Quote:
Originally Posted by DenverSteve
I "quote" this for two reasons. One, to repeat the venue and two, to emphasize what other's have said. A mid-week open mic that starts at 7pm and goes to...10 or 11 is not conducive for young working people who have to get to work at 7 or 8 a.m. I would start the event at 5-5:30 and close it down by 9. I know that doesn't satisfy the wants of the host location who wants free entertainment until midnight or later, but that's what it is. Maybe have the venue offer a mid-week paid gig for the winner of the OM to entice players who are actually looking to play for a living or avocation. Have a monthly "shoot-out" of the top 12 players for the month - top 3 from each week. The winner, or winners of the battle get paid gigs at the venue for every Wednesday for a month.
The issue I see with open mics is that many/most are tolerated by the venue for the purpose of players bringing in their 3-12 friends, filling up the place and getting patrons and free entertainment out of it while the players get very little in return. I think open mics mostly get two types of players. The up and coming local players looking for exposure and moving in to full-time playing (or at least profitable playing), and those you have already listed - the retired or retiring who don't need/want full-time gigs. Somewhere the event/venue needs to bridge the gap.
|
Wrong on the times - young people don't NEED to get to bed at 10 or 11, many may work retail jobs and don't even get out of their day job until 6 or 7.
let's not get into the 'providing entertainment for free' venue thing again.
I get younger players at my open mic - but not every time, and not the same ones consistently. But they do come back - and that's the key, what is the host doing to make them feel they should go back? Open mics, as mentioned already, can fail or be successful dependent on the host, not just the venue and its location. There are tons of open mics around here, so people have choices. Go to others to see which ones are successful, and why they are successful.
Besides Facebook - and you need to post it in EVERY local FB music group you can find, do a few every night for several days prior to the open mic - advertise on craigslist, openmics.org, Meet-up, etc. I take photos of every player and post them on FB within a couple of days of the event - I try to get everyone who comes to friend me on FB so they can be 'tagged' - this gets the word out to the players' friends. I share the photo album on the venue's Facebook page. At the open mic itself, I try to talk to all the players, and if they come by themselves, try to make them feel included. I let people know when they are 'on deck' to play so they can get ready, make sure I announce them before they play, and try to say their names when they finish too.