When is enough a enough?

[chevybusa]

Alright, here's the scoop. I'm going to describe the area I play, and then I'll get to the problem and you can lend me your thoughts... Scene: Fairly large city with approximately 7 live music venues on the downtown strip that relies heavily on the local college for bar patronage. There are approximately 10-11 amazing musicians (myself included - not to sound egotistical, you'll understand in a minute) who work together to try and get fair rates as we all play the same places and help each other out with gigs when we can. We all work solo gigs for nothing less than $150/4hr gig on a weekend and $200 (minimum) on Thursday through Saturday. We all get along for the most part, and we consider ourselves almost to be a musical union of sorts. Problem: There is a couple of new musicians on the scene who have been going around undercutting the veterans. In fact, one of these acts actually totally edged out one of our longest standing musicians who was the biggest advocate for getting fair pay. Example of this? They're doing 4hr gigs for $80 on a weeknight at one of the bigger downtown venues. This has caused a significant pay decrease at a couple of the venues that hire us because this guy will play for nothing even though we fill their bars with drinking customers. Many of the vets have tried to be cool about it and talk to the main instigator of all this but this person continues to lie and brush everyone off. I'm fairly new at the gigging and so I haven't said anything because I don't want to build a bad reputation, but I never let myself get less than whats fair, nor do I offer. I try and talk to the other musicians in town who play at the same places I do and we work together. I'll get a gig somewhere I know so-and-so has played and I'll call and ask, "Hey, whats the pay like here? Is it worth it/fair?" and vice versa. This guy however just charges whatever he pleases and isn't even to the caliber that many of the big draw musicians are, yet he's taking over the market and pissing a lot of people off to the point were some of my friends won't even play downtown anymore unless it's venue this lowballer doesn't play. When is enough enough? I know that people undercut all the time and it's not uncommon but it's destroying my livelihood and seriously killing the amount of people who are going out to the live music venues. I've noticed a significant decrease in the last six months since he started playing and on a Thursday night, where I'll usually end up staying an extra hour on a gig because the bar is rammed to the ceiling, it's crickets chirping an hour before I'm supposed to end. Has anyone ever dealt with someone like this before? Is there anything you can do? I'm trying to get out of town gigs that pay fairly like many of the other vets have because they've all but given up. I want to tell this guy where to go and how to get there but I also don't want to ruin the good report I have with all the downtown industry staff. Conundrum? I think so.

 

 

Easy, just get together with all the other scene vets he's pissing off, start following him, then when you know when and where he's gonna be somewhere where there's no one else around (i.e. witnesses), throw on your ski masks and beat the blood and piss out of him and break all his fingers to let him know how serious you are, telling him to knock it off, if he even thinks about trying the same {censored} once his hands heal, tell him you guys will CUT off his hands so he won't be able to do it at all.

 

LOL I'm obviouly just joking...unfortunately your problem is one that is encountered time and time again by musos at all levels and types of venues...I just posted about a similar incident that happened to me back in the day when I was gigging...Anyways, there's really nothing you can do, the only thing that will prevent him from undercutting you guys is if he sucks really bad and you guys are so much better (i.e. bring in more people) than him so that venues will make more money from you even though you're charging more. Even then some bar/club/venue owners are so clueless that they will continue to spend as little as possible on entertainment, not realizing the whole idea of spending a little more to MAKE a LOT more. Oh well, unfortunately like I said it's just part of the biz...always has been, probably always will....

[cephus]

There are approximately 10-11 amazing musicians (myself included - not to sound egotistical, you'll understand in a minute)

 

 

I still don't understand. You sound egotistical for someone who says they were a beginner last year.

 

I must be naive, but I never once concerned myself with what other bands get paid. I ask for my rate - the rate I have to charge in order to hire the good sidemen ($100/4 hours is not enough) and still make it worth my while. Maybe that doesn't always mean more money that the sideman. Maybe sometimes I want to gig and there is some other value I get from it. If the club doesn't want to pay that, then I guess I won't play, because I'm not going to pay a guy out of my pocket to play some club. It's like your mom tying a pork chop around your neck so the dog will play with you.

[SusieP]

'lowballer' - I LOVE that word! Never heard it before!

 

Undercutting will always happen.

And if the venue owner doesn't mind an inferior act in order to increase the profit in his own pocket, then there is nothing you can do.

If you are superior in quality to a cheaper act but the owner doesn't care about that, then you have to ask yourself how much you want the gig and if you can still make a living by lowering your fee in order to keep the gig.

