Many musicians are making a sizeable addition to their income doing house shows and gigs in other non-commercial spaces . Indeed there are a few who make most of their living this way.  You get to play to a relaxed audience that listens appreciatively and is willing to pay. There are more opportunities for selling CDs and building your fan base, no agent fees, no booking fees and you may get a meal and even a place to stay the night. Some hosts will organise events on weeknights or weekend afternoons, to help you fill your tour schedule.

Reach out to your fans through email and social media (including Music Collective Facebook page) asking who would like to host you at home.

As a co-operative venture, Music Collective relies on you and the music community to build this network of places to play.

Together we can

• put on house shows for our own music and other musicians
• encourage people who invite us to play a house show to list on MC. These hosts are completely in charge of how many shows they want to hold, and their privacy is assured, but every extra show is one more that wasn’t available before.

Local halls are usually cheap to hire. Some hall committees will waive or reduce hiring fees for community type events. Some will partner with you to run shows.

Many regular hall events start as open mics with a listening audience, then branch out to holding other music shows, doing a door deal with the musicians.

What halls find is the use of the hall increases considerably when regular shows are held. This is good for their viability, and a selling point if you would like to give this a go.

You can make money from entrance fees, food – dinner, snacks, drinks, alcohol, the use of your PA… 

A network is a group of venues in an area that will share your approach to play within the network to maximise your chance of finding one or more to perform at.

Search Hosts listings to arrange a concert with the host via MC well in advance so you have time to plan your itinerary and they have time to gather the audience. You will also get requests from potential hosts in response to your listings.

Sort out details of date, time and place. Do you require a minimum payment? Are they offering a meal, accommodation?  Do you require PA? Lights? How much space do you need? At what time would you like to arrive to set up? Is there a quiet warm up space available? Midweek concerts, afternoons on a weekend may be attractive to you. You could arrange a shorter evening mid week if need be, maybe playing just one set, and setting a smaller fee.

If you contact the host by phone, their website or Facebook, and not by using our contact form, let them know you found them on Home Made Jam. If users know our network is making connections, it will encourage them to use it and HMJ will get stronger with more choice for all.

Message your Facebook events or other publicity material to Music Collective – Northern NSW Facebook group, and they will appear on the list of events and also on our website “What’s On” page.

As a seasoned performer, you probably know how to handle this. Ensure beforehand the money is determined, and perhaps in a written performance agreement. You may have a set minimum, or be willing to take the door collection. If accommodation is part of the deal you could consider that when deciding the minimum fee.

It is beneficial to the host to have positive reviews, helping get them more response from other artists. Reviews of hosts help you and other artists choose. If communication was prompt, if you loved the host’s venue, hospitality, the responsiveness of the audience, let theMC community know. Please read our Review Guidelines  to help keep comments constructive. Negative reviews are difficult, but honesty is important and helps hosts improve and others make decisions about them based on a wider range of information. You can just leave a star recommendation less than the maximum, writing minimal comment. Some people leave writing negative reviews some time before submitting. You owe it to other artists to let them know the good and not so good. If you have serious concerns or issues, contact the appropriate authorities. Please let us know as well.

We recommend you have public liability insurance specific for your situation which covers you for costs from legal action if you are found liable for death or injury, loss or damage of property, or economic loss resulting from your negligence. If you are concerned about this, check your policy or your insurance company. APRA has recommended insurers for performers.

Host pages may indicate “Accommodation possible.” Ask on your initial email contact. The host may or may  be able to accommodate you on the occasion. This is a wonderful gift given by the host, and many hosts will have reviews and information in their listing that helps you decide. But be safe, trust your instincts and leave if you feel uncomfortable. If you are a woman, we recommend travelling with a friend. Some people ask for photo ID which they photograph and send to a friend. This can be awkward, but most people will understand your caution. It is completely at your discretion to decide to accept an offer of accommodation.

Help build the network. The more hosts, the more you and your fellow artists can make a respectable and enjoyable addition to your income. The more artists, the more hosts are encouraged that they can find interesting artists to perform for them. Like the Facebook page, share posts, recommend us to potential new hosts, artists and services. Music Collective – Power in unison.

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