Yeah i hear you. I had the fortune to play session bass for an established black metal band last year. I got paid for each gig but it was only pocket money compared to the effort put into rehearsals and the fact I needed to upgrade my rig. I played 4 shows, two were awesome and two were so-so. The festival gig was the worst as we had a shortened set and played outdoors late in the day in the sun to a crowd that mostly wanted to sit in the beer area adjacent to the stage since no drinks were allowed to be taken out of that area haha.
When I was in my early 20's at the turn of the century (lol almost sounds victorian to say that) I was also keen to be a full time musician. Our band was doing pay to play gigs (you pay £80 for the gig and sell your own tickets). The gigs were poorly promoted and rarely had any more than 20-30 people through the door (basically the friends of all 3 bands playing that night). I realised after a while I should concentrate on my final year at Uni than worry about being in a band.
We've listened to all the theories, haven't we?! That piracy is a useful tool as it gives exposure. That bands can make money marketing themselves and doing their own promotion blah blah. The sad truth is people don't want to buy things that are not tangible (correction - not necessary to pay for). Music has no worth any more other than to the creators. People would rather spend 30-50 quid a month on their mobile phone or buy a pizza. Immediate consumption. They pay that because they can't get it free otherwise.
That is the first part of the problem.
The second part of the problem is too many bands and too much music. For every musician willing to feed the frenzy and pay promoters for gigs (or play for free), give away their stuff ....they put no value on their music either. And then it's about basic economics. Where is the value in an over saturated market that gives away its wares for nothing?
Touring is a lot of fun and for most people will only be a hobby. We have to be honest about why we do that in the first place. It's not about the art...but more about the ego. The buzz we get playing from a responive crowd. The feeling of the music you get in front of a crowd that doesn't happen in the same way at the rehearsal room. That's the drug hehe.
When I was in my early 20's at the turn of the century (lol almost sounds victorian to say that) I was also keen to be a full time musician. Our band was doing pay to play gigs (you pay £80 for the gig and sell your own tickets). The gigs were poorly promoted and rarely had any more than 20-30 people through the door (basically the friends of all 3 bands playing that night). I realised after a while I should concentrate on my final year at Uni than worry about being in a band.
We've listened to all the theories, haven't we?! That piracy is a useful tool as it gives exposure. That bands can make money marketing themselves and doing their own promotion blah blah. The sad truth is people don't want to buy things that are not tangible (correction - not necessary to pay for). Music has no worth any more other than to the creators. People would rather spend 30-50 quid a month on their mobile phone or buy a pizza. Immediate consumption. They pay that because they can't get it free otherwise.
That is the first part of the problem.
The second part of the problem is too many bands and too much music. For every musician willing to feed the frenzy and pay promoters for gigs (or play for free), give away their stuff ....they put no value on their music either. And then it's about basic economics. Where is the value in an over saturated market that gives away its wares for nothing?
Touring is a lot of fun and for most people will only be a hobby. We have to be honest about why we do that in the first place. It's not about the art...but more about the ego. The buzz we get playing from a responive crowd. The feeling of the music you get in front of a crowd that doesn't happen in the same way at the rehearsal room. That's the drug hehe.
