The unseen time and labor behind a band’s typical road gig: working 10-12 hours for $10 to $15 a day. And most bands will do it happily again and again. But is that fair? A commentary on Labor Day.
We Love Their Music: Are we willing to pay more for it? (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Consider the old joke about the ragged folk singer who wins $1 million in the lottery and says he’ll just keep gigging until the money’s gone.
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Or the one that points out the difference between a musician and a pizza: Yup, a pizza can feed a family of four.
Of course, as much as many hard-gigging bands and solo artists poke fun at their own condition, it’s no joke that the majority of musicians probably get paid substantially less than minimum wage when the hours spent on loading in and tearing down equipment, traveling to and from venues, rehearsing, writing, recording and planning get added into the mix.
For Labor Day, as the minimum wage rises to $8.15 an hour in Michigan, I asked a varied group of local musicians to describe their own pay for performances. The responses ranged from the tongue-in-check “Pay?” and “You get paid?” to “inadequate,” “OK” and “sufficient” when considered “in tandem with” other income.
It once again raises the troubling specter of an incredibly popular profession that too often gets de-valued by a public that expects to download and listen to music for free, then grouses about forking over nominal cover charges to see bands perform live at bars and clubs that sometimes pay as little as they can reasonably get away with.
Granted, there are musicians who earn a passable living and venues which pay them a fair wage, but it’s often a hit-and-miss proposition without industry standards or guarantees, and every working band can recite tales about being shortchanged or even stiffed entirely after a performance.
WOULD YOU WORK 12 HOURS FOR $15?
Ultraviolet Hippopotamus percussionist Casey Butts may have described it best and most graphically when describing the Grand Rapids band’s cross-country touring experiences.
“On an average day, we wake up at 9 or 10, drive three to five hours to play shows, another three to five hours to set up and sound check, then we play three hours and take an hour to tear down. On average, we’re usually making about $10 to $15 a day after paying for hotels, gas and expenses. Sometimes, we’ll work 12 hours a day and walk out with $10 in our pocket,” he says.
UV Hippo on Stage: Hidden hours of work behind the scenes. (Photo/Anna Sink)
“It’s despicable, but at the same time, we all know that. You do it because it’s what you love to do – travel around the county and play music for people. I’ll take that over working in a kitchen any day of the week. But it’s tough, especially when you have families and house payments. People think it’s the 24-hour party. But that’s not what it’s like at all.”
Of course, musicians themselves likely share part of the blame because some are so passionate about their art and adore the process of creating music so much they’re sometimes willing – especially when it comes to young, up-and-coming bands eager to strut their stuff – to settle for scant wages just for the opportunity to get some exposure.
But as local singer and musician Mick Lane of the Conklin Ceili Band puts it, bluntly and somewhat humorously, “You can die from exposure.”
In the end, most musicians really aren’t even worried about making a lot of money, as long as they can keep the lights on at home and gas in the tank on the road.
They’d just be happy if more fans and concertgoers recognized and appreciated how much time and energy and tireless exuberance goes into the music they make.
Mick Lane will once again kick off today’s free Labor Fest in downtown Grand Rapids, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Ah-Nab-Awen Park, with several other acts also on the bill: Mustang Band, Jimmie Stagger Band, Krystal Kleer, Cover Story and Slug Spoon. Admission to the Gerald R. Ford Museum is free all day and the event includes a host of children’s activities. Details online here.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music
You need exposure to survive. People don’t die from exposure. They die from overexposure.
Making a living playing music is brutal, nearly impossible. But if you’re not getting exposure, then surely, your career will die.
I agree with Nik, though I think there is a certain “kind” of exposure that is wrong and hurts musicians more than helps. I’m not talking about a genuinely great opportunity to get your music “out there” wherein the sponsoring venue cannot pay you directly. I’m talking about specific instances where a venue CAN pay but do all they could to avoid doing so, and then make the rewards they DO offer and exposure sound much better than it actually is. I don’t take these anymore, and I think at times it’s flat out wrong for venues to behave this way.
I agree with the premise that people do it for the love of music. But even this you need to be careful with, lest people forget that the musicians they love cannot pay their bills, support their families, and even OFFER more music on music passion alone. Also can’t stand when I hear people immediately label a musician a “sell out” because they actually WANT to make money. This is an interesting article, but I hope people see this as a call to improve the economics of music, not just assume “loving music” is enough.