paul45
137 posts
Aug 20, 2013
7:25 PM
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So whats the going rate for a set at your typical Bluesfest? Mainly locals and in-state bands with a couple of regional or national acts. I'm talkin about the lower level bands that are happy to be on the bill.
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Jehosaphat
522 posts
Aug 20, 2013
9:02 PM
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I don't know about the States but down here in NZ it can cost you money to play a Festival.
If you add in gas money,food and sometimes accommodation you only do it 'cos it can be fun..with some great side benefits of the personal kind...;
There is no money in playing Blues 'cept for the big guys and thats fair enough because they played for fuck all most of their life too.
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The Iceman
1112 posts
Aug 21, 2013
6:22 AM
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Lower level bands are usually promised "but you'll get great exposure" - but little or no $
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The Iceman
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didjcripey
601 posts
Aug 21, 2013
2:25 PM
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Did a fairly popular festival last year; they paid 300 bucks (Aus) for a four piece band doing two one hour sets.
Covered petrol and food, but would jump at the chance to do it again cause we had a ball.
We priced ourselves out of a really good blues festival recently, there are plenty of bands willing to play for stuff all.
Count on about fifty bucks a band member here. It sucks, but at least its usually walk on, plug in, play and piss off; no setting up or pulling down.
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Lucky Lester
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joe
61 posts
Aug 21, 2013
7:31 PM
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how would these things work without the freebie?
since we are playing music we must be doing it for
the fun right, so so there is obviously no need
to actually pay for it
this is such a big question ...
i think musicians [artists generally ?] have had
to deal with this ever since whenever
on the one hand there is the band who play for
the dance for beer and a feed
but what if the players wanted to get paid for their
hours of practice and skill in providing for
a happy event?
outrageous!
Playing for the 'experience' is such a beguiling
thing - we love to play, so we do it
what if we all decided not to play for free if the
engagement looks anything like a 'job'
well, we will get the Fred Nurks to play, they'll
do it for free
maybe people will realize that there is a price
for being 'good' when they have had enough of
no-rate performances
it is up to us to be 'good' enough to begin the journey
but i doubt it
the history of music is full of musicians trying to
make enough to give themselves a decent life
Elijah Wald, Adam Gussow have shown us that Blues history is a story of the influence of people and money
the great Georg Frederick Handel gave 'benefit' concerts in England because that was acceptable whereas otherwise asking for people to pay for his music was not - the spirit of the freebie in 18th century England
as i said, this is a huge question
joe
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UTC+10
Last Edited by joe on Aug 21, 2013 7:36 PM
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didjcripey
602 posts
Aug 21, 2013
10:13 PM
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@joe: 'but what if the players wanted to get paid for their
hours of practice and skill in providing for
a happy event?'
I suspect, that here at least, many of these events would not get off the ground. The cost of insurance, registration, advertising, staff and all the crap that goes in to organising a small festival means that many of these events do not run at a profit. The Cairns Blues festival and the Tablelands folk festival in my region have to run fundraising to break even on their events, some of them run at a big loss.
Now that is not the musicians problem, but if they had to pay everybody who performed what they were worth, it might just not be possible to do it, and we'd be stuck in the woodshed (or the pub).
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Lucky Lester
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joe
62 posts
Aug 21, 2013
10:41 PM
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indeed didjcripey ...
and as you say these are things not usual in
musicians sphere
insurance ...
that is such a vexing issue, only become so vexing
in past years, due to litigious lawyers and clients
nothing to do with the actual event
despite the woes you mention, people continue to
[at least] try and run these events
maybe events based on the pub and the woodshed
would be a new wave of grassroots performances
joe
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UTC+10
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didjcripey
603 posts
Aug 21, 2013
11:00 PM
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and lets not forget, as Jehosaphat pointed out even the big guys played for sweet F.A. all their lives. I rememeber reading about how people like Loisiana Red were living on tins of beans because they made so little money, even at the top of their game
Us po' white boys, lost in the blues
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Lucky Lester
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