Members Anderton Posted August 8, 2011 Members Share Posted August 8, 2011 Just wondering...if you're a performer, are there fewer gigs? Are clients paying slower? How about music business retail? Trying to get a handle on how this is affecting any of you personally, if in fact it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted August 9, 2011 CMS Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 Well, I write articles about music-related gear and technical topics, and I've had less and less work over the past couple of years. The magazines are shrinking and even those that still have me write the occasional article want shorter articles (and they pay by the word). The manufacturers say they could really use some help but they don't have the money to pay for it. So here I am, giving away free advice on forums just to keep busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bookumdano2 Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 Hope this isn't a sidetrack, but I'm so far out of the loop, I'd actually like to also know if gigging stopped being lucrative maybe before the events of the past 3 or so years???? I was playing all over LA in the early 80s (as a pedal steel player no less during the urban cowboy craze hahahahah) and then back to gtr/keys all the way up until late 87 when I finally got so busy with other things, I had to stop gigging. 80-87 were great years in LA/OC/SanDiego. Not enough days in the week to play all the jobs and clubs. And the money was really good all the time. I sometimes wonder when things started going south (if they did). I may have gotten out at just the right time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 Hope this isn't a sidetrack, but I'm so far out of the loop, I'd actually like to also know if gigging stopped being lucrative maybe before the events of the past 3 or so years????I was playing all over LA in the early 80s (as a pedal steel player no less during the urban cowboy craze hahahahah) and then back to gtr/keys all the way up until late 87 when I finally got so busy with other things, I had to stop gigging. 80-87 were great years in LA/OC/SanDiego. Not enough days in the week to play all the jobs and clubs. And the money was really good all the time. I sometimes wonder when things started going south (if they did). I may have gotten out at just the right time. It was obvious to me that the live music business was going to take a dive just as I was coming of age clear back in the early 80's when DUI laws began to get stiffer. Mandatory jail sentences began to scare people away from bars. It's been a long slow downhill slope that continues and I believe will soon coincide with a full on economic depression just like in the 1930's. History travels in cycles and prohibition and economic depression appear to be partners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 It was obvious to me that the live music business was going to take a dive just as I was coming of age clear back in the early 80's when DUI laws began to get stiffer. Mandatory jail sentences began to scare people away from bars. It's been a long slow downhill slope that continues and I believe will soon coincide with a full on economic depression just like in the 1930's. History travels in cycles and prohibition and economic depression appear to be partners. There's about a million miles between prohibiting alcohol consumption and simply requiring that people behave responsibly behind the wheel. And before anyone misunderstands, despite the fact that I quit drinking after 20 years of, shall we say, everyday enthusiastic drinking -- and considerable and frankly -- rather shameful -- personal irresponsibility -- I am completely against prohibition of any sort. I've lost some good friends and even family members to hard drugs -- and alcohol -- but I don't believe in prohibiting anything from aspirin to heroin or meth. But with freedom comes responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MrKnobs Posted August 9, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 9, 2011 That's one of the great things about being an original band in Austin. There's no possible way any recession can drive our wages down farther. Terry D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 That's one of the great things about being an original band in Austin. There's no possible way any recession can drive our wages down farther. Terry D. You're not alone. It's that way pretty much everywhere for those who create original music. Unless you want to play covers in party/date night bars or in a corporate show band (not that there is anything at all wrong with that, mind you, if you are so inclined, but it is still a highly competitive scene) -- you're not likely to make more than gas money in any of the markets I'm familiar with. Of course, gas money is nothing to sneeze at, these days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timrocker Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 I'm pretty much out of the game. I play a gig about roughly every other month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Surrealistic Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 I don't gig regularly but many of my friends do and yes, they're feeling it. To quote one of them on Facebook recently "I've gone from doing 25+ gigs a month two years ago, to about 12 now, and the money has gone down per gig". I do make some money from CDs and downloads but that's