Did you catch our last newsletter about musicians playing for free at resorts? If not, you can read it at https://www.MusiciansContact.com Below are a bunch of varied replies we received.
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‘Free bed and meals’ isn’t ‘income’. And the last time I checked, the vast majority of musicians are not independently wealthy. If you give the world permission to take advantage of you, the world will gladly comply…
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I don’t know what to think because my guitar doesn’t eat. At this rate, neither will I.
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I’m interested to learn more about the resorts that seek solo musicians (e.g., piano/keyboards) to perform. Can you provide links to one or two of these resorts or otherwise provide information that will help me to identify them online?
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I deem those that play for free as “idiots” and are doing a disservice to the music biz versus those who actually are employed to play. I would like to impress upon those who give their services away in hopes of getting something in return down the road that it is a fallacy.
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It stinks. No one wants to pay musicians. We should all stop playing for free. I draw the line at pay to play because no one EVER does a guarantee, but what you are raising about resorts not paying is pernicious and wrong. We all have to say no for it to stop.
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I’ve heard that line hundreds of times, “Oh, there’s no money, but it’s good exposure”. Here’s what happens- you get exposure, and you’re known as the band that plays for free. No way, Give me the wages I would always get at this kind of gig, and sure enough pay my way to get there!
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Gee. I wonder if they allow you to put a tip jar out. Probably not.
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Not a good idea, cheap way of saying you’re not worth paying. We do resorts, concerts shows and specialty events, we get all of that included. Make your money, then go on vacation. This way you are not removing paid chances for professional acts that do this for a living. The more people play for free, the more jobs are lost. It is bad enough AI is destroying the studio industry, lets not destroy the live show industry too.
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There is nothing wrong with with this concept. If a musician wishes to play for free to receive a free vacation, that is his/her right. It’s called freedom of choice.
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It’s never ok to play for free anywhere if you are a professional musician or vocalist.
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This sucks!!! What other profession is expected to give their services for free and the hiring party acts like they are doing you a favor? I don’t see similar offers for plumbers, cooks, grounds keepers.
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It’s kind of tempting, but the fact that they don’t pay your way there sucks. I hope this doesn’t become standard procedure!
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Wow! I’ve never heard of this. Very interesting for sure. I think it depends on your stage of life. If you’re a working musician and young, probably not a great idea… however if you’re retired musician like myself, I’d do it in a heartbeat… covers are super easy…this would be a no-brainer for me…
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Whaaaat?!! The musicians make the event “happen” yet, they don’t get paid for it!!?! . . . That is not fair! And, Most musicians aren’t that wealthy so as to pay their own money to get to the resort. If there are musicians doing what this event is asking for it might set a precedence for other musicians. I mean, it sounds like fun but No! Don’t do it.
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Do they pay their hotel and resort staff the same way? How about their food servers? Musicians are never given the respect they deserve and the people that come up with these schemes should be exiled, never to return to polite society.
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Don’t musicians have bills to pay like a roof over their head and car payments? I’d say no thanks as I can’t afford vacations because I don’t get paid. Tell them to hire a DJ. He would probably go for that as people can’t afford to pay for live acts.
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It might be barely worth it if I could play my originals and sell merch but I’m sure that’s a no-no.
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Depending on the circumstances, I may be tempted to do that once (for a week maybe) just as a “vacation” but I would not do that long term. I look at t this way, in the past, I had done tours that were scheduled to be part vacation and even though I got paid, the money I made pretty much went to travel, food etc. However, if cruise ships tried this…HELL NO! They make way too much money to not pay musicians. Yeah, the resorts probably do also but I might do that for 1 week as a cheap getaway.
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But it would not be a free vacation. You would be paying for everything when you leave the resort property. And let’s face it, no one stays at the resort the whole time they are visiting one. I see this as just another non-musician corporate bean counter trying to get a larger quarterly bonus at the expense of the musician. They probably offer the same for magicians and comedians as well.
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For someone who is just starting out, this would be a good opportunity. Personally, I would consider it, based on what location.
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It all depends on how good the perks are compared to how much $$$ you will lose.
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Who doesn’t like a free vacation? Sounds like fun, but this working musician has to pay the bills every week and I can’t afford to play for a free vacation. Sadly real LIVE music has become devalued and taken for granted. But what do I know from 50 years of live performance?
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Here in Spain only the commercial singers get jobs paid, and thousands of other musicians who play rock or jazz must play free to have the opportunity to play live, Or else they cannot play at all. The culprit of this situation is the internet which has debased jobs to the point where with the internet all music is free.
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This is all around a very bad idea. Why would they do it for zero money? It’s bad for business as it will keep spreading like wildfire through the entertainment/hospitality industry. This sets a bad precedent for low balling or down right not paying bands what they are for sure worth. My question is what caliber of musicians are doing this? They are actually losing money by paying for travel. It degrades the quality of bands/musicians and is also detrimental to the industry as word gets out that bands will play for free.
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Play for free? Oh hell no. The conversation and terms of gigs need a serious update for starters. And I have never seen a resort gig where the play time was 2 hours! More like 4 to 6 and the rooms were at best bare bones. Nice try venue managers,…lol
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I’m mortified by those seeking goods and services for free! This is detestable behavior!
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Wrongly done. Musicians should be paid PLUS amenity & room free!!!!!
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This is outrageous! The waitress doesn’t work for free, the bus driver doesn’t work for free, the club owners don’t work for free,… Musicians spend years honing their craft , hours practicing and yet they expect them to work for free, no matter what the free perks they give…….. NOT worth it, it degrades the craft, the person, and art form and no one should do it, especially if they are a professional.
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Playing for free…what a ubiquitous and an age-old contentious issue, right? Expecting people to work for unlivable, substandard wages, or ridiculously even for free is par for the course, and is not only unfair but unethical. And all these parasites have tested the waters enough to know that they can get away with it and act with impunity. Professional musicians everywhere should share their experiences and simply boycott the businesses that ignorantly believe this behavior and blatant greed is acceptable, and exploiting any tradesman is justifiably OK ,i.e. ‘Well other people are doing it, so why shouldn’t I?’ If it isn’t a genuine ‘Win/Win’ organization and mutually beneficial arrangement, don’t waste a second of valuable time and consideration towards them. Never compromise your own dignity and principles – regret is a terrible weight upon one’s conscience.
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It sux and that is why I appreciate the Union. Employers are going to squeeze musicians tighter and tighter until musicians unify and altogether refuse to take it.
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