 

Until these days of worldwide recession, it would be losing face to lower your fee, but now, global recession gives the perfect excuse for us all to say we have lowered our fee without losing face.

 

So if you like this particular gig and you can afford to lower your fee a bit, why not?

Then if you are charging what the lowballer is charging but give a better show, then surely the penny pinching owner will book you rather than the inferior act???

 

Or will he????

That's the danger.

But if he still doesn't book you after you lower your fee, then you haven't really lost anything because he'd chosen the lowballer over you anyway.

 

 

I kind of think that if venue owners would rather have cheap acts than quality acts - then............... to hell with 'em.

 

You can't win 'em all.

 

And in the end, their customers will vote with their feet..........and their wallets.

[NoRomoFan]

What you're seeing is called capitalism. When someone undercuts you, it sucks, but that's business.

Sometimes and often you get less value for your money when that happens too...

[Notes_Norton]

When we purchase something, most of us have to balance price and quality. If I didn't have to balance those two factors, I'd drive a Ferrari, live in a mansion on the Ocean, buy nothing but organic foods, eat at the finest restaurants, fly first class or in my own private biz-jet, and surround myself with the best of everything. But I have to balance price and quality and get the most value for my money.

The entertainment purchaser has to do that too. Unfortunately, sometimes the entertainment purchaser can afford a Benz and other times only a Kia. That's life.

And how many of you purchase your musical equipment on-line to save a dollar rather than support your local music store? Aren't you buying your equipment from the lowballer? If so, how can you justify criticizing another person supporting a lowballer?

Do you buy anything at a discount chain or on-line to save a dollar? Do you use Gas Buddy to find the cheapest fuel for your vehicle? Do you dine at a fast-food joint instead of a real restaurant and put up with inferior food for the money savings?

We all have to make compromises unless we are one of the fortunate few.

So what can we do?

First of all, make your own decision. You can be the best that you can be, you can be a lowballer yourself, or anything in between. You can charge as much as the market will bear and be better than others charging the same price. You have to figure out your own niche and see if it works, if not, try something else. Evolution favors the most adaptable.

There will always be people who will play for less, and that is very unfortunate. I wish everybody would charge more so I could make more money, but I've been playing music since the 1960s and that hasn't happened yet. And I don't expect it to change any time soon.

Insights and incites by Notes ?

[tlbonehead]

I don't see why you think it is your place to tell someone else what they should or shouldn't be doing. Secondly, why do you add $50/gig for PA? Don't you have one?

[tlbonehead]

The unregulated free market giveth and taketh away with no consolation for the tribulations of the individual.

you want gigging to go socialistic?

[tlbonehead]

You drink with a pretty high brow crowd then. down here the place runs on 2 buck bush lights.

same here. Bud, Mich Golden, etc.

[tlbonehead]

I am actually one of the youngest out there on the gig circuit and to boot I'm the only female who does gig regularly. Yes, I realize the recorded material is an issue in terms of it not being finished, but this is all dollar signs. You need money to record, press cds, put together professional packaging. I am unfortunately living the "starving artist life" at the moment and working my ass off every second I'm not actually at "work" to make it happen. I realize there is no "fair" in the music business, but there is a a generally accepted standard is there not? I understand the idea of selling yourself. Again, I'm new to gigging, I wouldn't even dare to say I was well versed in exactly how to run this as a business but I am trying to learn everything I can by surrounding myself with the successful musicians in town. Problem is they're leaving for greener pastures. I've made my point to bar owners before and it's always been beneficial to me because I've proved my worth. I may not be Janis Joplin or Stevie Ray but I know I'm good. I know my value and I take the hit in the pocket when I have to say no to a gig because it's not worth it. Case in point? One bar moved me from my usual spot near the front (good visual for foot traffic on a busy night, see live music + busy bar = let's go take a look) to a 2 ft deep by 3 ft wide path between a stairwell and wall for three gigs. When his bar didn't get busy those nights I played, nor the nights other musicians played, I finally told him that either he moves me back or I won't play there anymore. (Not to mention it was hell on my neck and back, the railing for the stairwell was just the perfect height to smash a guitar on if you weren't careful about how you jammed out so I had to stand ramrod straight and lean forward to a microphone strapped to the railing) He put me back in my regular spot at my next booked gig and the night went really really well. As for the math. BlueStrat isn't playing to highbrow crowds at least if I did my math right. I live in Canada, so here's what I figured out. the CDN and US dollar are pretty much on par so for example, the avg bottle price in town at ALL the bars is $5.75, pints of domestic run about $6.75 and premiums and imports are anything between $7.00 - $8.00 a pint. Shots avg $4.00 - $6.00 Pitchers and rails are between $16.75-$20.00. You average a 100 person capacity place with a turnover rate of about 50%. So in a 4 hour gig, 50 people will be the same crowd you started with at the beginning of the night and 50 of them will be floaters or pub hoppers. You start @ 10pm and in four hours each of those 100$ avg between 2-3 drinks minimum. If they only drank bottles (x2 drinks pp) - 1150$ If they only drank pints (based on domestics x2 pp) - 1350$ That's about the average in drink sales if you were to go on 2 drinks per person. We all know there are many people who do much more than 2 drinks per person. If a bar manages that in one night, times that by 3 days (Thurs-Sat) in one week, they avg 3450$ - 4050$ just on peak nights with a minimum of 2 drinks. Add on top of that, food sales, shots, pitchers, rails etc and a bar can make a killing if they do it right. Edit: Just have to say, this is turning into an interesting debate. Not saying anyone is right or wrong, but it's interesting to see where people stand on this.

holy schitte! How can people afford to drink there!

[tlbonehead]

I can understand doing a gig for less to get in the door once. But only once. I wouldn't do it repeatedly at the same venues. Problem here is that this guy is keeping his low rates and not asking for more. I definitely am working at building my "brand" so to speak to make me a more valuable entertainer because I know that in this industry you have to keep things interesting to have staying power. Thanks for all the insight and opinions, it's been really great to see all the different viewpoints.

but if this guy is really green and not that good yet, perhaps he realizes it and isn't a cocky snot. Maybe he even knows the going rate for the really good artists and is basing his rate on that and that idea that he shouldn't be getting as much as they do.

[MrKnobs]

Anyone who thinks being a musician sucks should run a small bar for a while. I used to own a bar, and that experience has definitely changed my perspective as a musician.

 

What can the bar owner do? DUI enforcement craziness, raised drinking age, lowered BAC laws, home entertainment systems, downtown squalor, having kids, people hooking up over the internet instead of at bars, the depressed economy, high gas costs, all of these things and more have reduced the sale of alcohol to the point where the bar owner is barely squeaking by. All he's got to make money on is overpriced drinks.

 

YOU, as a musician may think that you deserve $500 or whatever, that the bar should be able to charge a cover for the hordes of people just dying to hear you, but the reality is much simpler to a bar manager. How many drinks will I sell if I hire you vs how much I have to pay you to play, and how do you compare (BY THAT METRIC) to other musicians who are non stop bugging me for a gig. Do you have ANY IDEA how many demo CDs I have lying in a pile in my office?

 

There are still some altruistic bars, at least in Austin TX. One2One club here is owned by musicians, they charge a cover and give ALL the door to the band. Most bars, however, are trying to make at least enough money to stay in business.

 

The disparity of income between levels of musicians has never been greater. Lady Gaga tix are $500 each if you want a good seat, but in Austin most folks won't pay a $5 cover to see four decent bands.

 

The only thing you can do is be awesome and hustle. The other bands charging less aren't your problem and certainly aren't in your control, unless you're a mob boss or union leader (same thing, really).

 

Terry D.

[daddymack]

Do you have ANY IDEA how many demo CDs I have lying in a pile in my office?

Get those CDs out of the office and into the bar! Just think what you'll save on coasters and cocktail napkins!

[MrKnobs]

Get those CDs out of the office and into the bar! Just think what you'll save on coasters and cocktail napkins!

 

If CDs were a little less slippery and a little more absorptive you better believe I would!

 

At the old Liberty Lunch here in Austin they had a HUGE mobile hanging from the ceiling, completely composed of band demo CDs. Kinda cool, and kinda depressing, all at the same time.

 

T.

[tlbonehead]

