![]() ![]() Now, Sofar plans to continue the conversation with a new “artist advisory group.” Starting in February, the group will meet every six months to review artist compensation, share feedback and findings, and make adjustments accordingly. Sofar Sounds Raises $25M From Investors: Here's How It Plans to Use the Funds Both Lucchese and Offer continue to insist that Sofar’s main value for artists is exposure. At the time, Lucchese and Sofar Sounds founder Rafe Offer told Billboard that the funds would be used to increase payments to artists at shows, increase the number of sponsored Sofar Shows (which result in more money for artists), and support Sofar staff. While he insists he wants to pay artists as much as possible, Lucchese acknowledges that he must make sure the company survives, too. “It’s all about striking a balance where the payment in the room that night is fair, while making sure you can continue to sustain operations and grow,” he explains.Įven so, some in the music community raised their eyebrows when Sofar announced $25 million in new funds from investors in May, including existing investor Virgin Group, whose founder Richard Branson‘s financial support of Sofar stretches back to 2016. ![]() None of these figures include centralized company costs - like the team that runs the Sofar website, its ticketing and event booking systems, and its marketing and finance teams. Lucchese says the company is still figuring out exactly what will differentiate a “larger show” from a “smaller show.” 1, 2020, Lucchese says Sofar will raise compensation at larger Sofar-operated shows, with the goal of increasing the average profit split for their standard show format (3 artists and 20-25 minute sets) to 70/30 across Sofar-operated cities, in favor of the artist.”Īcts at smaller shows will still be guaranteed $100 each, since at that scale the new profit split could actually result in lower artist fees. The Echo Nest's Jim Lucchese Joins Sofar Sounds as CEO Founder Rafe Offer Shifts to Executive ChairĬurrently, the profit split between artists and Sofar at the average major city, Sofar-operated event is 63% to 37%. Using Boston as an example, Lucchese points out that the net income per show - after paying local staff and covering show costs (such as insurance and licensing fees) and event marketing (to promote the show) - comes out to $476.Īfter paying each of three acts $100, then, the net income to Sofar is just $176. Lucchese opened the books on shows in the roughly 30 Sofar-operated major cities, where Sofar sells tickets in advance, pays the artists the same flat rate, but also has a small team of local employees who book, organize and run all the events. (regardless of how many members are in the act). The rest of those independent cities sell tickets online and pay a flat fee of $100 per act in the U.S. In about 375 cities around the world, Sofar series operate independently, with 90% of them putting on free shows where all the money collected pass-the-hat style goes to show expenses and artists. 19), he did just that by publishing a blog post breaking down the cash flow at a typical Sofar-operated event. ![]() Sofar Sounds Will Augment Show Volunteers With Paid Crew, Amid Department of Labor Investigation So why don’t I just reach back out to the same artists and lay it all out for them, and make sure they understand how it all works?'” In regards to the money question, Lucchese says, “I thought, ‘Well, this is something we can just answer now. The New York State Department of Labor is conducting an ongoing investigation into Sofar’s use of unpaid volunteers, which was first reported in August within a widely-shared Talkhouse essay by musician John Colpitts (a.k.a. The company’s business practices have been scrutinized over the past year, with some arguing that Sofar - which uses unpaid volunteers to supplement staff at its network of secret-lineup shows - isn’t paying performers enough. It wasn’t surprising to Sofar Sounds CEO Jim Lucchese. One question came up again and again: Where does all the money go? Sofar Sounds, the global series of intimate concerts, recently surveyed about 5,000 artists who have performed at one of the company’s shows over its 10-year history, looking for constructive feedback about the experience. ![]()
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