Under-paid/appreciated musicians!

[jackie day]

While I've only been at this promoting business for a short time (compared to most of you musicians out there), one conversation that continues to surface is the $money$ talk. One thing I've definitely picked up on is.....YOU ARE UNDER PAID AND UNDER APPRECIATED BY VENUE OWNERS! Ok, now that i've gotten that off my chest....I'm wondering if we can open a dialogue on this issue. I don't really have answers, but wonder how others feel about this topic and if they have any answers to share with the network. Support feels like the key word:

1. Support one anothers' gigs.
Yes, this network is an awesome outlet and resource for promoting your events in the aim to get an audience, support and notoriety, but shouldn't it also be about seeking fellow musicians' gigs that you could attend on some lonely Wed, Fri, Sun, Any night out? Let me answer that: YES. If you do not show up at anyone else's thing, can you really expect people to be there at yours? Let me answer that: NO. "Musicians of the 'Burgh....UNITE." Make one night a month your travel night! JUST DO IT. I know a lot of people do this already, but....

2. Support your worth.
Having worked as a freelance writer in this town for(ever) a while, i'm intimately familiar with the idea of under paid/appreciated; therefore, i feel your pain. But more importantly, i encourage you to stick to your ground and hold out for your worth from cheap club owners (in my case...editors). I'm not exactly sure how to make that happen, universally, other than a coup: all musicians refuse to play for less and then venues will have to pay? Crazy, huh? Club owners like to dangle that "draw carrot".....if you bring me 20 people, I'll pay you $200. If you bring 30, $300, etc etc etc blah blah blah. Can this stop??

3. Support the Pittsburgh Live Music/Jazzburgher networks.
Again, while this is a great resource, it's only as good as you make it. Tell your friends, colleagues, band members, live music people, local saloons, club owners, guitar stores, etc. The more people we get hooked into this network the more power we create in an aim to network and reach as many people as possible. Friends let friends network : )

4. Support BANDS!
This one is for club owners out there....heed above advice.


In short...help each other!

Promoters are also helpful, but they, like quality musicians (PLM members), seem to be scarce. Seek them out, though, as they can be quite beneficial as a bridge between the artist and venue.

P.S. all of the above is purely the rant of a passionate enthusiast/promoter/wanna-be-musician!

Peace,
jd

[Ed Skirtich]

Dear jd,

That is a wonderful piece you have written.

I totally agree with what you've written.

Especially the part about how we need to attend each others gigs.

I attend and support a lot of the local Pittsburgh jazz musicians in the clubs, and that same respect should be returned when I play gigs or if I'm the bandleader, side man, or Artistic Director of Jazz Workshop, Inc.

I do notice that we all put our ad up on the PJN on where we're gigging and maybe we're lucky if a half-dozen people respond.

And yes- about the clubs- It needs to be about what are musical backgrounds are, and not on this nonsense of "Do you have a following?"

And yeah- Club owners need to pay the musicians a good salary.

And yeah- The Club owners need to promote their club and the entertainment of their club much, much better.

I hope and pray some day the gig circuit will return to these questions: Can you play? Are you a professional musician? What is your musical background?

And not : "Do you have a following?"

Peace,
Ed Skirtich
[e-mail]
(412) 422- 4149 (H)
[phone] (C)