Hi Everyone! It’s Molly Dower, your friendly neighborhood accountant. If you keep up with the Hassle, you know our annual fundraiser towards opening our own space is happening right now!

You may be thinking, “I already pay money to go to Hassle shows—why should I pay more?” or “I donated to the telethon in March—what happened to that money?” Those are all good questions which I will answer here.

When you come to a Hassle show approximately 70% of the money you pay at the door goes directly to the bands you see playing that night. About 20% goes to the venue, and then the remaining 10% goes to the Hassle. To put it in perspective, if you pay $5 for a show, $3.50 will go to the bands, $1 to the venue, and $0.50 to the hassle.

This model comes from our ethos of putting artists first. In 2015, we paid over $50k to local and touring artists! With the 10% we receive we produce the Compass (7,500 copies a month), operate the website, and throw other events around Boston.

Those who watched the telethon know we raised a little over $5k in 24 hours. We appreciate the support! After the costs of the telethon, we had $3.5k which is sitting quietly in our bank account as we search for a space that can fit our needs and provide you with a sick all-ages venue. Please stay tuned because our upcoming spring fundraiser & Telethon will help us solidify our goal of opening a community music & art venue.