[Dixielandjazz] Playing free

Thu Feb 7 17:29:32 PST 2008

I have thought about why people play for free  and there are several reasons 
I think and none of them are silly.

The first is that many musicians are looking for experience.  These are the 
same one's that fall for the line "you will get exposure" whatever that is. 
They haven't a clue as to how the music business works, how to get paid for 
it or what they are worth.  This is a skill that's learned and unfortunately 
it's usually learned over a period of years.  I was lucky and there were 
lots of jobs around for someone who wasn't a great performer.

That brings up the fact that they aren't very good or don't want to spend 
the time that it takes to get up to a reasonable proficiency level.  The 
performer may actually be good but doesn't think he can cut it which I find 
sad.  The perception is just as important as the actual notes coming out.

Freebee groups usually form for social reasons in addition to performing. 
It's possible to take a bunch of relatively poor musicians or singers and 
rehearse for a period of time and then go perform at a reasonable if not 
professional level.  None of which can come even close to the pro or semi 
pro but as a group under fair conditions can be entertaining.

The third reason is the unscrupulous person who is hiring the musicians or 
not as the case may be.  They know that there are a certain number of groups 
or individuals that will tumble to the - it's a charity, you'll get exposure 
or free advertising, it's a public service, etcetera, etcetera.  Those 
individuals are trying to limit the amount paid for entertainment.

One of the biggest problems is that many organizations have people who's job 
it is to raise funds and limit spending.  You can get a Master's Degree in 
fund raising.   The worst are the Church's followed closely by charities. 
They always have their hands out and they just aren't picky about what they 
get.  These are the bottom line guys, the bean counters who want diversions 
more than entertainment.  They use people pure and simple for their 
organization weather it's a corporation or charity.  Anyone who has been in 
the business for anytime at all will recognize the type no matter how nice 
or slick they are.

This is the way it goes.   I call it the Mickey Rooney - Judy Garland scam. 
Hey kids we are going to have a battle of the bands.  You will get exposure, 
blah, blah, blah. The entry fee is $75 and the winning band gets $300.  Four 
bands show up and each play for 45 minutes.  What a plan.  This actually 
happened at a local church.  The church got free music for which they 
charged admission and the bands traded money with three getting stiffed. 
Every one of those bands thought they would win and get more jobs off of it. 
Truth is the musicians weren't winners and the winning band only got $225 
because $75 was theirs in the first place.  It's a scam but there's always 
someone new coming up that will fall for it.

The amateur doesn't have the perspective.  He has his own axe to grind. 
Going out and performing for a couple of hours with a group of friends and 
then having everyone tell them how wonderful they are is what they enjoy and 
want to do.  They may be fairly wealthy people.  I know several musicians 
who are quite wealthy men who play for not much more than gas money.  To 
them it's not the money.

Lets face it.  The schools are pumping out thousands upon thousands of 
musicians each year.  Most of them just go away.  There is a large group 
that become hobby musicians or basement bands.  One of my nephews has enough 
equipment set up in his basement to make a pro band envious.  Even the worst 
bands score once in a while.

When I started there were many playing opportunities that just don't exist 
for musicians today and we have a situation where they are almost paying for 
the opportunity to play.  Here is an example:  The Shriner's drum and Bugle 
corps will show up for a parade and get $100.  If the 20 or so members 
simply didn't show up and contributed the money they spent on gas they would 
get a whole lot more than the one or two hundred dollars especially since a 
lot of them drive 50 miles one way to get to some of these things.  Then 
after that kick in $5 for uniform wear and tear and cleaning.  They are 
actually paying to play.  The money goes into the units treasury and they 
have a Christmas party or something on it.  At the end of the year they all 
pat themselves on the back because they raised $1500 or $2000.

Today we have a situation where people are almost climbing all over 
themselves to perform.

For the pro, there is hope.  With clever targeted advertising, and a good 
act you can overcome all this.  So far I have booked 5 St. Patrick's day 
gigs and I played six Mardi Gras parties. I had one cancellation but I did 
three on Fat Tuesday.  This is against the flow of all of this.  If you have 
a quality act and want to work it some there is no reason why you should sit 
at home.

I have to tell you it's a multi group of skills that you have to develop to 
book regularly.  Just being a good musician isn't enough but if you have 
those skills you don't have to be the top guy either.  It's not about the 
music.  Music is only one part.

I don't think of them as silly but I do know that you are swimming against 
the current and it's something to overcome.  You overcome it by absolute 
reliability, a uniform product to sell and a sales strategy.  None of those 
things are usually possessed by the amateur groups.
Larry
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike C." <mike at railroadstjazzwest.com>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 3:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Playing free

I can recall back to the heated discussions my music business class in 
college had on the subject.

One student even offered to help market the "hobbyist"musician playing for 
free so they could actually get paid what they are worth. Even at the 
college level students who aren't even musicians think that playing for free 
is silly.

If people are offended by the fact that playing for free is silly then maybe 
some self examination is in order.

Mike

>  No need to deride, Jude. I'm just relieved that someone finally posted
>  the reality of the business of music and how the freebie folks ruin
>  it. As for justification, shoot, anyone can justify anything including
>  playing free if they have an interest involved. Bottom line is that
>  playing free is fine IMO as long as one doesn't screw up the music
>  market. The reverse? . . . well you all know how I feel about that.

_______________________________________________
To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland Jazz 
Mailing list, or to find the online archives, please visit:

http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz

Dixielandjazz mailing list
Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com