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help crafting a "boycott 'free exposure' gigs" posting

WarriorJoe7

WarriorJoe7

Inactive
Mar 12, 2004
6,316
95
Syracuse, NY
www.myspace.com
#1
Hey I was wondering if anyone wanted to help create a funny but serious posting for craigslist and other places where we let musicians know how it hurts everyone when they plays free gigs 'for exposure' and what a load of crap that is.

I am sure some of you guys can do better than this (as evidenced by the craigslist posts) but something like

Now you can be sure that as soon as you hear the words "free exposure" that monkeys will fly out of your butt before you actually get any "exposure" from this gig. But you are assured of one thing... undercutting both yourself and other musicians.

See... I am too serious... not funny... I suck at humor when trying to illustrate a point. My humor has to be nonsensical. :( help! Perhaps a nonsensical title would help.

Oh yeah and it's ok to mention that it's ok to do a fundraiser for a nonprofit every once in awhile, but you do it because you sincerely believe in the fundraiser, NOT because of 'free exposure.'

So please put your ideas here and someone weave the ideas together into something coherent. Also this is important. What should we title it to grab attention?

Then everybody can take from the ideas and form their own postings for their local area.




oh yeah and moderators, I was having a hard time figuring out where to post this... I put it here since this was the humorous story area... please move if needed
 
#5
I will never understand why people do those gigs. It hurts ALL of us in the long run. There is no such thing as getting "exposure" from a "free gig" and it won't lead to your "breakthrough" gig either. I can see doing a "charity" gig. We've done those. But really, you may think you'll get "exposure" or someone might promise you exposure, but in MOST cases, it is simply not true - at least in my experience.
 
#8
Well, go on with your bad self, but unless you're selling out 1000 seat places all the time, or your band works 4 or more nights a week at decent paying gigs, there's no real, livable money in gigging anyway. Pretty much any gig out there is for 'free exposure.'

I don't know about you, but if my band is getting $500 a gig for 7-8 gigs a month (which is pretty darn good by most standards), that's still only a few hundred extra a month in my pocket after it's split between the members and the band fund. I still have to keep my day job, and I still am not 'living the dream.'

My synopsis: Even if you're technically getting paid, you're probably just doing it for the fun and the exposure, not to make a living anyway.
 
#11
My rationale is that one of the biggest problems for us in society today is, people believe music should be free. "File sharing" is a big reason for this. Imo, for musos to "file share" is cannibalism. Gigging by hobbyists for free, or just beer, etc, takes food out of the mouths of guys trying to make a living.

Call'em scabs if you want, that would be the union term. So, in addition to having a responsibility to our FT working muso brethren, we need to combat the idea that music should be free.
 
#12
Ubersheist said:
Well, go on with your bad self, but unless you're selling out 1000 seat places all the time, or your band works 4 or more nights a week at decent paying gigs, there's no real, livable money in gigging anyway. Pretty much any gig out there is for 'free exposure.'

I don't know about you, but if my band is getting $500 a gig for 7-8 gigs a month (which is pretty darn good by most standards), that's still only a few hundred extra a month in my pocket after it's split between the members and the band fund. I still have to keep my day job, and I still am not 'living the dream.'

My synopsis: Even if you're technically getting paid, you're probably just doing it for the fun and the exposure, not to make a living anyway.
Click to expand...

That's really not the point. I'll never live off the money I make gigging - it really only allows me to buy new strings and take the wife out for a nice meal, but I am a professional, I bring a professional attitude to my work as a musician, and I deserve to be paid for it. It doesn't matter at all that I can't quit my day job.

And going further, the bar makes money off my work. They should pay for it.
 

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