Today, we have a guest column from Keith Gibbons, bassist for Southeastern, PA-based rock band Sincerly Monroe. In it, Keith outlines some problems he has with the mechanics of benefit shows. While there will always be a need for them, in some form, he provides some first-hand insight into how these shows might be causing more damage, more specifically, to the bands involved than thought.

The point of this column is to spark conversation about the matter. This is not a column that expresses the views of everyone here at LNWF. We want to create a discussion, so people can voice an opinion about this matter. Leave some comments and hit up Keith if you’ve got something to say. His contact info is at the bottom of the column. Read on after the jump.

In the past year, I have noticed a growing trend in the local music scene. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry who thinks he can put on the most insane music festival in his basement tries to do so, and at the end of the night, all of the bands leave with nothing (any amount of beer does not make up for empty pockets!), or even less than what they came with, thus losing their asses to play this one gig. And why is this? The first reason is because a lot of kids who put on shows think it’s an awesome idea to have every band on the planet play the same show. The other reason is because they’re calling it a benefit show, whether it be to fight cancer (the good kind of benefit), or bail their recently arrested buddy out of the slammer.

Here is the breakdown: Bands survive solely on merch sales and their show guarantees (the amount of money that they are promised by the venue or promoter to just show up and play, gas money, etc.). Any other money that goes into the band comes out of each individual members pocket; which is why in my band, we all have full-time jobs so we can pay for equipment, rent for our practice hall, a van, insurance for said van, trailer, and anything else we need to function as a band who can go out and play shows.

Now, you have someone who wants to make money, whether it be for their own means, or for some form of worthwhile cause. So they decide to put on a local show because there is a lot of money to be made off of local bands. They then attach the title “Benefit Show.” This is almost guaranteeing that the bands will not see any of the money collected at the door from people who are paying to see YOU play. When is the last time you heard about a checkers tournament to benefit the closest hospital? Unless you have a good friend who is putting on the show who wouldn’t mind slipping you $50 as your walking out the door to drive the ten million hours it is going to take you to get home safely, you basically just worked your ass off to lose money.

So now, there is no money up front, but because you’re a band and you’re trying to get your name out, you take the show offer. Then you come to find out that along with you, there are roughly 12 other bands on the same bill. This is a bitch, because now you have 12 other bands merchandise to compete against. It’s simple mathematics. 50 people come to a show. $10 a person at the door which you won’t ever see, and then, say collectively, those 50 people have a total of $500 to spend on merch, and that’s being generous. Now instead of a normal show with five bands who are trying to get their hearty piece of the $500 plus the door money, which could average to $130+ per band, you have 12 bands who are trying to get their cut of a possible $500 which if it is divided equally, that’s only $41 per band. That’s pretty awesome if you’re in high school and your mom drove you and your band’s equipment in her minivan to the show. If you’ve graduated college, work full-time, have car payments, rent payments, cell phone bills and other expenses, and your band drove the piece of shit van and trailer because you can’t afford anything better, it doesn’t work so well. Especially since you’re allotting $5 per member and putting the rest into the band fund. That translates to roughly $20 made for your band. “So, who’s paying for gas? ‘Cause I only have five fuckin bucks and I’m buying smokes!”

The bottom line: At benefit shows, the bands do not make any money to replenish merchandise, or record, mix, master, and press the next cd, or just put a hot pocket in each members starving belly. This puts unnecessary stress on the individuals in the band, and can sometimes force them to leave, or the band ends up breaking up because of how broke everyone is. Too many of these shows can end up destroying the very thing that brings people to these shows in the first place, THE MUSIC!

I do believe that bands enjoy playing the occasional benefit show to help someone out or to support a specific cause just because it feels good to do something for someone else. But if this trend continues, serious bands may be forced to call it quits because they can’t make ends meet. Music is my life. It’s all I know and love. It’s the only thing I’m consistently good at and I will protect it with all my heart. What do you love? Lamp?

-Keith Gibbons
Sincerely Monroe

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