Re: Professional musicians: Do you pay to play?
A bit of definitional drift seems to have set in. When a band gets a percentage of the door or plays for tips, that doesn't strike me as "pay to play." In that situation, the band bears more financial risk than it would if it got a guaranteed payment, but (depending on the turnout and the percentage) getting a percentage of the door can turn out to be more money than the band would have gotten if it had negotiated a fixed fee.
I prefer to limit the term "pay to play" to what Paul K referred to in an early post in this thread: the situation where the band is asked to pay up-front a discounted rate for a number of tickets that it can then sell (in advance or at the door) or give away; usually, the up-front payment and the ticket price are structured so that the band makes a (often modest) profit if it sells all of the tickets at list. The venue typically provides the locale, the sound system, and a soundman. The venue makes its money two ways: the up-front payment plus the profits on food/drink. The band typically doesn't get a share of the food/drink sales.
As an economist, I agree that the venue owner takes some financial risk. If nobody shows up, the venue owner still has its fixed costs, offset to some extent by the up-front payment. How much of the risk each party bears depends on the way the deal is structured. The ratio of the purchase price to the ticket price determines how much of the financial risk the band bears. If the band is asked to pay $100 for 100 tickets that list for $5, that limits the band's downside risk and increases its upside potential, relative to the situation where the band is asked to pay $300 or $400 up-front for the same 100 $5 tickets.
Whether it's worth doing depends on the finances. I personally haven't done it (and haven't been tempted), but I know some bands eager for the exposure/experience of playing live that have chosen to do it.
I personally don't find the "apprentice" analogy meaningful. The quid pro quo of an apprenticeship is that the apprentice provides free (or low-paid) labor in exchange for instruction in the trade. I don't see any instruction going on in the sort of pay-for-play
As Paul K says, paying to play at an industry showcase is a different kettle of fish.
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Originally Posted by OldSausage
Come to think of it, I can't come up with a good reason for anyone to pay to hear me play.......
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