Who would play....if Glastonbury didn't pay?

[CaledonianGonzo]

And that's why there's a tendency for the acts booked to be from the surrounding area.

Which is fine, although it does lead sometimes to the same familiar faces appearing year on year - which has pros and cons.

[maelzoid]

I know this is all in jest and just to stimulate some conversation, so I'm not having a go at the OP.

However, as a creative type (graphic design) I have been approached to work for free by both friends, family and strangers.  The reasoning seems to be two-fold.

1. It's free exposure for your work / it will be a good addition to your portfolio.
2. You have a cool job that you like doing, so why can't you do it for free and the 'enjoyment' is your payment.

My response is usually no, because frankly, what I do has value, and as soon as I start working for free, I devalue what I do. I see some young designers being fished in by this (go and have a look at People Per Hour if you want to see how poorly some people value graphic design) and I don't think it helps their career one bit.

I view professional musicians in exactly the same way. What they do has value, and should be valued, and anyone expecting people to work for free for the 'exposure' and because its 'fun' can fuck off.

 

Unless it means the ticket is now free, in which case bring it on...

[Bisque]

Pretty sure Dub Pistols & most of the British comedians would play for a free ticket. I doubt this would ever happen as the amount of no's would knowingly be too high to even consider running the festival.

[The Nal]

22 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

To be fair that's how a lot of the small tents do book things at the moment. 

Do they not pay them anything?

[Inconspicuous]

I bet Mik Artistik would still be kicking around somewhere.

He would probably still play 14 times over the course of the festival.

[stardustjunkie]

I know two band members of a band that played on the Avalon Stage a couple of years ago. They are doing an international tour and are getting bigger and bigger all the time.

They absolutely love Glastonbury, and while I've not asked them if they get paid to play and if it's worth it money-wise, I'm almost convinced that they love the festival enough to just go and play anyway.

Perhaps that would be a large contributing factor to which bands play!

[robalotalob]

A lot of acts would say yes to enhance their image then pull out at the last minute with some lame excuse.

[stuartbert two hats]

26 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Do they not pay them anything?

Often in an allocation of free tickets, which may not cover the number of performers.  This sounds ridiculous until you remember that a 5 piece band would be getting paid over a grand to appear, which isn't too shabby.

[stardustjunkie]

5 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Often in an allocation of free tickets, which may not cover the number of performers.  This sounds ridiculous until you remember that a 5 piece band would be getting paid over a grand to appear, which isn't too shabby.

The band I know only get one extra ticket on top of their own allocation of tickets, which really isn't worth it because all it does is cause problems - who's partner gets that ticket?!

[Mardy]

1 hour ago, maelzoid said:

I know this is all in jest and just to stimulate some conversation, so I'm not having a go at the OP.

However, as a creative type (graphic design) I have been approached to work for free by both friends, family and strangers.  The reasoning seems to be two-fold.

1. It's free exposure for your work / it will be a good addition to your portfolio.
2. You have a cool job that you like doing, so why can't you do it for free and the 'enjoyment' is your payment.

My response is usually no, because frankly, what I do has value, and as soon as I start working for free, I devalue what I do. I see some young designers being fished in by this (go and have a look at People Per Hour if you want to see how poorly some people value graphic design) and I don't think it helps their career one bit.

I view professional musicians in exactly the same way. What they do has value, and should be valued, and anyone expecting people to work for free for the 'exposure' and because its 'fun' can fuck off.

 

Unless it means the ticket is now free, in which case bring it on...

 

[maelzoid]

Actually, my rant about valuing creative people just reminds me why I hate Spotify - it is conditioning its users to not value any of the music they listen to.

Maybe they could sponsor the festival. Artists get paid in pennies, punters get in for free, but each set is interrupted every 2 songs to be bring you an advert from British Gas.

[ghostdancer1]

28 minutes ago, maelzoid said:

Actually, my rant about valuing creative people just reminds me why I hate Spotify - it is conditioning its users to not value any of the music they listen to.

Maybe they could sponsor the festival. Artists get paid in pennies, punters get in for free, but each set is interrupted every 2 songs to be bring you an advert from British Gas.

much like Spotify, we'd probably soon have artists complaining about this scenario, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they signed up for it and could choose to pull their services if they don't want to get those pennies.

[johnomatic]

This thread, in particular with regards to the smaller, more independent acts at the festival, reminds me of this cartoon posted by a photographer friend of mine on Facebook.

Interesting conversation, though.

 

[maelzoid]

28 minutes ago, ghostdancer1 said:

much like Spotify, we'd probably soon have artists complaining about this scenario, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they signed up for it and could choose to pull their services if they don't want to get those pennies.

I have some sympathy for the artists. Many of them would have signed contracts long before Spotify existed. The reason Spotify works is because the labels and their lawyers are getting paid pretty handsomely and they are able to 'interpret' these pre-Spotify contracts to screw over the artists.

 

[maelzoid]

As an interesting aside, Wired (the technology magazine) ran a cover article on the creator of Spotify, profiling him, his background, and the journey to Spotify becoming what it is today.  The guy re-iterated his love of technology and his dream of providing this service. But not once, not once did he even mention a love of music. No artists he loved, no memories of listening to music before Spotify, nothing.

[shuttlep]

Lilly Allen would do it just to get in and stroll around back stage

[kemosabe]

Surely nobody would play in case it sets a precedent for other festivals. It would just be screwing over artists unless 100% of the money goes to chaity or something.

Is there a musicians union? Because they'd take action and it'd be all over the media

[CaledonianGonzo]

3 hours ago, kemosabe said:

Is there a musicians union? 

Yup:

http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk