Andy Culpepper -> RE: Understanding the rules of the music industry (Apr. 11 2009 10:31:39)
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ORIGINAL: Ron.M Hey Hem, That's interesting, thanks. I seem to get from what you are saying that it's a bit like the BBC, where there is a standard fee set for a specific slot and that is fixed whether you are a student actor or Richard Burton! So it's the "base rate" of the VENUE that cannot be negociated at a lower level. A bit like the legal "minimum wage", whether one worker is more productive than another. You can offer more to keep the more experienced worker, but not lower the rate of the beginner. So in the Music Industry, even though it may not be supportable in Law, it is a "general agreement" between musicians and music venues. I am understanding this correctly? cheers, Ron Hi Ron, I don't quite see it that way. Ailsa's original question was not about the "Music Industry" per se but more about the food, beverage, and hospitality industry. My brother is a professional musician, meaning that he earns his living off music and doesn't have another job. He does this by touring (mostly Japan), producing and selling albums, and more recently, licensing music to TV Sitcoms. THAT's the music industry. When it comes to bars and cafes, they book musicians with the sole purpose of attracting customers and selling more food and beverages, or to become known for a certain type of music within the community. It's mutually beneficial because you're enhancing their business, and they're (hopefully) paying you to do that. Now that being said, different venues are different gigs. In my town this is pretty much how you work your way up: 1. Open mics 2. Free or minimally paid shows at book store cafes or bars. 3. Paid gigs at bars and cafes 4. Music festivals And then after a long time of getting your name out there 5. Theatres After that you figure out a way to market yourself to a national audience. Now you only get to #3 if the establishment thinks that you will bring in more money than they are paying you to be there, meaning people have to have heard of you and come specifically to hear you. Ailsa's friends' gig was a #2. It seems to me that through networking and knowing nice people, Ailsa managed to land a gig at a place that usually has #3s. Now, the bar owner wanted to take a chance on these unknown performers because of that personal connection with Ailsa and an interest in guitar music. But it's reasonable for them to not pay full price because these students weren't probably going to bring much of a crowd specifically to see them. I apologize for the length of this post but anyhow my bottom line is that if these "professional" musicians would be so peeved about losing *ONE* #3 type gig in order to give younger folks a chance, I mean....that is really small potatoes and very petty in my opinion. I am a musician myself trying to make a living so I understand a bit of where they are coming from, but you around here you really can't even think about going "pro" until you are at #5. Ailsa, don't give up! There will be more opportunities, but maybe shoot for a lower level gig I guess if people are so uptight?
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