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About the low pay and where the gigs went, here's something I've noticed:
A lot of the same musicians who spend time dwelling and harping about the problem are also the ones most likely to be taking advantage of free downloads of other people's copyrighted works.
Just sayin'...
--Mac
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You guys forgot the part of the story where Bill Gates bailed his good friend Steve Jobs over at Apple out?
They might not even be here today had he not done that.
--Mac
You're right! And, had Steve Jobs not returned they probably would not be where they are now. Lots of factors that don't fit neatly in the book of "How to Build a Company and Succeed"!
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Quote:
About the low pay and where the gigs went, here's something I've noticed:
A lot of the same musicians who spend time dwelling and harping about the problem are also the ones most likely to be taking advantage of free downloads of other people's copyrighted works.
Just sayin'...
--Mac
Anyone in particular?
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I would like to express my appreciation to Mac, rharv and others who have helped me over the last few years.
On another note: If you want to play for free, there are places where you won't be taking away from anyone's paycheck. Rescue missions, convalescent homes, jail ministries, etc. They'll all be highly appreciative and treat you like a star.
I remember apologizing for missing a chord and an old lady looked up and said, "We don't know the difference."
Don S.
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I certainly understand how frustrating it must be for a career performer to lose gigs because someone else is willing to play for less (or even free) but isn't that precisely how our country works? The store on one side of town is losing sales to the store on the other side of town so they reduce prices to get back some of those customers. (I know there are a lot more factors than price but keeping it simple to make a point!)
If I own a small restaurant odds are I will make little to no money and likely be out of business in a few years. Most fail! So if I can find some excited young talent willing to play for free in order to gain experience while still providing an acceptable quality of entertainment to my customers I feel everybody wins. Except, of course, for the musician who feels someone unfairly took his paying gig which probably wouldn't have been a paying gig anyway.
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When conditions change, stay on your feet, improvise, adapt and overcome.
My father told me something once when I was a wee lad with a Trumpet, trying to audition into the Youth Symphony Orchestra and up against high school and college age trumpet players. He said, "There will always be room for the best. So practice hard to be the best."
I passed the audition and at the time, became one of the youngest ever picked.
--Mac
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Quote:
I certainly understand how frustrating it must be for a career performer to lose gigs because someone else is willing to play for less (or even free) but isn't that precisely how our country works? The store on one side of town is losing sales to the store on the other side of town so they reduce prices to get back some of those customers. (I know there are a lot more factors than price but keeping it simple to make a point!)
If I own a small restaurant odds are I will make little to no money and likely be out of business in a few years. Most fail! So if I can find some excited young talent willing to play for free in order to gain experience while still providing an acceptable quality of entertainment to my customers I feel everybody wins. Except, of course, for the musician who feels someone unfairly took his paying gig which probably wouldn't have been a paying gig anyway.
You might feel differently if you were the working musician losing a job to a free player, John. Trust me.
But then, this is the internet, and one can "be" whatever one wants- a musician, a guru, a genius, a songwriter, pick a delusion. One only needs to make the claim. 
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90 db, Quote:
You might feel differently if you were the working musician losing a job to a free player, John. Trust me.
I’m with you on this one. If someone wants to play for free, then there are lots of nursing homes, Senior Citizens centers, rehab and maybe even some hospitals where the audience and the staff will likely be a very appreciative bunch.
But if you play for free at a venue that normally pays their performers, you’re hurting your fellow musicians, … many of whom need the gig to support themselves and/or their family. That ain’t cool.
JMHO.
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The bottom line is I live in the US and Capitalism is the way we work.If you can't make enough money playing music because I can/do play for less don't blame me . It's the system and I love it.And BTW I bet I've played close to 10K paying gigs so I'm not just a wanabee.
Now the real reason I will play for free is to get all the gigs I can get in a tough market.I make more tips playing then I do watching TV. All my tips and income, if I get any, goes to by food, bedding etc. for the animals at our local shelter.If I take a gig away from you ohwell you can get a job at WalMart. The animals can't. All they get in the end is the gas chamber.
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When conditions change, stay on your feet, improvise, adapt and overcome.
which is EXACTLY why I think one man acts with backing tracks are the logical adaptation in a market where 1 man DJs and 1 man karaoke have lowered the business owner's cost expectations for live music.
Don't give up.. change your strategy! See what's working for others, watch what the venues are willing to pay for and what the audiences are willing to listen to.
Then instead of feeling like you took a step DOWN, give it all you've got and raise the bar for solo acts. Make YOUR act so interesting that it's the one people want to see and the one that venues want to hire.