Anyone who thinks being a musician sucks should run a small bar for a while. I used to own a bar, and that experience has definitely changed my perspective as a musician. What can the bar owner do? DUI enforcement craziness, raised drinking age, lowered BAC laws, home entertainment systems, downtown squalor, having kids, people hooking up over the internet instead of at bars, the depressed economy, high gas costs, all of these things and more have reduced the sale of alcohol to the point where the bar owner is barely squeaking by. All he's got to make money on is overpriced drinks. YOU, as a musician may think that you deserve $500 or whatever, that the bar should be able to charge a cover for the hordes of people just dying to hear you, but the reality is much simpler to a bar manager. How many drinks will I sell if I hire you vs how much I have to pay you to play, and how do you compare (BY THAT METRIC) to other musicians who are non stop bugging me for a gig. Do you have ANY IDEA how many demo CDs I have lying in a pile in my office? There are still some altruistic bars, at least in Austin TX. One2One club here is owned by musicians, they charge a cover and give ALL the door to the band. Most bars, however, are trying to make at least enough money to stay in business. The disparity of income between levels of musicians has never been greater. Lady Gaga tix are $500 each if you want a good seat, but in Austin most folks won't pay a $5 cover to see four decent bands. The only thing you can do is be awesome and hustle. The other bands charging less aren't your problem and certainly aren't in your control, unless you're a mob boss or union leader (same thing, really). Terry D.

I agree on the bar biz totally. Seems like everyone is trying to bleed them to death. From added taxes on liquor, to higher insurance/liability costs, even the ASCAP stuff. Same with a cover. People will complain if we play a local bar and they try and charge a couple bucks cover. These same people don't bat an eye when we play out of town at a place that charges $5.

[tlbonehead]

If CDs were a little less slippery and a little more absorptive you better believe I would! At the old Liberty Lunch here in Austin they had a HUGE mobile hanging from the ceiling, completely composed of band demo CDs. Kinda cool, and kinda depressing, all at the same time. T.

well, there are far too many demo CDs in the world! Too many bands that can't pull off a live gig to save their life also have sweet polished demo CDs.

[MrKnobs]

well, there are far too many demo CDs in the world! Too many bands that can't pull off a live gig to save their life also have sweet polished demo CDs.

 

In Austin it's kinda catch 22. If you have a sweet CD that people like, getting the same musicians (or better) to play it live just takes a few phone calls and some $$$. Conversely, though, you can't sell your sweet CD unless you're gigging.

 

So, what I used to think is that bridging that gap takes a leap of faith (with the corresponding leap of $$$ out of pocket for a while). That works in every other town I've lived and gigged in. But Austin is a tough nut to crack. The networking is a lot more complicated here.

 

We play one or two clubs where we draw 100+ people at a $10 cover, they stay til the end and they dance and holler all night. We play other clubs where we draw a dozen people with no cover. Seems to be partly about the club, and partly about finding the right audience for what we do.

 

Terry D.

[SusieP]

We play a particular restaurant once or twice a month. Our first gig was for less money than we would have liked but we took the cut to get the gig.

After that first gig they put our fee up a bit - still not as much as we would like, BUT, we get given a pizza each to take home, and drinks in our breaks, and the place and the staff are just SO cool and stylish, that the money isn't even an issue.

 

And we've started to realise that sometimes it's better to get a regular gig for a reasonable fee than a one-off gig for more money.

 

 

And regarding all the demo CDs you bar owners get, I hope you aren't playing the CDs as entertainment rather than booking a live muso!!!!!!!!!!

[Notes_Norton]

Our demo CD has no complete songs on it. It has snippets of songs, one after another with advertising copy in between some of them. If the club owner wants to play them, it's OK with me.

 

And I still want to know, how many people who are complaining about lowballers buy their gear at discount prices instead of their local ma and pa music store? How many shop at discount chains instead of local grocers? If you look for a bargain when you shop, shouldn't you expect the club owner/manager to do the same thing?

 

I must say, I don't like it any more than you, but it's a fact of life. I think I should be making at least twice as much as the market will bear, but there are too many discount musicians around here undercutting my prices.

 

I buy all my music gear at the local M&P store unless he cannot get what I want. But I do look for sales on groceries, consumer electronics and other goods, so I guess I'm just as guilty as the next person.

[dboomer]

The disparity of income between levels of musicians has never been greater. Lady Gaga tix are $500 each if you want a good seat, but in Austin most folks won't pay a $5 cover to see four decent bands. .

 

 

It's all about the costumes;)

[pogo97]

 

The disparity of income between levels of musicians has never been greater. Lady Gaga tix are $500 each if you want a good seat, but in Austin most folks won't pay a $5 cover to see four decent bands.

 

 

People are willing to pay the big bucks if everyone else is willing to pay the big bucks. They like being at one with large high-status crowds and are willing to pay for the privilege.

