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Playing "Benefit gigs" (rant)

#21
Thanks for all the replies, people.
The band I was with prior to this band never played a charity gig. A friend of the rhythm guitar player in that band used to stop by quite often to hear us play. He was "with the band" sort of.
He always sat at the band table with us, etc.
About 3 years ago the house he was living in with his mom and his uncle caught fire and burned down while he was working out of town. His uncle died in the fire and his mom lived for about 10 days.
Someone arranged a benefit gig and I think about 6 bands were included. We did not volunteer, because the lead guitarist (BL) didn't play for charity.
We were playing an out of town gig about an hour away and Tim (the guy) showed up. He started talking about the tragedy and I guess he just couldn't control himself, but he said something along these lines "I think I found a house to buy. When it's all said and done, I should have about $450,000" (insurance, will, etc.). This was about 3 weeks before the 'event'.
I was really pissed and I said so to the BL; "Hey Frank, can you believe this? He's not cancelling that benefit for him and he's about to get a half-mil stuffed in his pocket".
I never mentioned it to anybody, but that sure put a sour taste in my mouth, which still stands today, I guess.
 
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#22
two fingers said:
A benefit only attended by 25 people is an unorganized wreck. Benefots are a hobby for these guys.

There's a disconnect somewhere though. Who is organizing these events? Are they annual events? Are they put together by known groups?

I have no problem doing a charity event that is well ateended and actially BENEFITS someone. 25 people aren't going to build a wing of a hospital or save the abandoned pets in your area.

We jist had a majot hurricane here. 35 miles from me east, southeast and south are dealing with devastating floods. We're going to get hit up to play some charity events for sure.

I'm all in if it's an event at a fairgrounds, a park, or a large venue and put on by people who are all in with us. But if some guy named Bob is holding a barbeque to gather canned goods, no thanks.

So, I think you have a valid point. But you jist need to know how to phrase it.

"Fellas, I think we need to be a bit more selective as to which benefits we agree to play. We played a lot of unorganized events that aren't well attended and don't seem to benefit anyone, really."

Honestly, how easy will it be for these guys to find another bass player willing to play half their gigs for free?

Somebody in the band likes his ego stroked. "Oh, Jim is jist the BEST!!!! He is ALWAYS willing to help out. He's a real hero!"

Or, more likely, it's the wife. "Oh, Jill it just the BEST! She always manages to get Jim's band to help out for free!"

I'm willing to help if the help is effective.
Click to expand...

This is a great post, hit on a number of things I was thinking as well. I think most of these benefit gigs this band is doing are just fun little pet projects for the wife. And everybody gets to pat themselves on the back and feel good about "helping".

Pass.
 
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#23
I don't mind donating my time (as musician or otherwise) to a worthy cause, but not every cause merits my time. Same way I don't give money to every telemarketer that calls. Frankly, it sounds like your BL can't get enough paying gigs, so is doing this to fill the calendar. If the band gets a rep for accepting every offer to play free, they get a rep for playing without getting paid.
 
#24
i would do less charities that were more effective. when the benefits only have 25 people show up, it's not benefiting the charity/recipient very much financially, which means our donated playing time isn't really helping very much. doing many less benefits marketed much better so that 100+ people show up makes more sense to me. i did a charity for the american lung association where we had big sponsors and hundreds of people showed up. they did a ride where people paid per mile to ride. they made tons of money for the charity. to me that makes sense.
 
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#25
Your band is the only entity that is not being paid for these benefit doohickeys.

The hall is being rented. I guarantee the hall gets rent (maybe reduced). The janitors who clean up afterward, the valets who park the cars, the waiters and waitresses who serve the food, the caterer who prepares the food: all being paid.

The electricity and gas and water used before during and after the event are being paid for. The utilities do not donate these free. If your band has to rent a PA, the PA rental company is charging you. If your band owns a PA, the store from which it came was paid, and if your band depreciates it on its income taxes (if applicable) it is treated as a fully depreciable expense.

If the men's restroom stops up during the event, the plumber who comes to the hall to fix it? Paid. If the event is advertised on radio, the ad is paid for.

Unpaid benefit events are in my experience only unpaid when it comes to the band. I think there may be exceptions for something truly enormous like relief for 9/11 survivors immediately after that event, but little in-town fund raisers for local outfits that attract 25 people? Nah.

You can gather from this what I think about playing these events unpaid.

If we are getting paid, then it's just another gig.
 
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#26
turf3 said:
Your band is the only entity that is not being paid for these benefit doohickeys.

The hall is being rented. I guarantee the hall gets rent (maybe reduced). The janitors who clean up afterward, the valets who park the cars, the waiters and waitresses who serve the food, the caterer who prepares the food: all being paid.

The electricity and gas and water used before during and after the event are being paid for. The utilities do not donate these free. If your band has to rent a PA, the PA rental company is charging you. If your band owns a PA, the store from which it came was paid, and if your band depreciates it on its income taxes (if applicable) it is treated as a fully depreciable expense.

If the men's restroom stops up during the event, the plumber who comes to the hall to fix it? Paid. If the event is advertised on radio, the ad is paid for.

Unpaid benefit events are in my experience only unpaid when it comes to the band. I think there may be exceptions for something truly enormous like relief for 9/11 survivors immediately after that event, but little in-town fund raisers for local outfits that attract 25 people? Nah.

You can gather from this what I think about playing these events unpaid.

If we are getting paid, then it's just another gig.
Click to expand...

Depends on the event. Often LOTS of volunteers there.

Big difference between a United Way national gala, and someone raising money for their spouse's cancer medical bills.
 
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#28
Good to see the kindness of strangers here.

What's the difference between donating your time to a charity or your money?
Hint - donating time to play music is more fun, and easier on your wallet.