Quote:
"There will always be room for the best. So practice hard to be the best."
AMEN Brothah!
We talk about the high failure rate of new businesses... but it's worth remembering that some new businesses not only survive, they flourish in the same economy that others blame for their failure.
The ones that succeed are typically the ones that did their homework
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But then, this is the internet, and one can "be" whatever one wants- a musician, a guru, a genius, a songwriter, pick a delusion. One only needs to make the claim.
90db.
This is so true. It's why I tell my students to be wary of advice from people who claim to be experts, but who have no real-world evidence to support the claim.
ROG.
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I want to start by saying that my loose definition of "talent" is the ability to do something that everybody else can't easily duplicate. (People who scribble on a canvas and call it art don't meet that definition of talent, but I digress.)
We have this conversation at my house all the time! What is Art? It is kinda hard to pin down but I have come to understand that just because I don't see something as art does not mean that it is not art (except for me perhaps!)
That isn't really my attempt to define art.. it's more my criteria for respecting someone's presentation of what he/she claims to be the manifestation of talent.
When I watch the olympics, I see those athletes doing things I CAN'T DO, and that impresses me. If I went somewhere and paid to be entertained, and the act consisted of a guy eating a plate of spaghetti, I'd want my money back, because *I* can do that! ANYBODY can do that!
(Unless he ate it through his ears, in which case he's entitled to whatever they're payin' him, because, *I* don't even WANT to do THAT!!)
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Well, I haven't played 10000 gigs  , but then, I've only been doing it for 47 years. If you play for free, people usually believe that's what it's worth.
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Well, I haven't played 10000 gigs , but then, I've only been doing it for 47 years. If you play for free, people usually believe that's what it's worth.
Music has been VERY good to me. I'm now using my God given skills to try and give back. I just so happen to choose animals to help. That's all.If it now means playing for free ,I play for free.IF there were more paying gigs these days I'd go for that but I will not sit home just because.
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You might feel differently if you were the working musician losing a job to a free player, John. Trust me.
Nope I would not feel differently. I have owned a small business for over 20 years and we have had to cut our prices and even do stuff for free some times to compete. We work within the marketplace we are in and try to make our services attractive enough to be able to charge a fair price but some times a less qualified competitor comes along and would win on price if we didn't react. So rather than complain that he should not be allowed to do it for less or for free we find another way to win the customer or find other customers. Same thing as a musician playing gigs!
Quote:
But then, this is the internet, and one can "be" whatever one wants- a musician, a guru, a genius, a songwriter, pick a delusion. One only needs to make the claim.
I have no idea what your point is with this! An accusation? A confession?
Last edited by JohnJohnJohn; 01/13/13 06:45 PM.
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Quote:
Quote:
You might feel differently if you were the working musician losing a job to a free player, John. Trust me.
Nope I would not feel differently. I have owned a small business for over 20 years and we have had to cut our prices and even do stuff for free some times to compete. We work within the marketplace we are in and try to make our services attractive enough to be able to charge a fair price but some times a less qualified competitor comes along and would win on price if we didn't react. So rather than complain that he should not be allowed to do it for less or for free we find another way to win the customer or find other customers. Same thing as a musician playing gigs!
Really? The "same thing"? Have you ever been a musician playing gigs? I doubt it. If you had, you would understand what I'm talking about.
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But then, this is the internet, and one can "be" whatever one wants- a musician, a guru, a genius, a songwriter, pick a delusion. One only needs to make the claim.
I have no idea what your point is with this! An accusation? A confession?
Just an observation. Strike a nerve?
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Just an observation. Strike a nerve?
Nope. Standard internet fare. Try and discount someone who doesn't agree with you.
Last edited by JohnJohnJohn; 01/13/13 08:16 PM.
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Really? The "same thing"?
Yep. Same thing!
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Quote:
The bottom line is I live in the US and Capitalism is the way we work.If you can't make enough money playing music because I can/do play for less don't blame me . It's the system and I love it.
I agree! It is how our system works.
Quote:
All my tips and income, if I get any, goes to by food, bedding etc. for the animals at our local shelter.If I take a gig away from you ohwell you can get a job at WalMart. The animals can't. All they get in the end is the gas chamber.
Nice thing you are doing there silvertones!
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Quote:
Just an observation. Strike a nerve?
Nope. Standard internet fare. Try and discount someone who doesn't agree with you.
How could I discount an opinion based on conjecture?
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