drastically down for my latest stuff. Of course it could be that isn't directly related to the current economic climate but I suspect it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The dman Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 It hasn't really affected the clubs around me but it's affected the festival market. The towns have less money to hire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 but I don't believe in prohibiting anything from aspirin to heroin or meth.But with freedom comes responsibility. Agreed. I've also had more than my share of legal and personal problems with drugs/alcohol that I've been able to (mostly) put behind me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 Yes, there are a lot fewer gigs. The venues I've talked to in the last year talk about hired thugs from ASCAP, BMI & SESAC coming in with documents threatening lawsuits if they have live music. ("It looks like you could fit about 60 people in here, plus 5 in each bathroom. So... when can we expect your check for $1650?") About 80% have stopped having live music as a result. Now I play open mics, the occasional festival, private parties, and some chamber of commerce sponsored gigs where we play downtown in the evening during midweek in a small town. Luckily, I don't expect to make a living at it; I do it because I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 It's mostly a general observation defining the direction as I see it. I try to avoid detailed discussions about it because people become emotional quickly due to the various life experiences we've had. Agreed. I've also had more than my share of legal and personal problems with drugs/alcohol that I've been able to (mostly) put behind me. I avoided the serious legal stuff -- but I was really lucky and I barely squeaked a number of times in an era when roadside sobriety checks were much more lax. I shudder to look back on my past behavior. Many of my slightly younger friends weren't so lucky. A few were terminally unlucky. I saw the handwriting on the wall and when the local venue I basically had a personal weeknight pass into (they got their money back at the bar bigtime -- er, ) closed up, even though it was making money -- because the doctor who owned it said he could no longer conscience making money off so many people driving off drunk into the night (that would be me), and the Cali DUI threshold fell to .08 (it had been a freewheeling .15 my first couple decades of drinkin' and drivin' -- which I nonetheless blew past many a night and more than a couple days), I decided to do the bulk of my drinking at home. I never minded drinking alone -- but I didn't like that my social life was collapsing (the sad irony was that when I stopped drinking, I found that a lot of the folks I had thought were so fascinating turned out to be really pretty boring)... but, vain and shallow guy I am, it was when I looked in the mirror and saw a fine filigree of broken capillaries spreading out across my nose and cheeks that I thought maybe the time had really come... Burn through jobs and girlfriends? No prob... but my boyishly handsome looks? A guy has to draw the line somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 Not really affecting me that much here in Houston. The economy here really strong and hasnt been hit hard like other places. Nobodys growing but they arent shrinking either, at least not as fast. I still get gigs when I want them but I'm not relying on that for a paycheck. My buddies who do gig full time are kind of stagnent as well. They have regular local gigs and the loyal fans come. The tours out of state are pretty much dead. They used to tour regularly with hit bands and those just arent happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members raagam Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 I teach a course on world music in the Connecticut State University system. This summer, the combined state employees unions (in all departments) failed to ratify a concessions package, so, our Governor is threatening massive layoffs (3000-6000 workers; many already have pink slips). Anyway, the unions are now considering a new concessions package. If the deal passes, my pay for 11-12 academic year will be the same as 10-11 (but I'll still have the gig). If the deal does NOT pass, then I get a pay increase (that had been previously approved and was under the union contract). Nonetheless, I suspect the deal will pass, since people want to hold onto their jobs. We'll see... So, yes, the economy has affected my pay as a musician, at least from this slice of the income pie. The CT situation has more to do with imbalance of tax revenues vs. state expenditures, though, which is kind of indirect. I still have full classes of tuition-paying students; people aren't (yet) dropping out of college because they can't afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Extreme Mixing Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 The pro scene here in LA has taken a pretty good hit. I don't know many who are unaffected by the change. Playing in clubs never seemed like a good long term way of making a living. Recording records, Film and TV soundtracks seemed like more of a career path. Not sure what's going to happen, but too many friends are feeling it to ignore. Me, too, but I'm busy right now. We'll just have to see what happens. