Showcasing, does it work?

Subject: Showcasing, does it work?
From: musicmick
Date: 19 May 04 - 03:02 PM

I am considering attending a regional Folk Allience weekend. They offer a variety of showcase opportunities from main stage "official" showcases to independant "gorilla" showcases and a few more whose names escape me. I am a great believer in showcasing. I have performed at library showcases and school showcases and I have gotten quite a bit of work from them. But, at NERFA (Northeast Regional Folk Allience), places on the main stage are not assured and many acts scramble for exposure in lesser attended venues. I have no qualms about my ability to perform, given the opportunity. I have been a full time working folk singer for many years and I know how to win an audience (It is, after all, my profession). My question is, how much exposure will I get at anything other than a main stage workshop?
These weekends are expensive and I would like to know the lay of the land before I commit. Have any of you, Mudcatters, attended and showcased at an event in which you were not on the primary showcase.
How did it work out for you?

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 19 May 04 - 03:38 PM

Only 'proper'showcase I have done was organised by 'Stage' the UK Show Business paper when I appeared as part of an 'Irish' trio in front of an audience of assorted agents.We had to pay to participate
and have indeed got some work out of it.
I must admit this was NOT a Folk event but more of a Caberet setting
but did get us a reasonable amount of exposure and (sadly) a lot more queries than actual bookings.

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 19 May 04 - 04:21 PM

Margaret and I showcased at the International Folk Alliance Conference when it was in Calgary in 1992. We got one definite booking out of it (though I had talked to the person who booked that venue a couple years before the event, so I think we may have gotten booked sooner or later anyway). We have wound up getting more bookings at those sorts of conferences by recommendations from other musicians during years where we didn't showcase. We haven't been to NERFA yet, as it's a bit far for us midwesterners. We have the FARM (folk alliance region midwest) conference here, but we try to not have a juried showcase (though that may change) and try to foster a sense of cooperativeness rather than competition.

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 19 May 04 - 05:10 PM

"Showcases" are usually "pay to play" ripoffs actually intended to make money from the performers. Saw them all the time trying to cheat my daughter's electric band.

There's never anyone there of significance. If there is a "selection" process those doing the selecting usually know absolutely squat.

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 19 May 04 - 06:04 PM

Richard, while that may well be the case with many/most showcase "opportunities", I can assure you that Folk Alliance showcases are no scam or ripoff. While they may not always result in the slew of bookings one might hope for, they often do result in people who book for venues & folk festivals becoming aware of an act and inquiring about booking them then, or possibly being more inclined to book them later. If memory serves, I believe Artisan & Les Barker showcased pretty successfully there. I also know of some acts who were just as good who showcased but did not get the same kind of response... a lot of it is luck -- as well as talent, of course.

Musicmic, if you really want the lowdown, join the Folk Alliance (if you're not already a member) -- you'll need to anyway to showcase/attend the conference; then sign up for the Folk Alliance e-mailing list. There has been at least one excellent discussion (that I can remember) concerning the best/worst way(s) to go about showcasing at the Folk Alliance Conference. You can search the archives of the mailing list to find this discussion (I found a search for "showcase" did the trick nicely).

I'm not providing a blue clicky, 'cos you need to join -- but if you read what's been posted, it should give you a good idea of whether or not you want to showcase -- and if you do decide to, it should give you a good head start on what to expect and how to go about it.

Even if you decide not to showcase -- or even attend the conference -- FA membership is not all that expensive & is well worth it. Check out the Folk Alliance website to find out more about it.

Cheers,

YY

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: TS
Date: 19 May 04 - 06:53 PM

I've never paid for a showcase, but I've played many for free. The sound is always provided (or no sound system at all) and its tough sometimes to deal with a number of other bands, or to get the right sound you're going for in a short 10-15 mins....I have always found them to pay off though. As long as someone comes up to ask about our next gig, or you hand out afew business cards, its worth it.....Slainte!

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: musicmick
Date: 20 May 04 - 01:53 AM

Thanks, Yorhshire Yankee. I have great respect for the Folk Alliance.
I am not concerned with the success/ failure ratio of showcasing. My question was not on whether the showcasing yields jobs. I assume that main stage showcases are as successful as the performer is entertaining and appropriate to the venues. What I would like to know is if showcasing in venues, other than main stage, is productive.
Phil, I agree that the best road to bookings is through personal recomendation. Almost all my jobs come from clients and agents who know me or who have heard of me through a friend. Showcasing is a valuable tool for breaking into new markets.

                Mike

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: breezy
Date: 20 May 04 - 03:34 AM

you can showcase at one of my clubs anytime.

As a folk club organiser I have yet to recieve an invitation to attend as a prospective 'booker' yet it is others such as I who engage you the peformers.

I think it my responsibility to my clients i.e. the good folk who come to listen at my clubs, to hear all acts live before booking them, although a demo CD does help give some idea, but its really the live performance that I am booking.

Cold calling is not the best way of selling if you're unknown to the recipient of the call.

I have my doubts about showcasing , best if artistes invite organisers to their gigs as guests.

the jury is out on this one at present, I need more info I think.

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: GUEST,SHowman Homer
Date: 20 May 04 - 04:06 PM

I'd think part of your job skill would be assessing based on a demo tape of CD how good a show is going to be.

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 20 May 04 - 05:18 PM

The smaller, guerilla, showcases at the Folk Alliance (the International conference, I have no experience with the NERFA regional) have mixed results. I have seen some good performers playing in their suites to six people and I've seen some others playing to packed rooms. It depends on what else is happening at the time. I tend to turn into a pumpkin if it gets too late these days, so I would perhaps not be the best person to ask about how effective the smaller showcases are.

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: GUEST,harlowpoet
Date: 20 May 04 - 06:19 PM

I rang up and stuck myself down for one in Whitby this year. As its two hundred or more miles away and I've never done anything in the North of England, I thought why not.

Richard does have a point about exploitation, and its even worse in the London comedy clubs.

Thing is, that its one of the few ways to get noticed.

I'm not expecting anything other than a good time, as folk is my thing. Any bookings would be a bonus.

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 20 May 04 - 08:04 PM

musicmic, the discussion(s) on the Folk Alliance mailing list that I mentioned address "gorilla" showcasing as well as the "official" showcases, so it's well worth a look IMHO, even in your situation.

Subject: RE: Showcasing, does it work?
From: musicmick
Date: 21 May 04 - 01:03 AM

Yorkshire Yankee, I tried to get the information from that Folk Alliance website but all I got was various routes to registration and attendance. I do know that the main stage showcases are seen by hundreds and that the later showcases are in competition with each other for audience. I looked at the printed schedule. There were at least a half dozen workshops going on at the same time all night long.
The numbers, themselves, suggest that exposure at "lesser" workshops is mighty hard to come by. IT is not the fault of the NERFA staff. There are, after all, a finite number of spots available on the official, juried, showcase and there are many more artists than there are spots. I don't have an equitable solution for the problem. I am just wondering if a performer can justify the expense of participation
without a guarantee of a main stage slot.

                        Mike