Bands

Last week as part of the kickoff to this month’s exclusive series on alternative sources of revenue for musicians, we explored a "day in the life" of music teachers, and special events performers. Continuing with our theme of potential part-time supplemental music related gigs, we will now venture into the world of tribute acts, and house bands.

Tribute Acts
To get an inside look at the world of tribute acts, I was lucky enough to get a chance to speak with Mike Dimoulas, frontman of Hotel California, the original Eagles tribute band, and his agent Roger LaPointe of The Booking House, "the undisputed leader and supplier of quality tribute acts since 1983"; other notable acts include Shania’s Twin, Practically Hip, HELP!, and Mandonna (an all male tribute to the material girl).

A tribute performer of over 20 years, Mike has seen many original acts come and go, and though he’s an avid writer of his own material (as are many of his fellow bandmates), during our interview, he openly conceded to me that it’s much easier to make it as a tribute artist. To this he added, that even though he is performing compositions written by other greats of the past, Hotel California’s dedicated and supportive following still allows him to experience the glory of being a "rockstar".

Acknowledging an unfulfilled niche in the tribute act arena, Mike conceived of Hotel California back in ‘86. His band’s consistent club gigging and touring of the festival circuit, both in Canada and the US, are a testament that his original inclination was indeed correct; that the guitar solos, inspirational lyrics, and challenging harmonies of The Eagles appeal to all.

According to Mike, there is a relatively small difference between cover bands and tribute acts; the variation being that the latter typically go "all out" in terms of mimicking the moves and the look of the band to whom they are paying tribute. However, being a perfect "look-a-like" is not a prerequisite. So long as the act is well rehearsed, professional, and has a dynamic stage performance, they should go far. Apparently, there are even festivals whose sole purpose is to celebrate tribute performers (who knew?) which would indicate to me that tribute acts get a lot of support from the music industry, and accordingly, have been able to create their own little monopoly.

Typically, Hotel California plays about two to three shows per week with 80% of their concerts taking place in the States, particularly in rural areas. The attraction to tribute acts is distinctly strong in smaller towns because, as Mike points out, most of the major original acts only hit the capital cities along their tour routes. Each standard show consists of several 45 minute sets a night, or for a theatre setting, a one hour set usually suffices. LaPointe also mentioned that performance engagements may be more extensive if the original act is on the road concurrently. Most original acts, who are "tributed", are welcoming towards the extra-exposure that is resultingly propagated.

In terms of payment, the per gig capital that independent original acts generate pales in comparison. With going rates between $1000 to an upwards of $25,000 for the top impersonators per show, along with opportunities for merch sales, the life of a tribute act can be quite lucrative. However, keep in mind, these rates refer to tribute acts who have agents negotiating on their behalf, and each band member is paid on a salary, after the agent has taken his/her cut (generally 15-20%). Self-employed tribute acts and cover bands may be expected to play just as many sets for as little as $80 to $125, the standard gig price imposed by the AFM.

When it comes to getting shows (and representation), the strength in one’s salespitch ultimately comes down to two factors: 1) being an "original" tribute act (pardon the oxymoron) meaning a tribute act of a popular, but not overly copycatted artist (ie: we don’t need any more Cher or Michael Jackson wannabes) and 2) having a professional looking performance video. Similarly to original independent artists, tribute bands need to build up their reputations, and over time, booking shows generally becomes easier once they’ve created the necessary "buzz". Developing one’s connections and looking for opportunities that will generate exposure is essential.

Obtaining agency representation is as easy as sending in photos, audio clips, and/or a live video. Again, if you’ve got "the goods" to back up your press pack, a live audition and in-person meeting will likely be co-ordinated, and shortly thereafter, you’ll be shimmy-ing your way up to the rock-n-roll impersonators hall of fame. However, prior to taking on your "alter-ego", LaPointe suggests checking out the current trends to ensure that your tribute act idea is in-line with what is popular.

The Booking House is presently seeking Hannah Montana’s doppelganger. Think you’ve got what it takes? Submit a performance video and find out! For more information on Hotel California and/or The Booking house, please check out http://www.bookinghouse.com/

House Bands
Congruent to the lives of those in tribute acts are house band performers. Though house performers may be afforded more leniency when it comes to playing their own material in conjunction with their cover sets, they typically maintain a permanent residence at a specified local venue or circulate regularly amongst two to three venues in their hometown, hence the name.

Some of London, Ontario's community house performers include Alison Brown, Village Blues Band, and Reverend Freddie & The Distillers.

According to Greg Simpson, local religion teacher, part-time musician, and accomplished producer, if one is interested in actively pursuing part-time opportunities as a house performer, the best way to get one’s foot in the door is to start participating in open-mic events such as those hosted weekly at venues such as Scott’s Corner, Rockwater’s, and The London Music Club. If you are able grab the attention of the crowd and impress the club owner with your ability, it may just lead to your permanent placement.

In fact, the exceedingly talented local singer-songwriter Samantha Hooey can credit her participation in several open-mic gigs to the jumpstart of her own in-town recognition, which includes two back-to-back nominations for "Best Singer-Songwriter" at the London Music Awards, 2006 - 2007.

Undoubtedly, the key to the success of house bands is diversity. With repertoires of literally hundreds of different songs and styles, professional house bands are able to entertain built-in crowds with a different show(s) every week. It is important, should you choose to pursue this avenue, to ensure that you are a competent player who is able to learn and memorize a wide variety of songs, often on limited notice or by the request of fans.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Issue 10: Alternative Sources of Revenue Pt I: Music Instruction & Party Performance

Although in these past few weeks, I’ve demonstrated many of the horrors that take place in the music industry through my examination of popular scams, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. For every rip off artist out there, there is also an opportunity upon which aspiring professional musicians can capitalize.

