Guitarchitecture.org

As an artist, you will very likely experience a long road of strange requests and expectations known in the business as “paying dues”.  Even your rock star idols have to do it.  Trust me, no one wants to get up at 4 am to play a 7 am set for morning television to promote their new release/concert/tour.

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Paying dues is a reciprocal relationship.

When you get to the studio at 4 or 5 am to try to be ready to rock out by 7 or 8 am, you are doing so to promote yourself.  You are doing so to generate interest and to try to get people to follow what you are doing.  When you are starting a band, you will have to play a lot of venues for (in a best case scenario) little if any money.  This is done to get the band some exposure, to get some word of mouth promotion happening and to get the band’s live show together.  All valid points.  You aren’t getting paid, but you are getting something for your time.

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A number of people will attempt to capitalize on this mindset to exploit you whenever possible.

 

Often this is not the Machiavellian plotting that the above statement would initially imply but is instead, merely misguided expectation. People are so used to seeing musicians willing to jump through hoops to play for free that it creates an expectation that is status quo.

This mindset is unique to music. If you work at an office and people find out that you play guitar, expect that they will ask you to play birthday parties or other events for free.  To contrast this idea, next time you have a plumbing problem, try calling a plumber and asking if he or she would be willing to show up and fix the problem for free and see what happens.

People perceive music as play – so they perceive that it has the same economic value as play.

But the reality is that music is work, and people who typically think, “oh I could do that” hit a wall immediately when they are faced with the sheer volume of practicing that is required to do most things well on an instrument.

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Another, much larger issue, is that people have gotten used to the idea of getting music online for free.

There is value in scarcity – and music is everywhere.

Once this door was opened, there is no way to close it in terms of perception.  No rational person goes online looking for free airline tickets to download from a torrent site. People recognize the value of that service and so when they go online they know they are going to have to pay.

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This is an old challenge in business put in a new wrapper – as an artist you’re going to have to convince people that they should pay for your services.

Practicing is paying dues.  If you have paid your dues people should be willing to pay you your due if they’re asking you to play an event.  This is the difference between being a professional and being an amateur.

Mind you, when you are playing your own music in a bar/club/non-traditional venue, you might not get paid.  If there is no audience, and no guarantee for the venue – this is a reasonable expectation. (And most pro musicians would avoid this scenario like the plague – unless they wanted to rehearse their set in a live context).  There’s a difference between making no money to pay dues and making no money to pay the bar owner.  As a professional, you should know what you are getting into and make an informed decision.

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Be wary of the term, “networking” when referencing pay.

This is usually told to musicians as a reason they won’t get paid at an event – because it’s a being prsented as a networking opportunity – i.e. a long term reciprocal relationship where both parties benefit.  In my experience, this is usually not the case.  See my observation on networking at corporate events below.

One lesson I learned years ago, is that if you are playing any kind of corporate event – you should get paid.  I recently had a situation where my graduate school sent out a generic e-mail to the alumni list advertising their 40^th reunion for alumni.  Specifically they were looking for music school alumni to perform half hour sets.  Alumni were encouraged to submit samples of a proposed work where a faculty panel would review the material and select performers for the event.

There was one small caveat, “Please note that no fees will be paid for performing on this event,  but it’s a great way to share your current work with 1,000 of your fellow alumni!”

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If the alumni association of a music school doesn’t recognize the need for musicians to be paid, not many other people will initially either. You should expect to get your hands dirty and put in work if you want to adjust some people’s mindset.

I have included my response below and the few specific references to the institution have been removed.  While I am disappointed that no one from the alumni association could be bothered to respond to an alumni e-mail with a legitimate question, I did get an automated follow up e-mail explain to me that if I register for the event early  – it will only cost $50 instead of the $75 at the door.  There was this tidbit as well, “A special premium package, including one reserved table for 10, luncheon table and wine service, VIP parking and web acknowledgment is also available for $1,000 ($500 is tax-deductible).”

[Special note: this recently did get an unexpected reply in a public forum.  You can read about it here]

“Let them eat cake”  indeed.  Perhaps the people who pay $1,000 could pay $1010 per person and then they could have the value added benefit (and bragging rights) of being able to say that they supported the arts directly.  In a paraphrased quote I stole from Daren Burns, If you place no value on yourself – no one else will either.

Here is my response.  It may provide you with something to consider next time someone asks you to work for free.

“Thank you for inviting a question with this e-mail.  However I have had to include multiple people on the reply as it has generated a broader rhetorical question.

Am I to understand, that the Alumni association is offering me (in addition to a number of other people) the opportunity to audition for a chance to play a 30 minute set of music for free?  Well, not for free – there would be postage costs and whatever costs are associated with promotional materials and transportation.  I guess it’s more of a pay to play situation for the musicians technically.

I hope that those who audition can get a slot to play.  It must be an awkward e-mail to have to send to a music school graduate from their parent institution that they and their music were not worthy of inclusion in a free public performance.

This is presented under the guise of networking, or professional development. But the reality is very little networking typically occurs for the musicians performing.  They play their music – while other people network.  When they get done playing, they typically interact with people who are already familiar with what it is they do, as the people unfamiliar with what they do haven’t been paying attention – because they’ve been busy networking during the performance.

Part of my music education was the installation of a concept that my skills are worth something.  That being a professional artist, meant remuneration for services rendered.  Hence the term “professional”.

Will the staff work for free that day?  Will catering?  How about facilities? Why should there be the assumption that musicians should be willing to work for free when no one else will?

If the message that you are sending music school alumni is, “here’s a chance to play – and you should be willing to jump through hoops to play for free because that’s what musicians do”  - then it is ethically wrong to admit people to the institution.

It is ethically wrong to charge people money to gain a skill set – if you honestly believe that skill set has no marketable value.

I would like to believe that this is not the case.  I do not believe that I attended an institution that was ethically bankrupt.  I do not believe that this is willingly the message that you would be willing to send to either alumni or prospective students.

I would like to believe that this is simply a gross oversight.  That even if there is not proper money for remuneration, that the college would be willing to pay something – gas money, postage - something – as even a token gesture for people’s time.  Just as you would pay a guest lecturer, or an independent contractor.”