Ben Makinen: musician, songwriter, film producer, and screen writer!
Ben Makinen on Fb, 5/07/20: Before you rush back into your local nightclub’s booking calendar, please consider this golden opportunity to ask for a raise – collectively. Let’s set a New Standard.
Now is the time for musicians to re-examine their plans for reentry into the marketplace after the disruption and unemployment caused by the corona pandemic and government shutdown of public performance venues.
These are ideas intended to start a dialogue.
We can learn much from the behavior, tactics, and goals of unions, however at this time (in the words of one Denver musician union board member) “there is not enough money in the nightclub music business to interest the union.”
Global citizenry are rethinking the ways they can live healthier, more meaningful, ethical and sustainable lifestyles once “doors reopen for business”. People have become acutely aware of how vulnerable living gig to gig can be… Perhaps night club owners want to be in the vanguard of change that bridges the gap between the haves and the have nots.
Professional gigging musicians have been working in clubs for a wage that has been frozen since at least 1985. Before governments mandated the closing of live music venues, musicians were being paid anywhere from between $50-$120 for a standard four hour gig. No one can earn a living above the poverty line in the 21st-century at those wages.
It is only a matter of time before live music venues re-open their doors to the public. Concerts – gigs in bars and live venues – may take on a different look and feel, but the economic dynamic will remain the same unless musicians band together and adopt practices to ensure that a more equatable wage is paid on a regular (per gig) basis. Clubowners currently have no impetus to raise the wage they pay musicians. I am going to suggest some methods in which musicians can work with clubowners (and possibly the govt.) to create a New Standard, one that is more Equitable.
I believe musicians and clubowners can work together as a team bringing entertainment to the public while increasing the value of the “customer experience”.
However, clubowners have continued to raise the price of their beverages and have continued to increase the pay to their bartenders and staff over the past 40 years while keeping the musician’s wage frozen, and sometimes actually reducing it. (How is it that the value of napkins, straws, bottled beer and the people who serve them have gone up, but the value of musicians has actually gone down?)
Please share this post: together we can begin a dialogue and fine tune an approach to raising the bar for everyone in our communities.
I will be posting specific proposals for how we can compose a New Standard as an Equitable Wage for the Clubbing Pros.: Part 2 The Numbers; Where Does The Money Come From?
Chris Kresge: Dear Ben: I must object. We do not earn wages. We never have. As a former venue operator, I never paid a musician a wage; neither did my father before me. Musicians are not entitled to wages. Musicians are not considered employees. We are not entitled to unemployment insurance. We are not entitled to workers’ compensation.
Clark Hagan to Chris Kresge: Bars still do not pay what they should. They are on the same scale as 20 years ago, you know that
CK to CH: we are worth no more than a reasonable share of the money we help to bring in the door. That said, as a buyer today I pay from $500 to over $20,000 for 45-90 min sets – based on expected returns. Like a lot of us, I’ve been at this a really long time. I remember playing 500-1500 cap bars for $1 a head at the door .. I also remember playing Cricket on the Hill and another place I can’t recall the name of in S Denver, and being paid $12 – for the band. And that was in the mid 90s.
CH to CK: pretty sad state, shows how music is not very valuable to the patrons anymore. They want the music to be free
Jon Wirtz: I think we all know that by “wages” he meant “what we get paid.” No reason to split hairs on semantics.
CK to JW: I understand your point buddy, but it’s an important distinction that has gotten people into trouble over the years, unfortunately. Including a venue owner I once worked for.
This is really is more a lesson in the economics of running a business. That’s where so many of us get in trouble. The money flow is not transparent to 99.9% of us who don’t own, operate or manage a room that hosts music.
And the discussion goes on…
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Laura Newman on Fb, 5/09/20: Hello! With this break , I also have had time to step outside the vortex , as a club owner and a musician.
As a musician, I just gig and gig and mindlessly and indiscriminately gig. And carry PA. It’s just what I do. It’s what I have always done. My band is my family. I do this and don’t pay myself or my wife 95% of the time because it pays so shitty that the 3 guys need it way more than we do. Not only Herb’s income, but my wife is an Aerospace Engineer. Gigging like that can be soul sucking and humiliating.
One upside is, not needing money to gig, I’ve been able to absolutely eviscerate some of the lowest of club owners or managers verbally. Another upside is that we can take a lot of weekends off and not play the worst gigs and still pay the guys.
Still, here in Denver , playing music professionally, feels like trying to water the desert with a watering can.
Club owner. 18 years.
Bar insurance has gone from $3000 a year to $40,000 a year. Liquor license, $950 a year to $2450. You get the picture. Dealing with the city and state are like dealing with adversaries.
Demand and supply. If more people came out and loved and valued live music and musicians,there would be more money and more clubs. Instead of growing interest, we are facing exponentially ever waning interest.
I am beyond frustrated that in my area of town, I can’t get even $5 cover charge at the door on the weekends. I have refused to jack up drink prices and reduce beyond fair drink pours. That only penalizes drinkers . I wish people here wouldn’t be so adverse to paying a pittance for live LOCAL music.
We pay well on the weekends, but so totally loose money supporting my “jazz habit “ Monday, Tuesday and early gig Wednesday.
When Herb’s is packed and jumping, the occupancy is still only 95 people. Expanding that occupancy doesn’t make sense, factoring in the off nights and my desire and outdated business model to hold onto having live music 7 nights a week.
So I realize that this all sounds dark. Often I have had the idea to get musicians and club owners in the same room , but didn’t think anyone would be that interested. Given this pandemic, maybe there would be more interest.
Everyone stay safe and healthy!
I wrote this as a response to Ben Makinen. He proposed gigging paying $200 a gig and wanted my perspective as a musician and a club owner. He very thoughtfully responded about opening a dialogue. He also had in mind, how do we retool opening the gig scene again?
[Editor’s note: Please be aware that there is a bill before California’s congress right now to make musicians “employees” wherein they will need to be paying income taxes and unemployment fees. This covers anything gig from original bands and cover bands playing out to musicians who play back up for other reasons. Musicians who belong to a union are already doing this.]