Sucker born every minute - LA Music Awards this week

One thing I really hate in the music world is people taking advantage of bands. I hear all the time about websites charging bands money for 'good CD reviews'. Then you have the CD compilation scam where people charge bands $250+ to be on a CD music compilation that never gets made. The new way to get money from hard working indie bands is holding an "awards show." You invite a bunch of local bands down to a theater for an awards show and either tell them they won, or have their fans vote in an online poll. The catch is the band has to pay $300 or more per ticket to be in the audience. If they don't pay, they don't get the award. Then if your band wants to perform on stage, that's going to cost you another $500. After a while, people catch on so it gets a bit harder for the awards show to attract suckers bands with deep pockets, so they contact reputable press outlets and begin using their names to lure new bands in. Does the award mean anything? No! It just means you were taken for a ride like 10 other bands were last year. You are not voted on by a large cross section of your peers in music, nor does an outside firm certify the election results.
Here are a list of this years suckers that fell for what is the Los Angeles Music Awards:
Storytime
The Spectaculars
Hopdown Bilby Band
Truth on Earth
Michael Smith Band
Adriano Aponte
David Osborne
Joe Finlay Band
There are others that paid several hundred dollars to perform also. If you want to cast a ballot, you also must pay $15 for the privilege to vote.

If you are good, you also wrangle money out of those press outlets covering your event whose name you used.

If you are in a band, and you win an award or get nominated, do your homework. Check with previous winners. See how things worked out for them. Did they get exposure from attending the awards show? Did it open doors? Don't blindly start writing checks to people who say you won something...unless they are from Nigeria.