We had a great showing at our Fair Trade Music DC Roundtable last week. I left with the general feeling that there is hope for musicians to make a living wage if we foster better communication and partnerships with venues, become more astute businesspeople and show the value of what we do in concrete terms, and pursue a mix of traditional and alternative venues - along with other income streams. However, we still have a ways to go in this effort. Let me share a personal anecdote.
I played keys with one of my singer/songwriter clients this weekend, sharing a bill with 2 other great local solo artists. We all gave several hours of our time - prep, travel, load-in, setup, running our own sound, and then an hour performance each. That's about a 4-5 hour time investment.
It wasn't a huge venue, but EVERY seat was filled.
After the venue took 50% of the $5 cover, we ended up with $27 each. If you assume a 4 hour time investment for the gig, that's less than minimum wage.
Moreover, the venue did not offer any accommodation for food or drink, so most of us either netted $0 or took a loss.
Now, I do think we might have undersold ourselves with the $5 cover. But we realistically couldn't have asked for more than $10, which would have amounted to $54 per act. That's still abysmal, and doesn't recognize the professional service that musicians are providing. There would have been NO bar sales in this particular room without the music as a draw. I personally think that a scenario in which the venue is filled to capacity should never result in a performer leaving empty handed. What's worse, the same venue had booked another band on the lower level at the same exact time, which cannibalized our audience.
My point is not to complain. It is to underscore the need for local musicians to do the following:
1) Stop playing venues that don't pay. Support and promote venues that do.
2) Learn how to be a better businessperson - negotiate guaranteed minimums, including hospitality (we were told that others at this venue received comps for food and drink, just not us).
3) Educate venues - they may not realize what they're doing. Suggest other ways of being compensated, e.g., a percentage of bar sales.
4) Support and cultivate alternative venues, such as house shows.
5) Get involved with Fair Trade Music DC - take the online survey and make your voice heard.
'Til next time...
I played keys with one of my singer/songwriter clients this weekend, sharing a bill with 2 other great local solo artists. We all gave several hours of our time - prep, travel, load-in, setup, running our own sound, and then an hour performance each. That's about a 4-5 hour time investment.
It wasn't a huge venue, but EVERY seat was filled.
After the venue took 50% of the $5 cover, we ended up with $27 each. If you assume a 4 hour time investment for the gig, that's less than minimum wage.
Moreover, the venue did not offer any accommodation for food or drink, so most of us either netted $0 or took a loss.
Now, I do think we might have undersold ourselves with the $5 cover. But we realistically couldn't have asked for more than $10, which would have amounted to $54 per act. That's still abysmal, and doesn't recognize the professional service that musicians are providing. There would have been NO bar sales in this particular room without the music as a draw. I personally think that a scenario in which the venue is filled to capacity should never result in a performer leaving empty handed. What's worse, the same venue had booked another band on the lower level at the same exact time, which cannibalized our audience.
My point is not to complain. It is to underscore the need for local musicians to do the following:
1) Stop playing venues that don't pay. Support and promote venues that do.
2) Learn how to be a better businessperson - negotiate guaranteed minimums, including hospitality (we were told that others at this venue received comps for food and drink, just not us).
3) Educate venues - they may not realize what they're doing. Suggest other ways of being compensated, e.g., a percentage of bar sales.
4) Support and cultivate alternative venues, such as house shows.
5) Get involved with Fair Trade Music DC - take the online survey and make your voice heard.
'Til next time...
