I feel the need to address a somewhat uncomfortable topic for me: money. Lately, Ive gotten more inquiries than usual about playing free concerts for benefits. While Im always incredible flattered and honored to be asked to play these benefits, Im also caught in a frustrating situation that I feel the need to explain. Perhaps you as the reader will have insight or advice on what I can do to better handle these situations. I have always held firmly the belief that live music should be free (or extremely reasonably priced) to consume. Usually when I play in a venue, I ask that no door fee be charged to the patrons. Its important to me to uphold the idea that if you want to hear my music in a live setting, you should have the ability to do so without paying to enter the venue. This usually results in a giant decrease in my personal pay from the venue, but thats a cut Ive been willing to take in the past, so that my fans can enjoy my music without breaking their bank. Sharing my music has always been more important to me than making money. Its also extremely important to me to support causes and events that benefit our community, and the organizations that better our lives together. When I perform for a benefit or fundraiser, I feel actively involved in the betterment of our community, which gives me a sense of belonging and pride. If I could perform at every benefit and fundraiser for free, I would. The unfortunate problem I have is this: I am only a singer. I dont accompany myself with an instrument of any kind. So unless I decide to stand on stage and sing acapella, I must ask my band to accompany me. Regardless of how I feel about playing for free, I must consider and respect the feelings of whoever is kind enough to take time out of their lives to learn and play my songs. When I ask my band to accompany me at a gig, I must take into consideration the costs that they will have to bear in order to play that gig. Gas, food, childcare (or pet care), equipment and instrument maintenance, time away from their families, time away from their jobs, and of course, the labor of actually playing their instrument during the gig. Now, I work with some of the kindest, most generous people in the business. They have already played countless non-paying gigs with me over the past years, and would all offer the shirts off their backs if it would help better our community. Which is exactly why I feel that I cannot continue to ask them to play for me for free. They deserve better than that. They all have lives. Their time is important. They deserve to be compensated for their hard work, time, and dedication to my music. This brings me to my point. When someone asks me to play a benefit or fundraiser for free, they are really asking me to pay to play. I must pay my own babysitter. I must pay for my own gas and meals during the gig time. I must take time away from my family, and any other possible income-producing gig. And on top of that, I must pay each member of my band. Not because they force me to, but because its the right thing to do. Having said all of this, I can still assure you that there will be events in my future that I will perform at for no compensation. Im not shutting the door on the idea of donating my time and my music to a cause I believe in, and neither are my band members. My purpose for writing this was simply to bring to light my situation as a professional singer/songwriter who does not play an accompaniment instrument. My message to event planners is this: please continue to ask me if Im available for performing at benefits and fundraisers. I simply ask that you dont get offended if I inquire about compensation. Im only asking because I have to, not because I am greedy or dont care about the cause. If you were in my situation, what would you do? How can I show my support for the causes I believe in and compensate my hard-working band members at the same time?
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:02:36 +0000
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