PDP Productions

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Can we play one of your shows?

We do about 15 - 20 shows a year which means that we do not have very many slots for bands. We give preference to bands that have shown a willingness to work hard and work with us to promote a thriving local music scene. We book most of our shows in the Greenfield, MA area, but also book other venues. If you are a local band (30 - 45 minutes from Greenfield) and are willing and able to sell 20 tickets let us know. If you are an out-of-town band with an unknown draw the best way to get a spot on one of our shows is either to show swap or for you to help us put together a show in your area.

Do you charge bands to play?

No. We don't charge. We do ask bands to help promote by selling tickets. If you're not cool with that's ok, but we're probably not going to book you unless you have a proven draw.
For many shows we ask some of the local bands to sell tickets as a means of encouraging them to promote and to solidify attendance. We might require a deposit for the tickets, but usually only if the show in question is far in the future and we've never worked with you before.

Why do you make local bands sell tickets?

We cover this in the PDP Manifesto but if you want even more information read on. It's part of the way we support a healthy local music scene. Fans want to see high-quality, entertaining shows with good bands. Bands want the opportunity to reach as many people as possible and to present what they do in the best way possible. We ask bands to sell tickets because we think it helps improve attendance. Our shows aren't free so that we can provide basic support to bands that need it and so that we can continue to pay the expenses we incur to provide safe, quality shows. When you're out there selling tickets you're promoting the show, helping to insure that there is good turnout which helps support the bands who might have traveled a while to play the show. You're also making sure that we can continue doing what we're doing.
We always tell bands that if they're serious about the art and the business of music and really want to be in it for the long haul then they need to think about what they would like if they were the traveling band, out on the road playing shows. They would want good quality shows and local bands that help to support for them. Which is why they should ask their fans to come to the show and stay and watch the other bands. It's about everyone supporting each other. This helps everyone including you, because a good healthy scene is something that you can rely on next month or next year. That's how we work. And hopefully when you go to other towns to play they do the same for you and get their locals to support. And if they don't then they're not worth dealing with.

But isn't it the promoters job to "promote" the show? Why should the bands do your work promoting the show for you?

That's one way to look at it. We cover this in the PDP Manifesto but if you want even more information read on. And it isn't like we don't do promotion. We spend a lot of time with online promotions, virtual flyering, involving local business, and generally getting a buzz going about every show we do. But we are not strictly show promoters. We often produce, organize and manage the entire affair, which means booking the bands, renting the venue, running the sound and lights, managing the event, taking care of the bands, providing security. This is more than what a promoter does because we have a different model than the guy that just books bands at the local club. We work closely with bands and do everything needed to put on good quality shows. We are a DIY operation and we include all the bands we work with in that. All of us together are working to build a nice local scene where bands can have decent shows and make enough money to survive.

Can we be one of the bands you work closely with?

Possibly. The bands we work with have proven that they are willing to do the hard work over the long term. We have taken the DIY mentality and are carving out a nice scene in our local area with the help of people and bands that share the same goals and approach that we have. If you want to be part of what we do one of the first steps is to show that you're willing and able work with us. Setting up a show swap is one way. Another is to work with us to put on a show in your area. We host shows in other areas with the help of local bands who are interested in putting on a kick-ass show, but that requires some effort on your part to help us find a good venue and get other bands in your area to promote and sell tickets. Ask us about it if you're interested.

What's a show swap?

You get us a show for one of the bands we work with and we'll get you a slot on one of our upcoming shows.

Why don't you book more bands in the X genre? Why do you only book "mainstream" bands?

What genre we do or don't book or what you might think we avoid booking is partially a matter of ones perception. If you happen to like band X and we haven't booked band X we can appreciate that you might think we'll never book band X. The same goes for some particular genre. One thing to consider is we have an opportunity to book fewer shows with fewer slots on those shows than you might imagine. There are many more bands interested in playing a show than slots for any given show. And yes, we do book some bands more often than others, but as we've said before we look for bands that are willing to put in the effort in collaboration with us. Another way to look at it is that if we are investing our time and effort in a band we want to be sure that that effort is being reciprocated and also that a few years down the road they will be still around so that our efforts are not wasted. Take a look at the list of bands we have worked with to see which ones are still alive-and-kicking if you wonder what we're talking about.
But yes, we are selective about who we book. Just look around at all the venues that have closed in this region in the past five years - it must be in the hundreds. Since we intend to be around in a few years we also intend to make sure that the bands we book respect the venues they use, the communities they play in and the people they work with.