Originally Posted by BIG JIM MERRILEES
I do not want to sound too left wing but it is about time you all got organised and stopped getting exploited and ripped off.


Not gonna happen here. As long as people here believe that you can get "discovered" playing a club, or that the exposure, experience and/or legitimacy that come with playing is more valuable to them than money, people will play for free. There are simply too many performers, all with different agendas.

It makes sense to me, in a market that is oversaturated with musicians. It's classic supply vs. demand. Over here in the US, venues have the upper hand.

Besides, in my experience, the artists that chronically play for free usually have little to offer the venues, anyway. They don't draw a drinking crowd, they're novice performers, etc. You simply can't go in and demand a $300 guarantee just for showing up and playing.

I've heard it's very different in the UK as far as crowds. A friend of mine did a tour over there with his band and was amazed that *every* venue they played was packed, with very little promotion; in the US you have to bust your butt to get even 20 people to come out to a show. All ancedotal evidence I've seen points to a much better live music scene in the UK in general.