[Dixielandjazz] Playing for free

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

Unions are effective (sort of) if the venue and musicians are fixed to a 
location such as a show or the Symphony or a studio and there is more or 
less a fixed audience and sales.  The owners tend to be businessmen and 
understand contracts and rules.

Unfortunately almost all other music is not done under those conditions. 
There is a lot of volatility in the pick up gig business.  The musicians are 
slippery as greased pigs and enforcement of a contract is difficult and 
expensive with the possibility of dispute great.  With those factors it's 
easy to see why a union or other organization would prefer ignoring those 
who are in that part of the business.  The return for them is pennies 
compared to the work dues that can be collected from let's say a studio or a 
Symphony Orchestra musician who have it taken from their pay.

I do think they try but the laws today are not conducive to unions and the 
unions go after the money like everyone else and ignore the average small 
peanuts musician.

I regret it and I'm not commenting on it one way or another that anyone else 
should do it and that is after many years in the Union I demitted the other 
day.  I may come back but not for awhile I have to think about it.
Larry
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike" <mike at railroadstjazzwest.com>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 6:21 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Playing for free


> Just out of curiosity, where do the musicians unions fit into this whole 
> picture? What are they doing to help boost the money a musician could and 
> should make?
>
> Mike
>
> Stephen G Barbone wrote:
> I don't doubt you, the comment was directed at those jazz societies that
>> do ask and or have bands that play free for "exposure". If STJS has never 
>> done that, hooray. Others have and still do.
>>
>>
>> No argument there, but it's off point. Personally, I pay the band members 
>> out of my own pocket so that they do not play free when I  donate the 
>> band for a freebie
>
>
>
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