[Dixielandjazz] Music and Money

[Barrie Walter Marshall]

Hi

I have a friend who was once a full time professional trumpet player 
travelling the world with top class classical orchestras, he started playing 
piano when he was six and took up the trumpet when he was twelve, it was 
serious musicianship, he worked for British telecom for a couple of years 
after leaving school still studying the trumpet then went to the Guild Hall 
then off into the world of professional musicianship, he said to me that he 
had started his apprenticeship at six years of age and it carried on till he 
was in his early twenties, that's fifteen years, he was rather bitter at 
times as somebody could come and do some work at his house and they got paid 
more than him, I do not class myself as a good musician with his fine 
skills, I am just a busking jazz musician who does not read music, just a 
part timer.

The upshot of this is that most punters don't realise that some musicians 
have spent many years honing the skills they have to use. Perhaps if we 
where all plumbers or electricians we could make a decent living, there was 
a saying the UK in the old dance band days if you wanted to be a working 
musician.

"Don't give up the day job"

Just one other thing

The Musicians Union in the UK has standard rates of pay for members, as many 
are not at the top level and are just working locally, if they charged union 
rate for the gigs they would get no work!

Barrie



>> One thing I seem to notice even at the lowly level at which our band has
>> played and plays (The best gigs we get are weddings and birthday parties, 
>> and
>> they are few and far between)is that musicians today (except for those 
>> who are
>> stars in the Big Bucks Music Industry) are viewed pretty much as little 
>> better
>> than gypsies, ne'er-do-wells, hired help, and less important even than 
>> waiters
>> and waitresses. Plus live music is no longer a part of the normal fabric 
>> of
>> day-to-day life . . .Of course there are exceptions, but they usually 
>> don't
>> pay real well. IMHO part of the reason for that is that many people don't 
>> know
>> or care how much work goes into making music even rudimentarily well. 
>> They
>> perceive musicians as people who do nothing but have fun, as people who 
>> never
>> work. . . And of course the people who hire musicians are another whole 
>> topic.
>> Many of them don't give a rat's ass for music, they just want to increase
>> their business and they think maybe music will help do that.
>
> You said it Bob. We try and counter all those negative assumptions by 
> those
> who hire us and their customers.
>
> On the professional side, there is money to be made in music. As you say,
> Weddings are a great example of such gigs. In our area, most pay between
> $2400 and $5000 for a 6 piece jazz band
>
> And, in every city there are professional "party" bands that play "on the
> outside" as we would say in the business. Not club dates, but private
> events, parties etc. They may not amount to a lot of gigs, but they pay 
> very
> well paid. In Philly, typical 6 piece party bands get from $5000 to 
> $10,000
> at large events and $2500 to $5000 at smaller events. Plus New Year's Eve
> Gigs which pay anywhere from $2800 to $5600 for a 6 piece band.
>
> Barbone Street, either as a band, or musicians within the band make some 
> of
> these gigs every year. They are what pays the bills and enables us to do 
> the
> lesser paying club dates/park gigs/festivals etc.
>
> Also, the money enables us get more and more independent of the total 
> idiots
> who would have us enter the kitchen door, or think we do it for fun. 
> (after
> all, it is called "playing", they opine)
>
> We are always mindful that the venue must make money in order to hire us 
> and
> we try and make sure that happens so we get hired back. And when that
> happens, we get more and more "respect" as competent musicians who must be
> paid and treated well in order to perform.
>
> Bottom line is that we now only perform for people we like, when we want 
> to
> and don't put up with rudeness from venue owners/managers. I tout the band
> these days as "The Most Sought After Jazz/Hot Dance/Swing Band in the
> Delaware Valley". And because we are viewed as just that, we don't get 
> near
> as much BS from the Philistines these days as we did 15 years ago when
> starting out.
>
> And that's as it should be because a lot of practice, pain and suffering
> (along with musical intelligence) goes into becoming a competent jazz
> musician and/or band leader -marketer. Many fail along the way.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve
>
>
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