Hey Charities, Musicians are For-Profit

On an upcoming episode of "Now Hear This Entertainment" that I recorded two days ago I said I'd do a blog on this, and it turns out that today is actually perfect timing.  Tomorrow is Independence Day here in the United States.  It will be a day to celebrate, gather with family and friends, have a cookout, and surely there will be music playing.  Some of the big July 4th events will, of course, have music playing in the form of a live band.  For those gigs the performers can expect good pay.

However, what about for the events – big or small – where it’s a charity that is the host/organizer?  They are the first ones to pull out the non-profit card.  And as we all know in the music business, that is usually followed closely behind by, “Oh, we don’t have a budget for entertainment.”

Of course, these folks know that they’re going to have to arrange for catering.  They will likely print up a program of some kind.  They will advertise the event as well.  And there will be other operational aspects that require money to change hands, things like chairs, linens, maybe a photographer, and, of course, renting the host venue.  So why, then, since they acknowledge that they want entertainment, do they not have a budget for it?

Sometimes an event organizer of this nature will be more vague and not specify just entertainment that they don’t have a budget for.  They’ll make it sound like the whole operation just generally doesn’t even involve money.

News flash – For ten-and-a-half years I worked for an organization that was non-profit.  Guess what?  We had a budget.  We had money.  We didn’t have to beg, borrow, and steal, and ask people to donate goods and services for free.

Of course, the comeback that all of us are far too familiar with hearing first is about the exposure that the performer will get from donating their time to this event.  I used to be kind-hearted about all this and take a softer approach, which, in hindsight, only muddied the waters even further.  It probably made me look wishy-washy.  In time, though, just like the musicians do, I got worn down from hearing this rationale.  Now I flat out tell inquiring parties the honest truth, which is that exposure doesn’t pay the bills.  I remind these folks that exposure doesn’t pay the electric bill, the cell phone bill, the rent, the car payment, and all the other bills that come into the musician's mailbox each month.  Heck, exposure for an artist that I book doesn’t pay my bills either, since you can’t take a commission off of zero.

I think what bothers me the most is that if a non-profit needed their computers worked on, they’d expect to pay the professional fees associated with those services.  They’re not going to call a company to come in and troubleshoot and then rectify the problem(s) and be compensated by the exposure they’ll get when the company tells others to use them.  Similarly, would they call an electrician or a plumber or even the CPA they need to do their taxes and tell them that donating their time to do the work is going to be good exposure for them?  Exactly.

Don’t worry, performers, I’ve got your back.  Now, non-profits?  Comedic legend Rodney Dangerfield is unfortunately deceased.  So, let’s also bury his “No respect, I get no respect at all” tag that you hang on musicians when you ask them to perform for free.

Talk about this blog and your experiences – good or bad – with “play for exposure” situations in our Facebook group.