[Dixielandjazz] The music/jazz business - one person's thoughts......

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

Folks it is not ONLY JAZZ  here that is at stake, but ALL Live music .

There is a current Revolution going on in the Live music CLub industry 
and this battle is even worse with the ROCK BANDS HAVING TO STACK UP 
FOUR OR FIVE DEEP JUST TO PLAY A BAR GIG,  they all brag about being 
able to draw at least 30 people to hear them.   Unfortunateley many of 
them who think they are professionals are not even close, and many only 
have a half a dozen awful songs that they can even play, but they are 
CONVINCED THAT THEY ARE THE NEXT group of Rock Stars to cash in and 
become RICH and Famous.    Better odds on winning the Lottery even if 
you don't even buy a ticket.

The only people really making any money in music these days is the 
Equipment manufacturing and retailers selling all those thousands of 
mediocre and terrible wannabe musos thousands of dollars worth of gear.

There are so many of them that the clubs are simply not paying them, 
and just allowing them to show up and bring their friends to buy 
alcohol and let them play their brains out for thirty minutes of fame 
for free or in many cases even pay to play.

Where we in Jazz face a problem is that the Jazz Club owners are 
watching this and trying to do the same thing or simply switching to 
the ROCK FORMAT which causes the further shrinkage of the paying 
marketplace.   Jazz is still alive but is hurting badly in many places 
while others are enjoying a bit of a resurgence since The Ken Burns 
special gave it a kick in the butt.   However if we do not work hard it 
can very easily slip right back to where it was before that and even 
lower.

We need to constantly convert that 25-50 age group to Jazz if we are to 
sustain what we have now and get to the youngsters now if they are to 
support the ones who come after us.   It really is as simple as that.   
Music just like History does repeat itself but it needs to be 
continually TAUGHT.

WE NEED TO BE MUCH MORE EVANGELISTIC ABOUT IT,  Complacency got it to 
where it is now, we all need to get back on the front lines and fight 
this war before we become white Bass Clefs in the cemeteries of music.

Cheers,

Rev. Tom Bob

Fourth Church of Jazz  :))



-----Original Message-----
From: Vaxtrpts at aol.com
To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Sent: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 13:51:08 EST
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] The music/jazz business - one person's 
thoughts......


In a message dated 1/8/2006 10:29:48 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
barbonestreet at earthlink.net writes:

Point  being that when bands and/or promoters give the music away . . . 
for
no  good reason, they damn well do need to be told, by whomever has the 
 balls
to do so, that they are DESTROYING the market for the music as well  as 
THE
MUSIC ITSELF.



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Here - Here Steve!!!!!!!!
I have been saying the same thing for years.  Also, people who will  
play for
practically no money just to "have a gig" are hurting all of us as  
well.
With the festival circuit, bands whose members all have day jobs,  who 
will play

for very low set pay and a hotel room, have made it almost  impossible 
for
those of us who actually (try to) make a living, to  perform very often 
at these

festivals.
Years ago, when I was president of the old "International Association 
of
Classic Jazz Festivals," I suggested a double scale so that festivals 
could  pay

full time musicians and bands at a different rate than bands made up of 
part
time musicians.  I was soundly over-ruled.  The festivals couldn't  see 
any
reason that they should pay any musicians a "livable"  wage.  These 
festivals
would rather have a zillion bands, than just cut a  few bands and 
"share the
wealth" a little more amongst the musicians.
It is rather sad that today's up coming jazz musicians may have nowhere 
to
perform for any sort of a livable wage at all.  It would be a shame if 
jazz
music became an art form only played by "hobbyists" in the future.
Mike Vax
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