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The Music/Money Compromise


charlie brown

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Compromise? Sell out? These topics have been discussed since I first went on the road in a rock band. Our agency told us to do certain things and we would be able to make more money, we happily did them.

 

I've played a lot of music in a lot of venues, from bars where they passed the hat ... to 5 star hotels ... to Cruise ships ... to warm up or back up to major stars of the day ... on MTV, ABC, CBS, and NBC ... to Yacht/Country clubs ... to "Show Clubs" ... and on and on and on ... practically anywhere that will hire a band. I got paid for all of the above. Does that make me a sell out? Perhaps. Does it compromise my integrity? I don't think so.

 

I am currently playing in a duo with my wife, Leilani. When I met her, she was playing in another band and we were each others groupies. When my band broke up, Leilani and I started another, a 5 piece band. We had all the personnel problems that a band has, but we worked pretty steadily.

 

However the musical/band climate changed, the pay didn't keep up with inflation, it got difficult to make ends meet, and I saw DJs and duos bringing the same dollars as a 5 piece band with fewer "mouths to feed." So I bought a sequencer and Leilani and I worked up the duo we are now in.

 

Is it a compromise? In a way, yes. I do all our backing tracks, so at least I'm not buying sequences (I tried, but found it took as long to fix what I bought as it did writing one from scratch). On the other hand we are making more money, we don't have personnel problems, we have similar work ethics, and we really enjoy what we are doing.

 

What would I be playing if I didn't have to please the crowd? I couldn't make a decision, I love Blues, Rock, Latin American, Jazz, Standards, Fusion, Classical (Romantic to Contemporary), Pop, Soul and a few other kinds of music. I want to play all of the above! I know I wouldn't play the "war horses" that we play on almost every gig, not that they are bad songs, it is just that there is nothing left to explore in them. But the most difficult part is calling the song, once the music starts, my head goes into that special music place where there are no words (except lyrics), and I enjoy myself in spite of my self.

 

Life is full of compromises. Every business makes compromises (and being a small band is a business). To make money the majority of people have to "sell out". Some of the greatest music of all time from Bach to Beethoven to Prokofiev was written under a commission and the composer made compromises to please the client.

 

While I admire people who hold down day gigs so they can support their un-compromised "art music", I can't go that way. For me the ultimate compromise is to take a day gig and play a few dates per month (YMMV). As far as I am concerned, a bad day at playing music is better than a good day at a regular job.

 

A couple of ways to express my philosophy (both borrowed from other people's comments).

 

When you do for a living what you would do for free, you are truly blessed.

 

If you truly love what you do for a living, you will never work a day in your life.

 

Other than a few day gigs I've had in my life (trying to be a find, upstanding, US citizen), I've never worked a day in my life.

 

So if I'm a compromised sell-out, I'm a happy one!!! And isn't that the most important thing?

 

Insights and incites by Notes

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Well, Bob...sounds like you've been truly "Blessed" over the years. It's great that you can do what you do, AND get paid for it...for sure! I, if I am honest with myself, probably "gave up" on music, too soon. But, at the time, it seemed the "smarter" compromise? Not sure (at all) now, that was true. But, C'est la Vie!" I'm just thankful, I started playing again, after 30+ years of doing something else. I was fortunate, that I found another thing l loved, and could make a decent living at. So, I can't complain.

 

Cheers,

CB

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Any time Midi is involved instead of real musicians for the sake of making money it's a Bigtime compromise IMHO!

 

I know a lot of the home-recording crowd uses MIDI and samples for the drums, 'cuz they don't know any drummers. It's hard to find drummers. So, yeah, it's definitely a compromise, but sometimes it's a necessary one.

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I know a lot of the home-recording crowd uses MIDI and samples for the drums' date=' 'cuz they don't know any drummers. It's hard to find drummers. So, yeah, it's definitely a compromise, but sometimes it's a necessary one.[/quote']

 

I totally agree...but I just feel cheated when I hear it. I went to see a Stevie Wonder show a decade ago and instead of a Tower of Power caliber horn section(which I expected) there was some skinny dude playing horn lines on a DX-7!! What a let down that was.

