Re: payment for service (long? you be the judge)

["Eric Williamson" <erwill@suitandtieguy.com>]

>1) Swag. Even if you're not getting any of the door, if there's an
>opportunity to make your CDs, t-shirts, etc. available for sale to a
>crowded room, the gig could end up being (marginally) profitable.

well ... i think that's incredible optimism. very often the reason the
performance is going unpaid is because you're dealing with a crowd that 
isn't
bringing alot to spend. i would definitely play at a shop that was selling 
my
CD, however.

the breakpoint for a 'real' gig (for a local unsigned act) and a 'hobby' 
gig is
one hundred dollars per team-mate. any less and i'd rather be playing for 
free
at a punk rawk show. i will definitely _never_ play at a bar for less than 
a
hundred again for the rest of my life. that's like 1970s pay, guys ... if
musician pay were actually following inflation we'd pull down at least a
thousand per gig for a drinking-establishment band. the one hundred dollar
figure keeps us at the poverty line.

>2) Exposure. Consider who's going to be there: if it's a two hour drive to
....
>press, which can in turn lead to better opportunities.

i happen to believe that the benefit of 'exposure' is a myth. that is my
opinion, though ... feel free to feel different. no matter how many people 
are
there, my rule is still in effect for _me_ ... booze for sale = money 
exchanged
= money should be in my pocket too.

i have driven 6 hours to play for two people, the promoter and the guy that
cleared the room (that had 50 peeps when he started) in the set previous 
to mine
( here's his worthless site: 
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/8393/ds98.html
... i'm not bitter at all) and got paid 5 dollars. i found that personally 
more
fulfilling than the last free bar gig i played, where the organist who 
rented my
rig (whose band we opened for) _broke_a_key_. i have got no work from 
either of
those gigs and the stories from the Milwaukee experience were more 
interesting.

'exposure' only works if you're going to be the next Mudvayne and you're 
willing
to do 'whatever it takes' to get that worthless record deal. but if you're 
on
that route your best bet is to locate an industry contact to snort coke 
with
while partying at the local nudie bar. he'll take care of the 'exposure' 
for you
... even put a crack team of exposure specialists on it. btw, that 
'exposure'
will cost you so much that you better sell that debut record 
_triple_platinum_
or you'll NEVER see past your advance and the label will drop you like a 
hot
potato after they rape your back catalogue from when you were just a 
'local'
band. btw, the triple platinum figure for LD50 is for real. i _almost_ feel
sorry for sPaG, or is that SpAg?

but if your goal is to be an unsigned and modest regional touring unit then
playing showcases and whatnot doesn't really help you. you'll get alot 
better
results hanging out alot, chatting with people, being instantly 
recognisable,
and handing out flyers _everywhere_you_go_. basically, you'll get alot 
further
pounding the pavement by yourself then playing free gigs for a lot of 
people who
are most likely there to see someone else. people don't come to gigs 
because
they like the music or the flyer impresses them. they come to gigs because 
their
friend is, or because they like you on a personal level. love of the music 
will
soon follow.

these are my feelings.

Eric Williamson
www.suitandtieguy.com