are you part of the problem or part of the solution?

The music industry especially in the local sector has gone to a hell hole in a basket and getting deeper fast. It seems to me that everyone these days is a so called want a be musician playing in some sort of a band. Guitar players are a dime a dozen. There was a time when being a real musician meant something. We were proud to be one. These days no one seems to have any pride in what they do and are simply music whores playing for free, for exposure. To you I have to ask, are you part of the problem or part of the solution?

I don’t know whether the local scene can ever be cured until attitudes change. Playing for little or for nothing seems to be the norm these days and bands don’t realize that in the end it’s costing them not only hard earned cash but respect. Bar owners have no value for you since your services are free. In most cases they make a few bucks at your expense. Value here in America is placed by it’s cost. If it’s always free then it has no real value and can be replaced easily enough.

Every successful band had one thing in common, at least the ones I was involved with, and that was treating it like a business. We couldn’t afford a business manager so each member of the band had their specific jobs. Everyone of course had the responsibility of booking gigs and public relations. We even voted one of the members as the treasurer. Some of the bands decided to have a kitty where a small percentage of the intake was held back after each gig and saved in a band account for miscellaneous costs i.e.; T shirts, token gifts, postage stamps, equipment repair, truck or trailer rental or sound equipment rental for larger gigs. Some band members even borrowed against the kitty for a new instrument or even a car. The money was always paid back in a timely manner.  Any money left over at the end of the year was spent on a band outing with the wives or girl friends. This went on for years. Because we took it seriously and as a business, rather than just doing it for fun and getting drunk on every gig, we became successful and most of the bands were booked from 45 to 50 week ends a year. Yup some of us were weekend warriors.

Mailing lists were essential and many of the local bands had between one hundred fifty to several thousand signed up. Those wishing to sign up received a band T shirt or another small token. The mailing lists didn’t appear over night and often took many a gig to fill. But, after a while we had plenty of fans to fill a club or bar for every gig and folks just wanted to sign up because they liked what we played and how we treated them. We never gave our services out for free. We knew as business people that it’s not the way to handle a business. You don’t see grocery or big box stores giving out all free stuff. When was the last time you got free money from the bank? Playing for free is just crazy and only hurting your selves and other musicians.

One of my son in laws played in bands. He was always complaining about one thing or another and being broke. He was an unhappy camper and asked me for some advice. We sat down and discussed his situation. He told me that they were doing free shows for exposure and the hope of getting a recording contract. I almost burst out laughing and had a hell of a time controlling it. I asked him about their expenditures and revenues, did they have at least a cover charge? I asked him about the mailing list too since their idea was to play for free, for exposure. Needless to say they didn’t have either. It didn’t take rocket science to figure out that they were failing. On an average gig it cost each band member a well over a hundred bucks to do a free show. Let me repeat that; it cost each band member a well over a hundred bucks to do a free show. There was the cost to get to the gig and home since they weren’t local, not to mention the bar bill, The gigs were mostly a tank full away and out of state, sound equipment rental and something to haul it with, a trailer or a truck was always needed. There were also motel costs and food. So what’s wrong with that picture?

It is getting increasingly more difficult to get a paying gig these days because bar owners know there are bands out there willing to play for free. They love this idea of free entertainment and making money at the band’s expense. Even fifty to seventy five bucks is better than nothing and might help pay for some gas. Ask for it, have some dignity, give it some value. In most cases the owner won’t have a problem with that. If you’re not getting what you deserve for your services, all that rehearsal time, effort and travel expenses, make sure that you have a cover charge. But make sure that it’s not too high and scare off customers. Start off with five bucks a head.

A close friend of mine, Bill, has been a dedicated musician for as long as me. He’s a few years older and was a music major like my self back in college. We played in many successful bands in the past but today he’s what I call just a music whore. Whenever we get together, I always ask him how’s the whoring business? In all fairness to Bill, most of the time he plays for a few bucks and only for free during jam sessions. Which kind of brings about a good point. Who’s the beneficiary playing his sax for free, him, the band or the bar owner? Bill is one of those pro union guys and is always complaining about non union jobs and scabs etc. and the falling wage situation. I’m wondering if him playing for free makes him a hypocrite or a scab. I call him a music whore. He doesn’t deny it. We’ve been friends for forty years so a little name calling from both sides won’t affect our friendship.

Bill just purchased a five thousand dollar alto sax, not that there was anything wrong with his Eight to ten thousand dollar tenor or his less costlier alto. He just wanted to sound better playing these free to fifty buck gigs he’s so proud of playing. He told me that purchasing the new horn wasn’t something he drastically needed and could have done just as well with his other alto, but it was more of an ego thing. His wife would kill him if she found out what he paid for his new horn. Nothing like pissin away his retirement money.he needs to live on. He’ll never in his life time recoup from that purchase. It’s typical for musicians to over spend just to do a some free or fifty buck gigs these days. Is it crazy or is it just me? Dude! Where are your priorities?

analogy

 Since I started painting last July, I’ve completed seventy five paintings. Fifteen of them are in oils. I began painting in oils just before Christmas. In the beginning I had given away many of my acrylic paintings to family and a couple of friends. They were so impressed with my new found talent, that they just had to have some to display in their homes. Naturally, I was humbled by their want to display my creations and their response, once they saw them. Acrylics dry quickly and putting on a finish coat to preserve them didn’t take too long. Oils, on the other hand can take up to a year to totally dry. Putting on a sealer is not recommended for at least six months. They are unfinished and in the mean time, I keep painting new ones.

I have sold several of my acrylics to neighbors and other friends. They approached me looking to acquire some of my paintings after seeing them displayed in my family and close friends’ homes. I knew then and there that my paintings were something that I didn’t just want to give away for free. Paint supplies aren’t cheap and the time and effort involved in creating them should have some value to the public. I already have some future orders for my oils once they are sealed and dry from folks other than family and friends. I could have given them away, but if I had there wouldn’t be any value to what I do. It would have been demeaning and my efforts worthless. They would have just wanted more free stuff at my expense.

When I began my journey with paints, the thought of selling my art, never crossed my mind. All I wanted to do is find out if I could do it and do it well. I was curious to see where this new thing might take me…nothing more. I really didn’t have any thoughts on what I was going to do with the finished paintings and the idea of an art burning party did cross my mind. I had no value to what I was doing except in trying something I’ve never done before. The value came as soon as folks began wanting my art. That’s when I had to set the price on art, to give it value.

Many artists/bands in this case, on  music sites such as Sound Click or Sound Cloud, simply give their music away as a free download. What they are telling the public is that they don’t value what they do nor about the music. I learned years ago that the only time someone comes back to my music page was when I uploaded a new tune and had a free download. Once they had It, there was no reason to come back until I posted a new tune. I don’t know about you, but it takes me several weeks to write and prepare one tune for a recording session. There is a lot of time and effort invested just with one tune and I’ll be damned if I’m going to give that away. One or two free samples/downloads is my limit for the most part. As for the rest, I have to set some value to what I do as a musician. I've even made a few bucks doing it this way and have plenty of listeners and followers stopping by my music page at Sound Click just to check out my music.

The music business has really gone down the toilet in the past years and it's getting more difficult for musicians, full time musicians that is, to make a living at it. The big problem I've noticed is that young bands are willing to play for free just for exposure not realizing that they have fucked it up for everyone else trying to make a living at it. Sure a club or a bar owner is going to want someone to play for free, after all they have nothing to lose and only to gain a few more customers. In the long run bands playing for free are screwing themselves at the same time for future gigs for money. Let's face it these bands are saying that they have no value for what they do and are making the club/bar owners a little richer at their own expense. Stupidity