Exposure/ Charity Events

Legionreturns

We're barely allowed to play yet, and already I'm seeing the usual suspects on all the groups and forums, "offering" bands the opportunity to play for fuck all at "charity" events because it's *a great event/ venue/ exposure / cause (delete as applicable) 

I am however starting to see a lot more pushback from the music community in general. 

A great many musicians have earned fuck all in the last 18 months, and these events where the bar staff, brewery, security, organisers, caterers etc all get paid but the bands are asked to play for free and STILL have to submit videos / tracks to be deemed worthy are no longer acceptable in my view. 

I'm not anti charity, and have and will do charity events for causes that I'm specifically involved in...but...that's my choice, and if I'm organising/ doing sound etc, my proviso is always that the bands get paid. No ifs, no buts. Even if I'm doing my bit for free. 

merlin

People die of exposure. 

maltingsaudio

My mortgage payment is 550 exposures a month!

midiman1962

I gave up the exposure gigs a few years ago…however,My buddy and I have done loads of busking in the last 6 months for a homeless charity- 23 outings and raised over £2k of which 100% has been donated … the point I’m making is that we do it when we want to on our own terms - it’s been great fun , cold and wet when conditions have become inclement and only been thrown off 2 sites ….but all in all very fulfilling 

merlin

All true. You can't eat exposure. 

Cols

There was this lovely example a few months ago, with a stately home sending out a call for musical performers to come and play for free at a ticketed event.  You know, for exposure.

After a very public outcry, they backtracked.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/204503/lamport-hall-for-the-exposure-arseholes#latest

Legionreturns

Cols said:

There was this lovely example a few months ago, with a stately home sending out a call for musical performers to come and play for free at a ticketed event.  You know, for exposure.

After a very public outcry, they backtracked.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/204503/lamport-hall-for-the-exposure-arseholes#latest

Yes I saw that one unfold too. 

The one that triggered my rant was in the North East Facebook groups. 

Once half a dozen people had rightly trashed his post with call outs and questions about who else was working for free, he posted a big tantrum accusing everyone of being nasty trolls, then eventually deleted the thread. 

Interesting question though; bands that are asked to do this for free, and have done for years... what percentage of their income have they effectively given to charity compared to say the brewery, who still sell their beer but might occasionally drop a couple of hundred quid in a pot? 

Snags

There's a pay-to-play thing locally that I still can't work out whether it's reasonable, or whether I'm just being a nob feeling that it's slightly taking the piss.

On the one hand, the people that put it on do so in a proper venue, with lighting, PA, and (if you need/want it) a fairly competent house band who'll sit in with you. Each evening the 'best' act or two (not sure how they judge it) get to play the evening out, and the performance is videod and stuck up on Facebook/YouTube to stroke your ego.

So there's some definite effort being put in by a small team, albeit at the "competent amateur" rather than "professional" level.

But ... it's essentially an open mic with bells & whistles, is on otherwise dead nights, and ultimately the performers are providing the entertainment for the (drinking) audience.

The cost isn't significant - not much more than a pint - so the guys running it aren't coining it in. In fact even if you get ten acts in an evening it's not even pin money if shared out. For all I know they pay it all over to the venue anyway. It's also not any kind of quality filter, that's for definite.

All the other open mics around here are in boozers, and clearly operate on the basis that it contributes to the wider community, and brings a few extra people in to put money across the bar on quiet nights.

I suspect I'm the prick in this instance, as I do think the people who put these things on do deserve some kind of compensation/recognition. But it still feels a tiny bit off that this one is pay-to-play, rather than having a good enough rep to draw enough of an audience to make it sustainable without.

Musicwolf

A few years ago we were asked to play at a charity event where, as it turned out, the purpose of the event was to raise money in order to send the organisers to Africa so that they could do a sponsored walk up Kilimanjaro.  In other words, an all expenses jolly in the name of charity.

Bollocks to that.

Roland

Whenever I play a charity gig, which admittedly isn’t very often, I insist on being paid and then donate the fee back. It’s a win:win situation. The organisers get a cost on their P&L. The charity gets the money, plus the Inland Revenue tax benefit. The going rate for a band doesn’t get undermined.

vasselmeyer

In our band we will play for three things:

• Money
• Fun
• Contacts

Unless we get two of these three things, it's a polite no. Just like @Roland, if we do a charity gig we insist on being paid, but it's up to the individual band member to decide whether to donate back or not. I take enough to cover my fuel, but my time gets donated. We've had good paying gigs out of "free" charity gigs.

Supportact

For me, the issue is that people often see something that is free as also having no value.

Stratavarious

We have been getting gigs again at our full asking rate.  Seated, booked tables only and the venue was turning them away.  Staycation market looking to be huge for summer. 

We also do rehearsal / unadvertised outdoor sessions in towns to help the local business community get some much needed traffic.  We make some reasonable money with donations at those... enough to cover costs.  It’s good for contacts and visibility and getting new media and we are essentially paid to rehearse.

We see it as we are all going to have to muck in a bit and help model some adaptations for the summer to get things going.   We can spot the idiot outfits and wasters.

PolarityMan

If it genuinely was for exposure I'd totally play for exposure..but more often in the same breath they then say...and you ahve to bring at least 50 of your mates down. 

fretmeister

I have a rule that I got from my magic mentor.

Do it full price or free. Never discount. Discounting devalues the product.

It's a very simple approach to assessing each "opportunity" that comes along. Is it a charity gig for a charity that I would actually support? Fine - I'll do it for free. Everything else is regular price.

It also cuts all the "exposure" gigs - often requested by well performing companies who still manage to pay the caterers and their own staff. I've had "exposure" offers from Tesco and Pizzahut and others.

Free charity performances are exposure gigs too of course - but with a beneficiary that isn't the board members and shareholders of Tesco.

mrkb

I’m playing a brewery gig this weekend. I hope I get compensation for the value and pleasure I bring

Legionreturns

mrkb said:

I’m playing a brewery gig this weekend. I hope I get compensation for the value and pleasure I bring

You'll get paid commensurate to the level of the performance I'm sure  

(You got paid in burgers last weekend! I think I overpaid!) 

sev112

Ask for a good can of beer 

Jalapeno

One of the jazz bands I just started playing in never charge - to date they've raised more than £80k for the local hospice !

(Well jazz bands don't pay well at the best of times - most I've ever got was £50 for a wedding reception)

I'll happily do charity, but has to be on my terms and for a worthy cause, but never for "exposure"