Afton Live

[taelmx]

So, I recently got a message on my soundcloud about this agency that sets up artists at venues. They go by the name Afton Live. Being the optimist that I am, I was pretty exited. After about a week of emails with the Afton rep, too many red flags went up. They seemed pretty desperate to get me to perform, and after doing a little research, it seems that they are basically a bottom of the barrel booking agency. Although they are not a blatent scam, they most certainly give the impression of being a big ripoff. So, just as a warning to everybody here, if you get an email from this company, beware that this is what they do:

1. Afton buys out a block of time at a venue, covers all the costs, etc
2. Afton reps go snooping around Myspace/soundcloud/etc and email various artists offering gigs
3. Afton reps tell artists that they need to sell their own tickets.
4. Afton takes the majority of the payout from said tickets

(According to the email I got, they sell tickets at about $7, or $13 at the door, and the performer only makes about $1 for every ticket sold, and has a minimum quota.)

So, my advice would be to push away the feeling of "oh my I've been noticed!" and really stand your ground. You don't want to host a $600 performance and then have Afton take the majority of your money. Sell your own tickets, set up your own booking, and sell merchandise. Of course if you have the time and resources, Afton might work for you, but just beware that Afton is not the hot shit they think they are, and are essentially pay-to-play(though you pay with your time, not cash).

 

[ProducerJC]

So, I recently got a message on my soundcloud about this agency that sets up artists at venues. They go by the name Afton Live. Being the optimist that I am, I was pretty exited. After about a week of emails with the Afton rep, too many red flags went up. They seemed pretty desperate to get me to perform, and after doing a little research, it seems that they are basically a bottom of the barrel booking agency. Although they are not a blatent scam, they most certainly give the impression of being a big ripoff. So, just as a warning to everybody here, if you get an email from this company, beware that this is what they do:

1. Afton buys out a block of time at a venue, covers all the costs, etc
2. Afton reps go snooping around Myspace/soundcloud/etc and email various artists offering gigs
3. Afton reps tell artists that they need to sell their own tickets.
4. Afton takes the majority of the payout from said tickets

(According to the email I got, they sell tickets at about $7, or $13 at the door, and the performer only makes about $1 for every ticket sold, and has a minimum quota.)

So, my advice would be to push away the feeling of "oh my I've been noticed!" and really stand your ground. You don't want to host a $600 performance and then have Afton take the majority of your money. Sell your own tickets, set up your own booking, and sell merchandise. Of course if you have the time and resources, Afton might work for you, but just beware that Afton is not the hot shit they think they are, and are essentially pay-to-play(though you pay with your time, not cash).

What were you expecting?

Any company that puts up money for you will expect a chunk of change in return. And, they may not be the hottest booking agent in the industry, by your standards; however, newbies need to start somewhere. Their enthusiasm seem justified in terms of getting artist on stage. After all, the company stand to make money from helping you to become successful. As an artist, you'll always be expected to sell tickets and promote because that's what professional musicians get paid to do. The idea of working with booking agents is to get on stage more often than you would by working solo.

My advice is to start thinking like a business owner instead of an employee. You'll start to see the people your work with as contractors or employees instead of key holders and meal tickets. Always remember, it's your career and nobody else will care about it more than you.

 

[meta4tony]

afton is ok if you kno what ur doing. If you can get like 3 or 4 artist you know to book the same show and
maybe ask someone to host it its not bad. but their biggest issues is they dont screen the music
so often times the artist dont mesh well together and it can get kinda akward.