We do a free gig at the nursing home section at the VA hospital every year, and occasional charities that I believe in.

If it is a profit making place (bar, restaurant, etc.) I do not play for free. In addition, I boycott any commercial establishment that hosts an 'open mic' night and IMHO exploits musicians 24/7. They will never-ever get a penny from me.

If the waiters, bartenders, dishwashers, owners, bookkeepers, janitors, managers, are all getting paid, I see no reason to ask for free music. That equals exploitation and is disrespectful to musicians.

This has been around the block a few times, but worthy of a repeat.

The next time you are asked to play for free:

Ad:
We are a small & casual restaurant downtown and we are looking for solo musicians to play in our restaurant to promote their work and sell their CD. This is not a paying job, but only for special events which will eventually turn into a nightly event if we get positive response. More Jazz, Rock, & smooth type music, around the world and mixed cultural music. Are you interested to promote your work? Please reply back ASAP.

A Musician’s Reply:
Happy new year! I am a musician with a modest house looking for a restauranteur to come to my house to promote his/her restaurant by making dinner for me and my friends. This is not a paying job, but only for special events which will eventually turn into a nightly event if we get a positive response. More fine dining & exotic meals and mixed Ethnic Fusion cuisine. Are you interested to promote your restaurant? Please reply back ASAP.

There are a number of 'open mic' bars in our area, it is becoming a sad trend, and unfortunately there are enough musicians who do not respect themselves enough to play them.

A few of them have gone out of business, IMO because the public doesn't want to see a bunch of musicians get on stage, figure out what they know in common and play the same old songs in various shades of mediocrity.

One bar asked local bands to play a weekend for free. They made it seem like a contest: The band that brings the biggest crowd will get a 3 month contract. This went on until they ran out of bands that wanted to play for free, and nobody ever got hired. When he couldn't find any more bands to exploit, he got a line dance teacher to come in and play CDs and teach line dancing for free - until that failed.

Do we ask Plumbers to work for free? Carpenters? Investment Managers? Taxi Drivers? Secretaries? CEOs? Ship Captains? Doctors? Nurses? Policemen? Soldiers? Store Clerks? Technicians? Engineers? Lawyers? Sanitation Workers? News Reporters? Bridge Tenders? Schoolteachers? Social Workers? Bankers? etc. etc. -- then why expect Musicians to work for free?

Just say "No" to free gigs.

Obviously I feel very strongly about this subject.

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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