There’s been a lot of talk recently about raising the minimum wage in this country. It’s criminal how little money most people are paid for their labor in this, the wealthiest country in human history. Our minimum wage was set nationally at $7.25 over a decade ago, and it was not even close to a living wage then. Now they’re fighting to raise that to $15 an hour, which in my opinion should still be a stepping stone to an even higher wage. Where I live, an actual living wage would have to be closer to $25 a hour or more, at a bare minimum.
But there’s at least one class of people in this country for which that $7.25 an hour would actually be an improvement. That would be working, non-famous, musicians. Over the years, venues that host live music have become more and more exploitative of these musicians to the point that many barely pay them now, if at all.
A little background on myself. I’ve been playing music semi-professionally in clubs and bars for decades, since I was a young adult. I live, and was born and raised, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city on the Bay used to be one of the major music capitals of the world, but over time the ability for people to make even a modest living as a musician here evaporated. Back in the 1960s, bands could rent giant Victorians in the city for next to nothing. They were able to spend time playing, creating innovative music that then rocked the world. Also, there were many venues around where they could ply their trade, develop their craft, and make enough to support themselves. But that was long ago. The tech industry, and the effect it had on real estate values, turned the city into a playground exclusively for the rich. Live music venues here continued to become more and more scarce. And those that still exist, operate now on a premise that musicians are a commodity that should be offering themselves, and their talent, for little to no compensation.
For example, there’s a club/bar that my various bands played at several times over the years. I’m not going to identify it, but its name contains one of the states, if you want a hint. It’s a nice little venue, decent acoustics and sound system, has a bit of atmosphere, etc. and playing there is generally an enjoyable experience. But make no mistake, you will be paying to play there, not the other way around.
Inside the venue, the bar is separate from where the music is played. People can come into the bar and drink, without paying the cover charge. So they can listen to the music, but not see the band, and the band gets nothing from them. And that’s most of the customers on a given night. The few who actually want to see the bands pay a modest cover charge of around five to ten dollars.
As far as the payment the musicians receive is determined, none of the money generated from the bar is shared with them, no matter how much comes in. Only money from the cover charge goes into that pot. From that they first pay $100 to the bouncer/ticket taker. And then, $100 to the sound man. Whatever is left after that is split up between the three bands on the bill. If you’re lucky, your band might make $10-20, even if the place is packed, and then you have to split that between the band members. Oh, but the venue does provide a case of their crappiest beer, Budweiser in cans, for the three bands to split. It’s beyond depressing. Last time I played there, I didn’t even bother to collect the money, as I would’ve had to stick around until closing. And for that five bucks and change, it really wasn’t worth my while.
That’s not even taking into account the thousands of dollars you have to spend on professional-grade gear, the thousands of hours learning to master your instrument, compose original material, and rehearse together as a band. Then add in bridge tolls, gas money, and parking fees, if you can even find parking anywhere near the venue. So, no matter what they pay, you’re guaranteed to operate at a loss. But I was never in it for the money, as there really wasn’t any. I did it because I love playing music, and the feeling of getting out and performing it live for others. Still, when you’re being exploited in such a manner, it does get to you.
Then there’s the problem of even getting some venues to book you in the first place. When I first started playing out, in the 1980s-1990s, a band would send a copy of their demo tape along with contact info. If the venue’s booker liked it, they’d take a chance and offer you a gig. If you played well, and the venue made some money, they’d ask you to come back. If they made a lot at the bar, they’d pay you a bonus. Over time, you could build up a following and make a modest amount of money.
But post-social media, it changed. Now bookers just look at your band’s social media page and see how many ‘Likes’ or ‘Followers’ you have. The actual music is an afterthought. They want a readymade following to show up, and expect you to do most, if not all, of the promotion for the event. So bands that have members that are popular, gregarious, and have lots of friends get booked, even if they suck, musically speaking. Bands where the members are introverts (which is most musicians and artists, by the way, especially the talented ones) often get turned down. It’s all about how many people you can bring in, the music has little or nothing to do with it. In the past, they’d take a chance on you, you’d play for whomever showed up. And if they kept booking you, you might build a following organically over time, and eventually move up the ladder to bigger and better venues, likely with more pay along the way. But that possibility seems to be less and less likely for most bands these days. Now, it’s a Catch-22. They won’t book you if you don’t have a following, and you can’t build a following because they won’t book you.
Historically, one of the most unique cultural exports this country offered to the rest of the world was our music. And that was largely built on musicians being able to play live, develop their craft, and innovate. Now, that’s been throttled to the point where it’s become a shadow of its former self. I fear for the future of music in this country. It’s become more and more like Hollywood. Originality has all but dried up and innovation has become a thing of the past. Now it’s the same old stuff rehashed in shiny new packaging, there just for the purpose of making money, and not for the sake of art.
I’ve fought for years to avoid getting bitter about this, but the bitterness has been winning the battle for quite some time now. I have to beg bookers of dive bars around me to let my band play in return for basically nothing, or at most a token payment, while I watch one of my former band mates on TV playing on Jimmy Kimmel, or at the Grammys. But I don’t begrudge his success, he’s a super-talented, badass musician, and worked hard for years to get where he’s at. Yet it really does drive home the inequality of it all. I’m also very talented, but it counts for nothing. As a working musician in this country, you’re either a millionaire/billionaire or you’re starving. There isn’t much in between. Much like many other industries here.
Oh yeah, and I recently read about how some noxious wannabe rapper, who is mostly known for a stupid catch phrase and a bad attitude, earned a million dollars in a single day by posting some pics on Only Fans. I guess that’s what passes for talent these days. This has truly become a sick and broken country, and it saddens me immensely.
Disclaimer:
Most of this piece is based on pre-pandemic experiences, so it’s a bit out of date. Who knows how things will play out once venues here open up again. But I would be willing to wager that whatever happens, it won’t be financially favoring the musicians.