No post yesterday. I had a gig and left at 5.20pm. Didn't get home till 2.30am so just never got round to it. This was (for the band) a well-paid gig, given the usual sort of remuneration bands who aren't famous can expect. £600 between four of us seems not a bad amount for one wee gig. Here is what it entailed though:
one car and one van driving from Fife to Edinburgh
carrying a shed load of equipment in and setting it up
playing three sets of roughly an hour each
supplying lights and disco music during breaks
taking the gear down again and carrying it back out to the car + van
driving back to Fife in the small hours
This doesn't take into account advance preparation, the amount of practise that has made us able to do this kind of gig - to say nothing of many years of playing/practising/learning to reach and maintain a professional standard of musicianship and performance. Anyway, doing the sums 9 hours * four people = 36 hours - and quite unsocial hours at that. It works out at approximately £17 an hour. Factor in travelling expenses and the amount it would cost to hire the PA, lights etc from a professional company and it's quite modest. Bear in mind that we usually end up working for much less than this. A decent pub gig might pay £300 - sometimes less. For a lot of bands it is either this kind of thing or not working at all. Corporate work and weddings are your best chance of making decent money but you start to make sacrifices in terms of what you play.
Which begs the question, "Why do it?"
Why do you think? If you are a musician or any kind of performer you know the answer already. The first time you stood in front of an audience quaking in your boots and heard applause (rather than felt rotten tomatoes striking your noble countenance) you were hooked. There is no feeling quite like it.
Here is a link to a song called Hellbound Railroad Track which I wrote and recorded at home. I think it is wonderful but then I would!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWT7o7lqHd0
This is a cut and paste from an old Facebook post which still rings true. When it becomes about money, you lost the art. I'm not saying money is a bad thing, if you get it as a result of doing something you love, but it's the love of money that's the root of all evil, not money itself! Some of us create because we have to, that's all. Below is my cut and paste.
ReplyDeleteI had a wee thought. Currently I'm a music prostitute. I have a price, I turn up and I do a job. It's not great regarding self-esteem issues. The person who booked me wants me there, but I mostly don't want to be there as I'm not being true to myself. However, If I book Theatre type gigs, the people who pay to see me have willingly entered the relationship between Artist and audience, and like any healthy relationship, we both benefit. I guess it's up to me to choose healthy relationships.
I do agree - but you do need to pay the man - that's the real problem
ReplyDeleteNot that i'm religious, but i know what a famous man meant when he said " Find ye first the kingdom of Heaven and all things will be added to it.". Being true to yourself brings it's own rewards.
ReplyDelete"Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Render unto God that which is God's."
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