In our last blog we published a little comparison between the typical wages and conditions of a struggling club musician compared to that of a plumber. If you missed it you can catch it HERE. Yeah, it was a bit goofy, but also sadly true in some respects. We got some excellent feedback which you can read below:
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What is so maddening about this is, new club owners think they are coming up with something new and different by running these ads. “Play for free…it’s great exposure!” I am old school and have always said that it is the club’s job to bring a crowd in and the band’s job is to keep the crowd. In the last 15 to 20 years bands have actually been conditioned to believe it is their job to bring in the crowd. I disagree with this, and always will.
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So many bands are manipulated to think it is an honor to play at such a venue instead of understanding without the musicians there would not be music venues. Musicians are used to keep the venue in biz. It is degrading and things must change. There are venues in CA that pay the artist and provide perks. It is not ok for musicians to play for free or pay to play, disguised as whatever else.
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I don't play for free, unless it's for a good cause. The question that needs to be asked of the club owner is: "What's in it for me? You don't have a steady clientele? So I come in and bring 30+ people and you sell a lot of alcohol, what do I get out of it? I am trying to expand my fan base, and since it appears you don't have a steady and large clientele that I could add to MY fan base, I don't benefit from the financial, if you could call it that, arrangement. If you would provide quality entertainment and payment, maybe you'd attract more business and it would make sense for my band to play in your establishment. Since there are a multitude of bands, you can probably find one that will accept your offer, but not me. Good luck." George Eisaman
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Your point about playing a free show as an audition is quite valid. An audition should be conducted by providing the prospective client with a CD or DVD of a live show, or the client going to your live show elsewhere to check you out. Unfortunately, your heading of "Asking musicians to play for free" is quite misleading. “Playing for free” and “putting on a show as an audition” are two different things. Yes, you don't get paid in either case, but the term "playing for free" has a meaning that all musicians are too familiar with.
The plumber and the dishwasher analogies used in comparison to musicians is completely wrong. Using analogies of this type lead to musicians thinking they should be compared to a necessary, or emergency service. Yours is a situation in which they NEED a plumber to attend to an issue. Similarly, you offered up the example of a dishwasher working for free. In operating a bar, they NEED a dishwasher. In a bar, they don't NEED musicians. Comparing musicians to plumbers or dishwashers is pointless – they are not alike. Kevin Yeates, Vancouver, Canada
amen i love this u are right! So many are manipulated to think it is an honor to play at such an such venue instead of understanding without the musicians there would not be music venues. Musicians are used to keep the venue in biz. IT is degrading and things must change. There are venues out of Ca. that pay the artist and provide perks. IT is not ok for musicians to play for free or pay to play, disguised as whatever else.
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I wonder how many of the clubs that are doing this are also getting bridge loans from banks to pay their bills/employees. If that is the case, I wonder what the banks would think about the fact that the people they’re loaning money to are subcontracting their marketing out to people who aren’t actually full time employees of the business? A good business model assumes that you can get people to come to your venue based on the quality of food/drink, the location, and the ambience. If you are doing well at that point and want to outperform the other bars in your area, then you start having live music, and you won’t worry about the draw of the band as long as they play the right songs and do that job well.