Many moons ago, musicians, well any artists really, were able to generate profits from solely performing and marketing their original material, but unfortunately, a lot has changed, and even some of the top grossing artists of our day are so far in debt to their record labels that they are struggling to make ends meet. But, this doesn’t mean that success isn’t possible, it just means that in today’s day and age, we, as musicians, cannot afford to wait for our big break. Instead, if music is truly in your soul, I suggest that you rock til your heart’s content, but in order to satisfy creditors, treat your craft as more of a part-time gig while pursuing other more stable employment.

Now, don’t get your panties in a bunch yet... I’m not suggesting that you pack up your guitar, and go work for corporate America. Quite the contrary, actually. Rather, I recommend that you take full advantage of all of the unconventional musician jobs out there. From licensing one’s music to teaching private lessons to playing in a cover band on the side, there are a multitude of avenues that artists can pursue on a part-time basis in order to supplement their income. Simply put, you can have your cake and eat it too.

And if your moonlighting in one of these alternative musician positions becomes successful, well then, you’ve created an even bigger springboard off of which you can launch your personal material. Think of all the possibilities. To give you a sense of all of the exciting off-beat musician oriented jobs out there, I’ve been conducting interviews with fellow artists who have dabbled in each one of these fields and were willing to share their experiences with you. Listen up, you may just learn a way to utilize your talent that had never occurred to you before, that is...until now.


Teaching Music
Teaching can be a personally enriching and rewarding experience, but the benefits do not just stop there. Scheduling is flexible, it can be quite financially lucrative (average going rate is between $25-$40 per hourly lesson), and you will rarely fall short of finding employment opportunities whether you’re working as a freelancer or as an employee of a music academy.

There are students of all age ranges who want to pick up a new instrument, and unlike other teaching positions, being a music teacher does not necessarily require having formal credentials (though it will help). Often, playing experience, professionalism, and customer service abilities are all that you need. As a bonus, usually the preferred music lesson nights fall on days of the week that don’t produce large turnouts at venues, so it will not interfere with your original act’s touring schedule.

Developing lesson plans is generally fairly simple with the vast amount of resources including theory books, and websites at your disposal. Additionally, by catering your lessons to fit the needs of each student, you may in turn diversify your repertoire, and improve your playing ability. A major advantage to becoming a music teacher is that, unlike several of the other alternative sources of revenue that I will be discussing, it does NOT require a great deal of start-up capital.

Jesse Tomes, a London Ontario based freelance guitar instructor says that getting your first student is as easy as asking around your friends and acquaintances to see if they know of anyone looking to learn your instrument(s) of expertise. If that doesn’t generate any results, there are several discussions boards and/or social networking sites such as the Facebook "marketplace" section in which individuals post want ads for teachers and as well, you can post your own ads (free of charge I might add) advertising your services.

But, if you just don’t have enough time to squeeze in looking for students, as mentioned, getting hired by a music academy is possible as well. Though music academies take a percentage of their teachers’ earnings (varies, between 10-20%), remember, in this scenario, the students will come to you, and thus, there will be less leg work in terms of promoting one’s services.

Some of the more notable music academies in London, Ontario include: The Royal Conservatory of Music, Walters Music School, Noteworthy School of Music, & Yahama Music School.


Special Events Performance
Believe it or not, in the current music marketplace, Adam Sandler’s character in The Wedding Singer , would have had a pretty sweet gig because when it comes to spending money on entertainment for special events, celebrators don’t seem to believe there is such a thing as being too lavish. There have been several occasions throughout the career of my band, ANTI-HERO, in which we’ve been approached to play everything from bar mitzvahs to fashion shows to wedding receptions to birthday parties, and every time there’s always been a tempting sum of money offered in our direction.

Though typically these types of events employ cover acts or DJs, if you’ve worked rigorously at developing a die-hard fanbase, a reputation for being a solid live act, and having a strong online presence, you may just find yourself at the other end of one of these offers. But, as mentioned in a previous edition, I always advise bands not to become immediately swayed by the offer of cold-hard cash, and to inquire about all of the pertinent details relating to the gig (just as though it were any normal show) prior to accepting the invitation, because there is a common overseas party entertainment request scam that has been circulating online for the past year or so.

Although it would be impossible to depend on special event performance offerings as a stable auxiliary income unless your band became a working tribute act or got signed to a party planner talent agency, playing one or two of these shows every few months can set you for quite some time. With usual payments starting at $500 with professional lighting, sound, and stage equipment provided, a band is able to make a killing with very little effort exerted on their behalf.

There are NO promotional concerns as these are private "invite-only" parties, drinks and food may be complementary, and often, to include in goodies bags given out to their attendees, celebrators will purchase mass amounts of your merchandise in advance, leaving you with nothing but straight profit. There is one slight downside for the pure-blooded original act however, often adding cover songs to your setlist is required. Though it’s a small price to pay for the exposure, and financial rewards, some bands are adamant about maintaining their reputation as original songwriters. Additionally, unlike a standard gig, you may be required to play up to three sets in a given night with breaks filled in by a DJ and I can tell you from personal experience, this process can be exhausting, especially when good old granny has had one two many drinks and will not get off the dancefloor, even though it’s pushing 4 am.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/