Eating Music
Since this isn't actually possible, make sure you are getting paid enough to put real food on your table. You - and the other musicians in your market - will be better off for it.
NEANDERTALLICA!
Early hominid musicians didn't want or need to ask for guaranteed wages. They also didn't have bills to pay! To those musicians who continue to agree to perform for low and no wages, And to those content to complain about the state of things, yet unwilling to take action for positive change, I say:Quit with the knuckle-dragging and evolve!
Hospitality doesn't pay the rent
It's pretty common to offer 'hospitality' as part of the compensation. It's a nice gesture, but a) it doesn't actually cost them much, b) money paid at a gig can be used to purchase other goods and services and c) unless your landlord really, really likes corn dogs, HOSPITALITY DOESN'T PAY THE RENT! (NB: Yes, I've been asked to play out-of-town festivals in exchange for snack bar credits)
Playing at Pharaohs mic salute
Perhaps our first international/transatlantic mic salute - Playing at Pharaohs from Glasgow.
Ba-dum.. flush!
Club musicians often work for zero guarantees, promote shows on their own time and their own dime, and work other jobs as well. As a result, many musicians become expert in making the most of the limited time and space resources. This guy even has his own budget definition for the term 'Drum throne!"
Art and Music Require Preparation
"Music is a day job." According to a poll we did a few years back, musicians spend about three hours in preparation (not to mention travel, load-in, load-out, setup, teardown, promotion, and marketing) for every hour they spend on stage. Performing is a service that involves preparation and expenses. There's no reason that service should be free.
Yeah Brah, come and "Jam."
Ironically, it tends to only work on drummers. I'm sure this fits in to the "Should I Quit My Band" flow chart somewhere.
For The Love, Brau!
There's nothing wrong with 'Doing it for the Love..." when conditions are right. If absolutely everybody's donating their time, play your heart out.Otherwise, if you're doing it for the love and someone else is doing it for the money, that's not love. You are getting screwed. Moreover, we're all in this same bathtub and it's not very big. So, like it or not, that gets us screwed, too! Stop it! Get a guarantee or say "no."
Bands are small businesses -- name your brand carefully!
Look, Fair Trade Music is about helping musicians make better music by getting them at least a minimum wage. We're not here to save these miserable turds! Raising the minimum to something above zero minus expenses does not preclude a meritocracy -- It's still up to venues to hire acts they think will make good business partners. Bands still have to do half of the promotion and entertain the crowd, keeping them there dancing, drinking, and wanting to come back. If the band's good enough to hire, they're good enough to get a minmium wage. If they do their job well, they're worth more.
Talent Simulator Pedal
This pedal comes in handy if your practice time is compromised by having to do all the promotion plus work a day job!
We are all somebody
We get this all the time: "Yeah, our band got screwed again last weekend. Fair Trade Music?! Great idea brah. Let me know when you're done fixing things for me." Nope. Musicians are mired in a red sea of societal values. We're not Moses... we're not even Chuck Heston. We're just the folks handing out buckets, and if we want to fix the current zero-minus-expenses, race to the bottom status quo, we all need to start bailing. In other words, we're all somebody. Now do something! You can start by signing up as an endorser here, and please be sure to check 'go to the next level.'
