Tin Roof, New Brookland take different stances on at-the-door music costs
To pay or not to pay?
Many of us ponder this very question when outside the unopened doors of our favorite concert venues. The bouncer stands guard like the great Sphinx of Thebes, palm outstretched with not even the slightest hint of a smile playing at his lips.
Digging deep into your pockets, your hand resurfaces with only a few crumpled dollar bills. As you’re motioned to step aside, one thing becomes clear: This is one show you won’t be seeing. Why? Because you couldn’t front the $5 cover.
At-the-door fees, or “cover charges,” are becoming commonplace at a number of bars and music venues, not only in Columbia but also in other music-driven cities like Charleston, S.C., and Asheville, N.C. Locally, price ranges for popular venues that attract both national headliners and independent musicians vary, depending on the venue’s size, location and, of course, the popularity of the act.
The New Brookland Tavern in West Columbia has been known to charge upward of $10, not to mention an occasional extra $2 or $3 tacked on to cover the cost of alcohol for the under-21 crowd.
Other venues, like the Vista’s Tin Roof, offer free, live music during the week and try to stick to an even $5 cover charge after 10 p.m. for the majority of weekend shows. Still, others, like the Five Points Pub, have a sliding cover charge scale; sometimes the fee runs at $6, sometimes $8.
Of course, fees like these are becoming an inconvenience for plenty of regulars and those self-described “just there for the music” fans. But how many of us actually know what cover charges are for? According to “live music joint” Tin Roof co-owner Bob Franklin, all of that door money isn’t used to funnel exorbitant amounts of money into the business itself, but rather to offset the various costs of live music performances. Factors like sound engineers, music copyright license fees, equipment and the musicians themselves all play a huge role in determining a fair door charge for fans.
“Live music is much more expensive than DJs, house music or having no entertainment at all,” Franklin said. “We have musicians traveling to Columbia from all over the Southeast and need to pay them a fair rate, and we can’t earn enough in food and beverage revenue to cover that extra cost.”
Franklin went on to say that this “extra cost” of live music can often exceed $250,000 a year at Tin Roof, with cover charges accounting for only a small portion of this figure. Any leftover expenses are taken from the joint’s food and beverage earnings, which Franklin said can often put them at a disadvantage to other bars and restaurants.
“A bar or restaurant without entertainment still charges the same for food, beer and liquor, but doesn’t have the extra cost of paying live bands,” Franklin said, “which is why they don’t need a cover.”
Five Points Pub talent buyer Vance McNabb said the Devine Street establishment uses a similar model when determining a cover, allotting funds to pay for sound, light and performers for that particular evening. Even then, those payments are completely compensated in only a few instances.
“When those expenses are ‘covered,’ hence the name of the charge, then the promoter would make a percentage for putting on the event and the artists get the other part of that percentage,” McNabb said.
But, there are several live music venues in Columbia that beg to differ with Franklin’s perspective. At the other end of the spectrum is Rolling Stone Bar owner Jimmy Phillips, a long-time advocate of the Columbia music scene. Phillips agrees that the venue and fans alone cannot sustain the major expenses incurred by live music endeavors, staunchly claiming that the Rolling Stone is not a music venue (at least in the classical sense). However, he views the current charging model as “problematic.”
“There is a major flaw in the business model for the so-called ‘music venues,’” Phillips said. “Traditional ‘dedicated music venues’ are typically concert halls. Customers show up only when they know who is playing and are willing to pay the $5 to $15 to see them. It’s like a movie theater that you only go to for the movie.”
Phillips said he believes the cover system makes it difficult to attract new customers and instead acts as a deterrent for 90 percent of the population who could contribute to the venue in other ways. This loss ultimately trickles down to the artists, who lose not only monetary assets, but also the ultimate foundation for success: a fan base. In essence, charging covers has an adverse effect on the venue and the artist; on one hand the businesses sacrifices an influx of customers, and on the other the artist is deprived of valuable face time with new fans.
“Shows at local venues should not be seen as an opportunity to make money but as a platform to perform, promote and sell CDs and downloads,” Phillips said. He does not charge for any of the Stone’s shows. “If everyone understood this, I think the music scene in this town would explode, and inevitably a few lucky bands might actually make it big.”
Although their views may be conflicting, one element remains the same for these venues: It’s all about the music. Door charge or not, Columbia’s music maestros will continue striving to bring fans the best live entertainment possible. But, Franklin said the key to keeping the music on tap is reaching fans that bristle at the thought of paying an extra $5.
“We love live music and love to support musicians with paying gigs they can count on. The customers that really appreciate live music generally have no issues with paying a cover to support live music in Columbia,” Franklin said. “We just need to reach the customers who think they’re getting gouged and may not understand the true economics of hosting live music several nights per week.”
Phillips echoed this same idea, claiming that live music is a “luxury” we are all fortunate to experience.
“Live music makes any event more interesting. It’s live entertainment, and it’s a thousand times cooler than listening to a playlist feed from an iPod.”
