Alan Ratcliffe wrote
Sadly, most musos are keen to unionise until they realise that it will cost them membership fees each month. Then they fall prey to exactly the same kind of short-sighted thinking that venues do when it comes to spending money to make more.
Agreed. Also, I think increasing the barrier to entry will improve the quality of the bands - which is another issue we only touch on that is related to this venue and payment story.
I believe that venues have become used to a fairly low level of entertainment from bands as an average. When I watch local bands, only a handful really add value to the evening (besides the fun of critting them in a dark corner which is a harmless musician pass time that never gets old ?). What I'm talking about, are bands that make you go, "Aw yeah!"
I think there's a vicious circle here. Goes like this: Venues pay peanuts. Good bands put masses of commitment in but get little return, so lots of attrition. Constant streams of people just gettin' together and playing some tunes on stage. Venues find that most bands aren't that good. Venues feel bands are only worth peanuts.
We all kinda know that to get the really high paying gigs, you need a complete package. If you don't have original songs so strong that they draw people back whenever they hear you're playing, you need musicianship (although this is the thing musos reach for first, it's not the most important - as evidenced by many dull bands that consist of excellent players), and you need stage charisma.
I feel like, if venues paid more, they'd be more discriminating. There'd be more incentive for musicians to get those better paying gigs. The really good people would stay in the game and hone their acts. The venues would have more exciting bands that would draw people, improve the reputation of the place, and sell more drinks. Venues would therefore be happy to continue paying good money - and to require a higher entertainment level from the bands they're paying.
Unionisation may be a way of starting this process, I think.
