The worst SonicBids opportunity ever
I’m not a fan of SonicBids, although we do have an Electroinic Press Kit (EPK) there, and use the service occasionally.
SonicBids allows performers to create an EPK and submit it to venues for a fee. The fees are split between SonicBids and the venue. The fees are generally greater than the cost of sending a press kit through the mail, and sometimes exceed fifty dollars. Beyond taking the world further down the dreaded ‘pay to play‘ slippery slope, SonicBids sucks because most of the opportunities listed are thoroughly awful. Why on earth would one pay to submit a press kit to a coffee house open mic?
That said, I got an alert from SonicBids today for what may be the worst opportunity ever: unpaid performances at KOA campgrounds. I’m not making this up.
This exciting opportunity is a great way to network your music, gain great contacts and establish a fan base in areas other than your home town. KOA campgrounds enjoy new and exciting talent and are looking forward to offering great bands to their campers.
Here’s a nice blog entry from someone else who thinks SonicBids sucks.
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Hey Kenneth,
a couple quick things:
1) I recently posted (a few minutes ago) on the link you provided below for Jim Hodgson, the person you wrote thinks “Sonicbids sucks.” He received a reply directly from Sonicbids’ Artist Relations team shortly after he sent the message to us, and he responded with thanks and appreciation. We have asked him to update his thread.
2) I thing KOA is trying something new in a way to help get artists in front of audiences they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to be in front of. Obviously unpaid performances are not idea, but for many artists this is another opportunity to gain new fans, sell CDs and other merch, etc. The point is that no one opportunity is right for all artists, and no one artist is right for all opportunities, and artists have to be smart about what they make submissions to be considered for because it is an investment, but far from a new one. Artists already pay for consideration for opportunities, but they pay in the form of CD duplication costs, supplies, and especially postage to send physical press kits to promoters who don’t need them or want them. Every time you send a press kit by mail you’re simply giving your money to the post office. A Sonicbids subscription of $49.95-99.95 per year will allow artists to send their EPK as much as they want via email to anyone at all. A huge benefit to an account outside of being able to make direct submissions for specific opportunities - and a benefit I think too many artists overlook.
As far as submission fees go, there are only 6 drop boxes (out of almost 1100) that are $50 or higher, and most of those come with additional services provided. If you have questions about submission fees, by all means WAIT to make a submission until you have reached the promoter to ask what they use submission fees for. They could simply be a barrier of entry to inappropriate artists, or they could be a way to help compensate artists better for their performances, or any number of reasons. Those submission fees are set by the promoters, and you can ask them for more info. Don’t make a submission if you’re dissatisfied with the info.
Feel free to keep a discussion going in the Sonicbids Community Forum at http://www.sonicbids.com/forum.
Thanks,
Benjy
Comment by Benjy — 2/26/2007 @ 5:29 pm