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I play for fun. Tube or solid state, analog or digital, backing tracks and MIDI, it's all good.

If someone wants to pay to hear it, I have no problem with that. If you don't like it, drink your beer and shut up.

My set list isn't too long.

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<...>I' date=' if I am honest with myself, probably "gave up" on music, too soon. But, at the time, it seemed the "smarter" compromise?<...>

CB[/quote']

 

I tried to do that. After our deal with Motown fell through, the band broke up, and I started making 1/4 the money playing 6 nights instead of 2, I got discouraged and got a job with the Phone Company, still playing on the weekends. That didn't last long as I hated climbing telephone poles, and hated the one I fell off of even more. So I went back to playing music. I feel better about myself as a musician than I did as a phone man.

 

While playing music at night, I was headed for a degree in Electronics during the day when a Cable TV manufacturer recruited me as a Field Engineer (I was flattered). I was seduced by sick leave, retirement, paid vacations, company car, good pay, and all the stuff normal people have. I still played music on the weekends (I can't not do that).

 

BTW playing music with weekend warriors instead of top-notch musicians was quite a compromise for me.

 

Then the CATV company laid off everybody up to 15 years - they did me a favor - I went back to playing music. I was so far down the line with only a few years that they never called me back, and if they did, I would have refused. I feel better about myself as a musician than I did as a Cable TV Field Engineer.

 

I came to realize being a musician is not what I do for a living, being a musician is what I am.

 

The advice I give to young musicians, is if you have to play music, if you can't live without it, then be a musician, if not, get a "real" job. After all, there is no sick leave, no retirement, no vacation pay, no job security, and the wages are adequate but for most of us not spectacular.

 

On the other hand, if you have the music in your blood, it is a happy life even if you never get to own a Ferrari or Aston Martin.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

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I for one "sold out". I remember exactly when it happened. About 5 minutes after I realized I was cold and hungry, unable to afford food or rent. I could no longer live the luxury high-life of jamming all day and had to get a job. Then a second job. And my musicianship stagnated. Once I made MUSIC my second job, I REALLY sold out. I began my period in musical purgatory I fondly refer to as my "s**t-kicker/country-picker years".

 

BUT... once I "sold out", my musicianship began to grow and mature. I could once again spend more time axe in hand. I was exposed to many more players and picked up new tricks. As time went on and the financial rewards of selling out became obvious, I moved on to REALLY, REALLY sell out. So began my "disco-era". Now, with my improved skills, I was able to land a job in a top casino band and play music for a living. No second job. Just playing music. Yup, I was now a TOTAL sell-out. What an A-hole, right?

 

Ahhh, but by selling out, and playing many forms of silly music for even sillier listeners, I gradually learned more about not only my instrument, but myself. I began to realize I had initially (and foolishly) limited myself by listening to a single genre of music. Good music for sure, but by "standing on principle" (or so I thought in my youthful arrogance) I was not open to other experiences. I was playing while wearing handcuffs. I came to realize that my years spent selling out exposed me to, and required me to learn, many different nuances of play, technique, and dynamic style. I was growing.

 

By rock-n-roll standards, I'm now an old man. Too pot-bellied for spandex. Too much forehead to hide with hair dye. But I play better than ever. Not by a little, By a LOT. I still get calls to play gigs now and then, and I still rehearse with a great classic rock band once a week.

 

Selling out might be a bad thing for some, but it has taught ME several valuable lessons.

 

1. Food and shelter are really nice. I like 'em both. A LOT.

 

2. Principles can sometimes stand in a musician's way.

 

3. The ability to express yourself musically can be restricted by limited experience.

 

4. Describing selling out is subjective. To-MAY-to, to-MAH-to. It's hard to play while pointing your finger...

 

5. Broader experience makes better players, so play with as many different people as you can, as often as you can.

 

6. A buncha other stuff I've now forgotten due to the joy of senility....

 

There's one last thing I learned from selling out (and reading magazine articles). The secret of the musical trinity. they are: Music, Money, and Mayhem. Allow me to define 'em better.