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members koolkat Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 I was a solo jazz guitarist so I'm probably not the best person to take an opinion from but here goes anyways. There certainly are fewer gigs to be had here on North Vancouver Island (for ANY style of music) than there was in the 80's and 90's. The clubs were full around here back then and there was actually a demand for bands. Most of the stuff now is for weekends in the clubs; actually, I should say "club" as there's really only one place that has bands now in this town (as opposed to 6 or 7 back in the day). Although economics might play some role, I think it's just a growing trend around here of people not going out anymore, no matter how much money they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J.Paul Posted August 19, 2011 Members Share Posted August 19, 2011 We are seeing a slowing in some of the casino clientele....Some of them have gone from wed / thurs / fri /sat / sun bookings to fri / sat as part of the economy.We've only lost 1 club due to the economy and partially due to changing demographics in the area...We haven't felt it on the road as much as we expected.At home on Music Row there are less "for sale" / "for lease" signs than there have been in a decade. A number of the master session guys are on the road or doing demos The endorsement criteria for (major) manufacturers has never been tighter~it's mainly based on TV appearances now. We expected attendance for this year's fairs to be up. The thinking is that as families can't afford an "out of town family vacation" they would make up for it by staying IN TOWN and coming to the fair instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted August 19, 2011 Members Share Posted August 19, 2011 The pro scene here in LA has taken a pretty good hit. I don't know many who are unaffected by the change. Playing in clubs never seemed like a good long term way of making a living. We did that to just get it out there, have fun, hang out while drinking beer, meet girls, and play music live. Anyway, to answer the question, I've had a bit of a drop-off in Akai tape transfers and recording, although since May it's picked up again quite a bit. Then again, I frequently get more work near summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ronan Murphy Posted August 19, 2011 Members Share Posted August 19, 2011 My music gig is almost entirely studio based. I have seen big changes in the way clients spend their money. Luckily for me, over the years I have been diversifying more and trying to constantly expand the pool of clients I draw from (lots of international work). So in the end, I am about as busy as I used to be and probably making about the same money (maybe even a little more), but the make up of where that money comes from has changed a bit. These days there are a lot more short projects, instead of long ones, and I have managed to build a pretty good business teaching workshops and doing consulting. I still feel incredibly lucky that I get to make my living with music, and never take it for granted that it will last Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted August 19, 2011 CMS Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 I play the banjo. Does that involve music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted August 19, 2011 Members Share Posted August 19, 2011 What's a banjo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted August 19, 2011 CMS Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 What's a banjo? It's Japanese for "bathroom." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Extreme Mixing Posted August 19, 2011 Members Share Posted August 19, 2011 My music gig is almost entirely studio based. I have seen big changes in the way clients spend their money. Luckily for me, over the years I have been diversifying more and trying to constantly expand the pool of clients I draw from (lots of international work). So in the end, I am about as busy as I used to be and probably making about the same money (maybe even a little more), but the make up of where that money comes from has changed a bit. These days there are a lot more short projects, instead of long ones, and I have managed to build a pretty good business teaching workshops and doing consulting.I still feel incredibly lucky that I get to make my living with music, and never take it for granted that it will last Very true Ronan, I also have diversified and am making a living. Not as much as I used to make working for Walter A, but I'm OK. I do more film and TV work and have even been doing some work as a rerecording mixer for films. That's actually fun and I like it a lot. But the music scene has changed in LA. There used to be lots of work in advertising. Not so much any more. 5 years ago, for any spot, 3-5 composers would be given a demo budget to cut their "music vision" for a spot. Not so much. The call goes out to 50, or so composers over the internet, and there IS NO BUDGET. That's different. I too, feel lucky to make a living with music, and to be fair, I'm really good at it. So are you, or neither of us would be making it. Let's face it, you don't get lucky for 25 years. I love what I do and I will never take it for granted either. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted August 20, 2011 Members Share Posted August 20, 2011 It's Japanese for "bathroom." ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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