Bands - Heads up on Afton Live and the way they do business

Recently , Amity of If Not For Dreaming contacted me with the heads up on what is a shady company prying on the new bands. They contacted her via Reverbnation email. It was the poor grammar, misspelled words that red flagged it to her so I asked her for the email she received so I could look into this company myself.


The email is as followed:

Subject: can i get your booking info?


hey


i saw your prfile and seems cool.. i book afton shows in hartford and im thinkin youd fit well on shows i've got comin up- like maybe this one at webster on sept 10th?


i wanna exchange info if youre down and have a bunch of other options if that one wont work, get back w/ me at my email if youre interested and lets talk?


(Email address omitted by Renagade)


could then get you details and get more info from you so i can get you on s good show.

No link to the show nor the company, not even a hint about it. And the spelling and grammar does scream unprofessional. So, I went to Google and searched for Afton. Discovered it was called AftonLive. They have been around for sometime and do put together shows. BUT YOU the artist do the work of selling the house out. No this fact is not found on there website, but, to quote Mulder, “ the truth is out there” .

My next step was to Google AftonLive Scam .Try it. You will be amazed at the number of hits you get. After reading a few articles, blog posts, forum rants, one really stood out and I found it to be right on. Not only about this company but about how many companies and venues are ‘using’ musicians for free entertainment and profiting from it and the bands are allowing it to happen. Many are more than willing to play for free just to play.

Please take the time to check out : Is Afton Live A Scam? Any Worse Than Venues?


It is well written account on the legality and ethics of companies such as this. As the Blog reads:
“There’s been an ongoing debate online about whether Afton Live is a scam, or if their shows are technically “pay-to-play”. It’s semantics, really. Since there has been music, there have been those who prey upon musicians. There’s hardly a professional act that isn’t well acquainted with the shadier aspects of the music business. There’s always going to be someone eager to shake your hand and pat you on the back while they offer you the next great deal. Roger Waters wrote a famous song about these people; just listen to Pink Floyd’s “Have A Cigar” some time. These sorts of people are part of the landscape. They’re always going to be. And there’s really nothing wrong with it, from a legal perspective.”

Is it illegal? Not really. Is it unethical and hurtful to the Music industry? You bet. But as PT Barnum said :       “ There is a sucker born every minute” Artists, I urge you to do your homework, read every contract and take pride in your craft. Don’t sell your soul at the crossroads.

The Author, of Is Afton Live A Scam? Any Worse Than Venues? is Wicasta , a member of Windhaven

ATT: Another good site for info is:
http://www.neverpaytoplay.com/

The Whispers of the Dragon say a scam is on the loose

It has been brought to my attention a site called numberonemusic.com is running a major scam. Whispers of the Dragon band came close to becoming a victim, but they followed their gut feeling and investigated before being sucked in.

They have shared their findings in their blog:
"....we began to research the site and found that if we wanted to keep up this stairway to stardom, that we would have to start paying a monthly charge after our free 30 day trial. Still at this point it seemed very tempting to jump on. We had never seen this much activity, fan gathering and plays. As musicians it’s our dream to hit levels like this and we all believe that some day this could happen. It is all about dreaming.
Additional research on numerous blogs from around the world dating back as far as 2006 showed numerous musicians had been involved and lost money (it used to be the first six months for 35 dollars). In addition many had pasted their emails they received which were identical in there wording to ours. At this pont it really seemed to us that we were probably involved in a questionable site."

Please go and read their entire blog, decide for yourself, and spread the word.
I did ... and I agree, major scam.

Later........Renagade
PS.... Check out Whispers of the Dragon music while you are there! you will be glad you did!