Hey Brian,

My apologies for not replying sooner. Somehow this got marked as read and I didn't see it until just happening by it in the forum.

Eric has some great advice.

In my experience, both performing house concerts and dealing with a lot of artists who have done really well with them, you want to promote this like any other product. 

I would send out a few emails to your list explaining that you are going to be doing a house concert, explain how it works, explain the time frame, really sell how cool the experience will be, and let people know that spots are limited. I would NOT mention a specific price but I would give a ballpark. For example, I have a friend who charges about $1000/show and he tells people in his initial announcement that fees will depend on location, travel times. etc, but "think, the price of a large appliance". And then he tells people to get in touch if they would like to book a show at their home or location and someone from your team will be in touch. It could be as simple as hit reply and send me your phone number and location. Then you take all of the requests that come in and line them up into something that makes sense in terms of a travel plan. I would email everyone several times just like a normal promo. 

Start contacting people and quoting prices based on travel expenses. For example, if it's only an hours drive you could charge $300. If it's in Alaska you could tell them that your fee is only $300 but they would need to also cover a flight and lodging which would come to XXX amount. Likewise, if you get an offer for multiple shows in the same location you can drop prices. That same friend of mine tries to do two shows a day when he does it, and he charges less for the times that are less than ideal. He performs for an hour and hangs out for an hour and explains that going in. It's a balancing act no matter what. Sometimes people have less money but can bring a good crowd. You way the risks and charge accordingly.

Then email again to try and fill any holes after your initial schedule is planned.

But what Eric says is also smart. Explain to your host that you will be selling CDs and it would be great if they would MC before and after and ask that people consider picking up your CD. You tend to sell a lot this way. I had a band perform at a house party of mine and about 50% of the people there bought a CD for $15. 

Aside from that I think it's just like selling at any show. Mention it a few times during the set. Tell people they can grab one from you after the show. Then hang out and chat for an hour or so.

But I personally think the only way to approach house concerts is to get a guarantee. I would think $200 - $300 would be the minimum. I've had a few MMM members report success at the $500 mark. You might start smalljust to see what's possible and then raise your prices next year. The idea would be to do this annually. It's also a safe bet that you will sell a decent amount of CDs, so to some extent you can factor that in. Just be conservative with your estimates and realistic with your travel expense projections.

No worries Brian, I know how that goes.

I don't think you've done any harm starting with $300. I think starting low is always a good bet. It's much easier to raise your prices than it is to drop them/ My strategy has always been to charge as little as I can to make a situation work and be profitable and work towards building demand to the point that I need to raise my prices to qualify buyers. Also keep in mind the "household appliance" example was with an artist that planned on charging about $1000 per gig. You might use a different example so as not to scare people off since you are charging less right now.

I wouldn't personally have a plan to charge one group one price and another group a different price. Instead I would start with a figure in mind that will cover your costs and make it worth while, but then negotiate individually based on circumstance. If you have a gig in San Diego and then a second person inquires about a gig in San Diego but backs away because of price, you can always follow up and explain that you have a gig in there town on Saturday and if they'll take Saturday at lunchtime or Sunday then you can do it for 40% off (or whatever). That way your price cuts are based on a very real equation and nothing arbitrary, and everything is based on you going into it with a general fee price that is based on what you really need to make ends meet.