Thanks RalfD, Yes - I NEVER play for free. And I don't do "open mics", etc. I find that if venues pay little or nothing you get treated like trash, while if they pay well you get treated well. I do play for good benefit causes sometimes, but I am very careful about it. Otherwise you get lots of people calling you because they think you'll play for free. Tom On Wed, 7 Aug 2013 11:23:07 +0000, Ron Andrico wrote > Briefly, playing for free > (or worse, paying to play) doesn't really do any lasting good. It > only makes the potential audience think that your music should be > free. We only play for free for children and for worthy causes > aimed at people who are more disadvantaged than us.
Yes, I just wanted to send the same remarks. Ask yourself a simple question: "Am I professional?" Which professional of any other profession would work for free? The plumber who repaired all bathrooms in town for free so people will pay him when they need a plumber ... oh, wait. I'm shocked at what stupid "marketing tricks" people believe in. Please, remember - marketing techniques do not scale (down). What might be a brilliant campaign for a large company will not work out for the small business. Keep in mind: large companies usually don't need to _create_ a market, their campaigns usually fight for market share. It's not: "can we sell Bonzos to the public", it's about: "Will the public buy our Bonzos or the ones from our competitor". A concert you play for free is a concert you will not play for fee ;-) Sometimes your market will be small, no matter what you do (outdoor pools in Greenland come to mind) - let's face it, playing sophisticated, rather intellectual lute music isn't for everyone. Cheers, RalfD To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html Tom Draughon Heartistry Music http://www.heartistrymusic.com/artists/tom.html 714 9th Avenue West Ashland, WI 54806 715-682-9362