Recently, I've done several shows for local people who were trying to raise money to offset medical bills for large, unexpected medical bills, and I used to do an annual show for a local cancer support group.
 
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#29
I do 3 or 4 "benefit" gigs a year. Often for friends or friends of friends. Most pay a little something, but not near my usual rate. I'm OK with that, as long as I don't have to drive an hour each way, or set up a PA, or stay until the crickets chirp.

I have one coming up in a couple of weeks ... for some animal rights cause that's a favorite of a bandmate's wife. On a Saturday, we go on at 12 noon at a local honky-tonk type club. I hope they've swept the floors and cleaned the johns by noon. I'm not expecting an audience of any great size, but then, why would I care? I just hope I'm awake!
 
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#30
As soon as you said that one of the guys wife is a benefits freak I would have packed my bags. The band needs to make a decision where they want to play regardless if someones wife wants them to play a benefit or not. Do what is right for the band not what someone outside the band wants you to do.
The rest of the band are ok playing lots of benefits so I would expect more of the same type of gigs if you played in that band.
I have also found that most " benefits" are not exactly poverty stricken. Take a look at some of the salaries for the CEO's for these organizations and explain to me why they cannot pay a fair rate for entertainment. Lots of these benefit companies prey on people's sense of duty. my two cents
 
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#33
bumperbass said:
That's the problem. What's NOT a good cause (according to the guys)? Isn't cancer a good cause? Diabetes?
Click to expand...
I get your point, definitely. Who is to decide?

Someone else said it earlier, something about the causes that keep an individual above water. The local causes. The ones with a direct impact on a person in the community. That's how I judge it anymore as to my participation.
 
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#34
Benefits to play that are probably good:
Something attached to, say, The American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, Wounded Warriors, or any other national organization.

Just say No to:
Funeral expenses for so and so (those are huge around here), and as others mentioned...the local animal shelter, the local YMCA, things like that.

I'm sorry, but my band got taken advantage of for years because we played one local gig a couple of times for free. When we realized everyone else was getting paid and we weren't and asked for a little compensation, people got offended.

Plus, I'll only play for a benefit if it is a cause I support. I played a big cancer society show a few years ago for free because all four of my grandparents and both of my parents are cancer survivors. I would even probably play a local thing for someone raising money for a kidney transplant because I have had one of those and know what it's like. But to be the benefit kings is kinda crazy.

BnB
 
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#35
bumperbass said:
Thanks for all the replies, people.
The band I was with prior to this band never played a charity gig. A friend of the rhythm guitar player in that band used to stop by quite often to hear us play. He was "with the band" sort of.
He always sat at the band table with us, etc.
About 3 years ago the house he was living in with his mom and his uncle caught fire and burned down while he was working out of town. His uncle died in the fire and his mom lived for about 10 days.
Someone arranged a benefit gig and I think about 6 bands were included. We did not volunteer, because the lead guitarist (BL) didn't play for charity.
We were playing an out of town gig about an hour away and Tim (the guy) showed up. He started talking about the tragedy and I guess he just couldn't control himself, but he said something along these lines "I think I found a house to buy. When it's all said and done, I should have about $450,000" (insurance, will, etc.). This was about 3 weeks before the 'event'.
I was really pissed and I said so to the BL; "Hey Frank, can you believe this? He's not cancelling that benefit for him and he's about to get a half-mil stuffed in his pocket".
I never mentioned it to anybody, but that sure put a sour taste in my mouth, which still stands today, I guess.
Click to expand...
That is analogous to the CEO of (insert name of big charity here) taking home a six-figure salary, while his support staff whine to potential talent that they should do it "for free" because it's "a good cause"...
 
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#36
basscapes said:
That is analogous to the CEO of (insert name of big charity here) taking home a six-figure salary, while his support staff whine to potential talent that they should do it "for free" because it's "a good cause"...
Click to expand...
Case in point - one of the local PBS/NPR affiliates - you know - the ones with the on-air fundraisers about every six weeks - pays their CEO just shy of $850,000 _a year_ after last year's 20% pay hike. I don't listen to them...
Invalid Link Removed
 
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#38
I don't mind legit benefits, or even so-so legit benefits if the PA is supplied and all I have to do is show up with my bass. If we have to lug the PA and setup, tear down, unload then I would rather pass. We did a benefit last year that had a low attendance, but it was at a really cool venue and the venue (a clothier) had a killer stage, PA, drums, amps, and even the beloved SVT. I didn't mind that at all.
 
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#39
ArtechnikA said:
Case in point - one of the local PBS/NPR affiliates - you know - the ones with the on-air fundraisers about every six weeks - pays their CEO just shy of $850,000 _a year_ after last year's 20% pay hike. I don't listen to them...
Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...
I wasn't going to go there, but you said it (so now I don't have to).

At one point, both Mrs. Basscapes and I were gonna give to NPR/PBS. Heck, we even considered WILLING them, as other than god children, we have no progeny to pass on our "multitudes of crap" to. Also considered "gifting" them my commuter car next year, when (not IF) it finally dies.

After hearing about that nice tidy sum, NOPE...
 
#40
We're getting off-topic a bit, but in response to @bound'n'blocked, there are entities that analyze the percentage of donations which actually get to the intended recipients: (Consumer Reports: Best and Worst Charities for Your Donations and Charity Navigator: Giving Statistics : Charity Navigator come to mind)

We each have our pet projects and some folks are more charitably inclined than are others, but I think the point for the OP is that he believes that the band (and he) is being taken advantage of. If I were in that position, I would clarify the terms under which I would be willing to stay a part of that organization, and stick to them. Each of us has a different line-in-the-sand in any given scenario.

And, I might add that I believe NPR is funded partially by our tax dollars as well.
 
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