[ptkbass]

Wow. Lotsa pages to sift through. I'm one of those damn guys with a day job who does this for a hobby. But I try not to get used. I don't play for free, and I ask $150 for a three hour gig. I take less if the calender is kinda empty. But if I take less, I only do it once if the bar does well while I'm there. If the bar does {censored}ty, then there's no reason for them to pay me more. If the bar does well, then I ask for more at the next booking. If I get push back at the next booking, I work to dicker a deal where if the bar does well then I do well also. Sometimes it's a set bonus amount if the bar does over a set amount, sometimes it's a percentage of the bar, and sometimes they say no and I walk. So to the original poster: the bar owner only really cares about the register at the end of the night. If you can make the register read higher numbers than the scabs, the savvy business owner will feed that animal. But you might have to give him the opportunity to see the light without the risk.

 

Oar knot. I dunno. That's how I deal with it anyway. Or maybe push the damn tip cup a little harder.

[Notes_Norton]

<...> The disparity of income between levels of musicians has never been greater. Lady Gaga tix are $500 each if you want a good seat, but in Austin most folks won't pay a $5 cover to see four decent bands. <...>

 

 

Which is a shame. I remember going to see headliners for 5 or 10 bucks a ticket. Of course, inflation makes that 30 to 60 bucks today, so you are right, it is way out of line.

 

But the superstars have always made the big bucks. I recall reading that Sinatra use to abuse hecklers by saying (and I'm paraphrasing), "See these cuff links, just one of them costs more than your house does, so don't tell me how to run my show"

 

Back in the late 60s, we were the warm up band for major headliners. We averaged $200 per night per person and the headliners $2,000. And sometimes we were actually better than the headliners and literally blew the off the stage.

 

Nobody ever said life would be fair.

 

And I do remember when I was playing in a club and the MADD mothers were running an anti-dui campaign. The local/state liquor taxes were raised by 50 cents per drink. Of course the club owner couldn't pass that on to the customers, so what did he do? Cut corners. Cutting corners can include entertainment and that's a problem for us.

 

I think the MADD mothers did a good thing in a way, but they really were prohibitionists or temperance women in disguise and the dishonesty irks me a little bit. Driving while talking on the cell phone has been proven to be as dangerous as driving drunk, and where are the MADD mothers? Many of them are driving around, talking and texting on their cell phones. So it wasn't really about safety, it was about temperance. Nope, life still isn't fair.

 

You just have to do the best you can with what you have in the situation you find yourself in. There is no one perfect solution to the problem.

[MrKnobs]

 

I think the MADD mothers did a good thing in a way, but they really were prohibitionists or temperance women in disguise and the dishonesty irks me a little bit. Driving while talking on the cell phone has been proven to be as dangerous as driving drunk, and where are the MADD mothers? Many of them are driving around, talking and texting on their cell phones. So it wasn't really about safety, it was about temperance. Nope, life still isn't fair. .

 

 

I think you're right about the MADD mothers and I know you're right about life not being fair.

 

As far as saving lives, I don't think MADD has accomplished much. Years ago I was doing a research project on the effect of alcohol on serious accidents and one thing that really leapt off the page was the majority of accidents involving alcohol didn't involve someone with a 0.9 BAC or even a 1.5 BAC, nor were they usually first time DUI folks. MANY of the drunk drivers had BACs over 2.0 and MANY were 2nd, 3rd, or more time offenders. Many were people continuing to drive despite having their license taken away.

 

Changing the BAC level from 1.0 to 0.8 might prevent a few accidents every year, but it's really hard to quantify. The effect of a small amount of alcohol on otherwise healthy, experienced drinker / drivers is pretty much lost in the statistical sea of distractions (texting, talking on cellphones, messing with the radio, chatting with passengers, etc), age, driving experience, use of legal medications, and just plain bad luck and tight tolerances in heavy urban traffic.

 

Additionally, an alcoholic is unlikely to be deterred by changing the BAC limit, nor the billboards that have sprung up everywhere saying a first time DUI will cost you $11,000 as they have here. Those sorts of things only make healthy, law abiding people think twice about venturing out at all - hence our problem as musicians.

 

I think what the MADD mothers have done instead is play a small role in the breakup of society as we've known it, as people disconnect from each other and sequester themselves safely in their homes and gated communities and only venture out to put in their 40 hr week and collect the money they need to live. Even shopping is now safer and easier on the internet, as is entertainment. MADD and the cops with their should-be-illegal searches including "no refusal weekend" where they can draw body fluids from anyone without a warrant are creating a Matrix like culture where we all live in our tiny cells, remotely connected to external stimulation as we simultaneously serve as the "batteries" that run the Matrix.

 

Sad times when you can't safely hoist a few beers with your mates at the pub and dance with flesh and blood people, even sadder when it's the police that are the primary danger.

