Discussion Thread

I was contacted by a booking agency called Afton. Anyone ever hear of them/have experience with them? Are they legit?

 Legit, Yes. They are hard work though. Pre-sales are everything. Push those tickets brutally. Keep track of all your sales, and if you are close to the next ticket break, just buy another ticket... doing so could double the payout you get. Push hard, and it could be beneficial... but hold them to the contract at all costs.

They are basically pay for play.  They want you to sell a certain amount of tickets and you get a small percentage.  They do not care who they book as long as they get money from you.  I suggest you do your own bookings and not fall into their trap.  They won't come to the show,  and they will pressure you to sell tickets.  The venues they work with are below par.  It is not worth it. 

Not "basically" pay to play but totally. You must pre-sell tickets to your shows to get paid. And, no, they don't care about your music or talent. Don't be fooled by the bulk messages they send out to every artist they can find on Reverbnation, MySpace, etc. It's a scam.

Scam. Professionals earn a flat rate, not the door, not a percentage of bar sales, but a contracted flat rate.  Certainly not paying to play or selling tickets.

Entertainers provide entertainment,  promoters do the promotion. That's the only way it can work.

Totally agree.  I played a show for them and worked my ass off to sell enough tickets.  When I got to the venue, it was an extremely run down bar (now shut down), the owner of the club was wasted and stank of week old booz, the other bands where hardcore where I am acoustic, and they brought in 3 or 4 people while we were told and I did bring in upwards of 20.  Completely a waste of my time and energy and I strongly suggest not ever working with Afton.

I sold $600 worth of tickets. walked away with $174. They gave me a couple flyer templates.. Not worth it.  If you print your own materials you get all the money..