Options
Support acts - do they pay or get paid for their supporting slot?
Dumdedumdum
Posts: 1,639 Forum Member
✭✭✭
I heard a while back that when supporting major musical acts artists (or their record labels) pay for their slot. For example, the Script and Pet Shop Boys paid Take That for being on their Progress tour with the aim that they will recoup costs from subsequent record sales and/or build their fanbase.
Is this true? If so, what sort of numbers are we talking? And is it the same outside the UK?
Is this true? If so, what sort of numbers are we talking? And is it the same outside the UK?
0
Comments
sometimes artists would be paid to play though. basically there were all sorts of deals covering a number of different options. sometimes big acts wouldn't want unknown crap acts supporting them as it reflected on the big act so they would pay for a decent known band as support
I take it that it would have only been UK dates? If it was US dates it really could have helped them.
I've always thought the same about festivals too, I'm assuming the headline acts get paid big bucks, but the unsigned acts in small tents, do they get paid? And if they pay, whats the cut-off level of success required to become an act paying for a slot to becoming a paid act?
I think I remember reading that Chris Martin was a fan of Girls Aloud and he personally asked them
I saw Haim support Vampire Weekend and they were better so I bought their album a few days later. Worked on me.
My band got paid 200 pounds for playing T Break at t in the park in 2004, im not sure how it all stands now as that was 10 years ago :-s
I saw James support Suede and basically play them off the park.
I got into Chvrches partly because they supported Depeche Mode.
It worked for The Saturdays. I saw them when they were supporting Girls Aloud on their Tangled Up tour, before their first single was due to be released and I've been a fan ever since.
Yes, I think it's fairly essential to book a prestigious support slot - also for giving bands experience playing large venues. I'm quite bad for using support slots as an opportunity to get a round in. I should take the opportunity to see great bands early in their career.
Yes I remember seeing and thinking they are OK just not a patch on Girls Aloud, and that has remained true!
On the subject of it helping an act. We saw Hurts support Scissor Sisters and they were miles better - we've since bought their albums (as have the friends we went with) and seen them live a couple more times and haven't seen Scissor Sisters since.