 

Terry D.

[pikappant82]

Alright, here's the scoop.

I'm going to describe the area I play, and then I'll get to the problem and you can lend me your thoughts...

Scene:

Fairly large city with approximately 7 live music venues on the downtown strip that relies heavily on the local college for bar patronage. There are approximately 10-11 amazing musicians (myself included - not to sound egotistical, you'll understand in a minute) who work together to try and get fair rates as we all play the same places and help each other out with gigs when we can. We all work solo gigs for nothing less than $150/4hr gig on a weekend and $200 (minimum) on Thursday through Saturday. We all get along for the most part, and we consider ourselves almost to be a musical union of sorts.



OK....So basically you and your "Union of musicians" want to monopolize all of the music biz in the area? So assuming that you all are amazing musicians, what makes you think that the bars/clubs/whatever and their customers want to hear the same bands over and over and over and over and over again all the time?

Yes I am a musician that gigs occasionally, but often more than that I am a fan that loves to go out and enjoy live music. (And I don't mind paying a cover if the music is good). But sometimes I like to hear a little variety, as most people do. Yes I also like to support my favorites, I always do. But that doesn't mean I want to keep hearing the same groups all the time.

Basically what I'm saying is....Lighten up.....You have chosen a career that leaves you at the mercy of its market, as with any other. Doesn't matter what you do for a living, you will have to put up with some bull{censored}. At least you get to do something you enjoy, or at least I hope you enjoy doing it. And remember that everybody has to start somewhere. For some musicians that are just trying to get started, they probably have to undercut you some just to get their foot in the door. It doesn't mean they are trying to stab you in the back necessarily.

[Notes_Norton]

I think you're right about the MADD mothers and I know you're right about life not being fair. <...snip...> I think what the MADD mothers have done instead is play a small role in the breakup of society as we've known it, as people disconnect from each other and sequester themselves safely in their homes and gated communities and only venture out to put in their 40 hr week and collect the money they need to live. <...> Sad times when you can't safely hoist a few beers with your mates at the pub and dance with flesh and blood people, even sadder when it's the police that are the primary danger. Terry D.

Yes, the alcoholic is not deterred from drinking and driving by the fines, he/she has the illness that basically leaves them at the mercy of alcohol, it's their mistress, it's the monkey on their back, it's their master. Fortunately, only a small percentage of the population has this dependency.

And yes, the stricter DUI laws probably haven't reduced the alcohol related accidents to a statistically significant degree.

So what have the MADD mothers done?

Gave the government an excuse to raise the taxes on drinks while the average non-drunk driver drinks less out of fear. This reduces the amount of money the club makes on drinks which reduces the amount of money they can pay us

It's simply another way to get partial prohibition back in the USA. It didn't work the first time.

Now I agree, driving is a responsibility, and driving with an excess of alcohol in your system can be deadly. But so can cell phone talking, texting, and I've even seen people reading a book while driving on the freeway! When you are driving impaired, you are no longer participating in a potentially victimless crime. These all should be stopped. How? I don't know.

You could take a taxi cab home, but they are very expensive. And why? Government thieves.

Back in the 1970s I drove a taxi for a while in Fort Lauderdale Florida USA while between bands. It was a great way to make a few (and I mean few) bucks. You rent the cab, pay the flat rate, pay the mileage fee, buy the gas at the cab station, and if there is anything left over, you get to keep it. But you show up, stand in line to rent the cab, and take your chances. No application, no commitment, no need to even show up if band practice is scheduled.

Most days I took home $30 or so, not a lot, but enough to help while the new band was getting songs together. The worst day it actually cost me $2.40 to drive the cab for the day (didn't make the 'nut') and on those rare best days I made a few bucks.

But I learned a few things talking to the ODs (owner drivers). Back then, to get a 'medallion' (license to legally own a cab) the fee was $100,000 - and that was a lot of money in the 70s. And the government only released so many new medallions per year, and most of them went to the big companies who rented cabs to drivers. And then they still tax you on the money you make, the cab dispatch company gets a piece of the action, and on top of all that, the rates are regulated by the government. In other words, it isn't a free enterprise system at all, and the result is, after paying all that money, the fees the cab has to charge are so expensive, that the average drunk can't afford to take the cab home. Sad.

And the MADD mothers are driving around with cell phones plastered on their ears being every bit as dangerous as the drunks (and more numerous).

And the final result is people in the hospitality industry (musicians included) have a hard time making a living. And that brings us back on topic.

How did we get to this state? Little by little.

Notes ?