 

Music: The music you're making sweeps you away. And don't be shocked if this happens with unexpected genres.

Money: Self-explanatory. The more you get, the better. It means more food, better rentals, and more axes.

Mayhem: Fun, pure and simple. The bandmates are all on the same page and get along well.

 

If your band offers you just one "M", consider heading in another direction as soon as another opportunity arises. Get ANY two "M's", and you've got a winning hand. Luck into all three and hang on for dear life, cuz it's unbelievable. But such moments are rare, so don't expect it. Waiting for the perfect situation might just leave you standing at the curb while other musicians get on life's bus and take the ride.

 

I still prefer the music of my youth when I listen to my vinyl collection. But I never miss an opportunity to sell out. It's made me the musician (and the man) I am today. I might be a sell-out to some folks. But I'm respected by my musical peers, happy with my life, and comfortable in my own skin. I've made some horrible racket, but also some truely elevating music, and it's happened with musicians that range from awful to awe-inspiring.

 

Selling out? I suggest everyone at least TRY it. You can always go back. But I doubt you will.

 

Oh yeah, and I still need to find out how to date-code an Epiphone Elitist Thunderbird bass!

 

Gabriel Gold

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On the bandwagon with what Gabriel said.

 

Guitar came easy to me in '62 and I 'sold out' right from the beginning in 1964. Playing pop music in my first band and we couldn't get the highschool or college dance unless we played what they wanted to hear and I remember that we all "had to have" Beatle Boots in '65. lol. And the Surf stuff like **** Dale etc. But what a fantastic time to be playing pop tunes and a great variety of music from then to the mid '70's.

I remember cutting my teeth on "What'd I Say" from Ray, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Little Junior Parker songs and what was then called "Country Western" and despartely trying to play older standards. That stuff wasn't what the crowds wanted to hear. Soooooo,

I simply fell into, "if ya wanna make money, this is what ya gotta play" and I did that happily. I leaned more towards the "Soft Rock, Pop, Top 40", stuff 'cuz this is what kept us working 5 or 6 nights a week, earning far more $$ and paying all my bills, than friends that were playing Led Zepplin etc., who worked 3 months out of the year and still lived with their parents or their girlfriend who supported them. All of that was a tremendous learning experience because of the music in the '60's and 70's. As we all know, If you are a "copy band" you have to copy and play, sing and sound like the original. (I did the cruise ships etc., like Notes). Then after writing my own music for several years and working with bandmates that wrote music, we became more particular about what, when and where we played, but my position was "we have to get our foot in the door and play along with the system, then we can do our own music". Here, for me, is where 'the rubber meets the road' and is where the 'The Music/Money Compromise' dictated our/my future.

1977, 4 piece - guitar, bass, keyboards, drums and all singing different lead vocals, we get THE contract of our collective lifetime from an entertainer/businessman. (A multi-millionaire involved with Princess Cruislines). 6 years with 1 year option, guaranteed minimum 6 figures $ per year was the highlight. BUT....The contract also dictated that we would not have any choice of: what we recorded, when or where we played, what we wore on stage, what products we endorsed and basically said that we did not have a voice in anything that we did for at least 6 years..... As I said at the beginning, I "sold out"... But then, after all the years on stage, I/we, said, "Nope" we'll look for another deal. We were all veterans, we thought "we're good; we'll get another deal". That deal never came and the group broke up within a year after that..... Ten years after this, we were all working "real jobs" and possibly wondering if we had made the right decision to not sign that contract because we would have to "sell out" to the system. Who knows....But its still a matter of integrity or belief in yourself that really matters. "We plan, GOD smiles"....

NOTE: My reply to this topic is mainly for the younger folks here. If you want to do this, be ready when the opportunity is there for you and be willing to compromise when necessary.

 

DON'T CUT OFF YOUR NOSE TO SPITE YOUR FACE. Meaning:

"Don’t engage in an act of anger or revenge that will hurt you more than it hurts anyone else". ........J

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Selling out might be a bad thing for some' date=' but it has taught ME several valuable lessons.

 

Gabriel Gold[/quote']

 

:^o Wow, that was sheer poetry!

 

I'm not a pro musician. Never had the ambition, nor the talent. So selling out for money does not apply here. But it's not an issue for me if someone does. Music is fun and as much as we like to have highbrow conversation about it's art and creativeness, at the end of the day everyone needs to pay the rent.

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To me, it's all a matter of attitude. If you're enjoying yourself it doesn't matter what kind of music you're playing or how much money you're making. And the adverse is true, too. If you're not enjoying it, it doesn't matter how much money you're making.

 

There were bands in which I had so much fun I never thought about the money & other bands in which I felt the same as I do on my day job. "Oh well, another day of work".

 

I've resolved to never play anything I won't enjoy doing. The last 4 years I gigged was so depressing I quit playing guitar for almost 10 years before I picked it back up. Now I love everything I do & don't care if I never make another dime from it. Fortunately I've got a real good day job that supports my habits and pays all the bills.

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On the bandwagon with what Gabriel said.

<...>' date=' but my position was "we have to get our foot in the door and play along with the system, then we can do our own music". Here, for me, is where 'the rubber meets the road' and is where the 'The Music/Money Compromise' dictated our/my future.

1977, 4 piece - guitar, bass, keyboards, drums and all singing different lead vocals, we get THE contract of our collective lifetime from an entertainer/businessman. (A multi-millionaire involved with Princess Cruislines). 6 years with 1 year option, guaranteed minimum 6 figures $ per year was the highlight. BUT....The contract also dictated that we would not have any choice of: what we recorded, when or where we played, what we wore on stage, what products we endorsed and basically said that we did not have a voice in anything that we did for at least 6 years..... As I said at the beginning, I "sold out"... But then, after all the years on stage, I/we, said, "Nope" we'll look for another deal. We were all veterans, we thought "we're good; we'll get another deal". That deal never came<...>

DON'T CUT OFF YOUR NOSE TO SPITE YOUR FACE.<...>[/quote']

 

I was 19, in a cover band with some originals when Motown knocked at the door. We had been opening concerts for non-Motown concerts and were definitely on a par with the headliners quality wise. We were Berry Gordy's first choice to be Motown's first white band. We had a manager who hired some lawyers to negotiate for us. The lawyers were to get a small piece of our recording royalties for their fee.

 

They went to Motown with dreams of $.04 per record with a guarantee of a few releases per year ... (time and negotiations pass) ...they would come back with .035 and no guarantee, ... (time and more negotiations pass) ... then .03 with Motown taking the recording costs and promotion costs off the top ... (more time and more negotiations pass) ... and they said we won't have to settle settle for less than .02.

 

Well, Motown didn't settle for .02 and they quit talking with us. Another band got the gig, and the next record deal never came around. I don't know what the other band settled for, I heard union scale, but that could be a rumor.

 

In retrospect, we should have taken whatever Motown offered (even if it was union scale). You can live off a Billboard number one record for many years, including the nostalgia tours. Even though we probably wouldn't have made any money on the records, we could have made a lot of money in public performances after the records hit. We were all 19 or so, so what did we know? And since the lawyers were taking a piece of the royalties (bad idea but no one had the up front money), they had only one goal, to get high royalties.

 

Live and learn.

 

I suppose there are quite a few other bands that have their "almost made it" stories. Getting to the top is a one in a million shot, but not making it to the top isn't a failure. After all, every real estate salesman doesn't get to be Donald Trump either.

 

I got to meet and perform on the same stage as many of my childhood idols who treated us as equals, I had a great time, made a lot of money (for a 19 year old kid), and had some great times -- so it definitely wasn't a total loss.

 

Like I said before, if you do what you love to do to make a living, you are blessed.

 

And as far as selling out is concerned, here is another favorite quote of mine.

 

You can play for yourself, you can play for other musicians, and you can play for the general public. If you are good enough, you will probably get the audience you asked for.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

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Notes has a good point about "one no. 1 hit can make you money for years". One of my old friends co-wrote "Rocky Mountain Way" (Joe Walsh). I ran into him many years later & asked him how much money he'd made off of it. He wouldn't tell me exactly but did say "it put all 4 of my kids through college".

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