You like animals? You like Christmas? Sure, who doesn't. It sounds like a wonderful event for all during the holidays, doesn't it? Everyone except for the musicians.
For two years running now, the Hogle Zoo (Salt Lake City, Utah) hosts a holiday event called "ZooLights!"; an evening full of Christmas lights, music and animal exhibits. I first saw something about the event in the "musicians" section of the Salt Lake City craigslisting. "Cool", I thought "this sounds like it would be a nice event to play. So reading the entry, it was clear within ten seconds that Hogle Zoo was asking for the musicians to play (drum roll please) for free. Oh, they laid it on thick, all the talk about what a wonderful exposure opportunity this was, how many CDs you could sell etc etc. But none of it was thick enough to cover the fact that this thing was once again in a begathon for free live music. So I sat down and constructed a polite, respectful but to the point email to Cagney Smullen, the Special Events Assistant who was in charge of this stuff for ZooLights, email addressing my concerns as a musician being petitioned to do what I do for a living, for free. The response was a surprisingly curt, snarky dictum saying that they would not pay for live music and that I didn't have to play for the event if I didn't want to.
Wow.
I wrote her back and tried to be even more specific about the problems, and the ethics (or lack of them) in asking people to play for free at an event that Hogle Zoo was CHARGING the public for. The fee at that time was $6 an adult, $4 for children. I got back another response, completely refusing to address those issues and in even more snotty language declaring that I don't have to play there.
About that time, more musicians piped up about the situation on craigslist. And of course, a smattering of reactionaries who saw nothing wrong with musicians being ripped (that's to be expected - it is craigslist, after all). But the majority easily saw the problem and weighed in.
That was back in 2007. Well, Zoolights! is at it again. They have already advertised for this year's musicians rip off, and whats funny this time around is that no sooner did I dash off a quick protest on the musician's section....along with several others...about the repeat performance than I got this email from Ms. Smullen:
I realize you have an issue with this event, but please bring it up with me and let other people make their own decision. It states right up front that they will not be paid, if they don't want to play, they don't have to participate.
Thank you.
Cagney Smullin
Special Events Assistant
Utah's Hogle Zoo
I see. So, not only should I just shut my trap about Hogle Zoo devaluing the living of working musicians, I should keep my protestations to her desk - where they would be duly ignored. Sweet.
If you would like to give Ms Smullen a piece of your mind about this ludicrous situation under her watch, feel free to contact her at (801) 582-1631 ext 658, or csmullin@hoglezoo.org. If she is nasty to you, don't say I didn't warn you. But, it is very very important that we start pressuring businesses who pull this crap. Get their names out in the light of day.
Call or write as soon as, and as often, as you can.
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2 comments:
Plus all the time, energy,
expense(gas), etc.
just to get up to the place!
Thanks for creating this blog
-g.b.t.
I emailed this to her just now:
Ms. Smullin,
You don't know me; my name is Dave Muscato and I'm a professional musician and promoter. I became aware of your event, Zoolights!, from this website:
http://paytheband.blogspot.com/
and I'm writing to you in response to what the author wrote there.
I understand from the article that your position on asking for free entertainment is that musicians may choose not to perform, if they do not believe that the exposure they would receive is worth playing the show without pay, from their end, and that your venue is offering, instead of payment, exposure and an opportunity to sell merchandise.
While I agree with your position in principle, it is not your request itself that bothers me so much as the advertising of that request. By publicly indicating that you do not intend to pay, but that you are concurrently charging admission and profiting from the musicians' work, you are contributing to the precedent and public mindset that musicianship is not a form of skilled labor, or that payment for musicians' work is optional or should not be expected.
I find this unethical and wanted you to be aware that many others do as well. Since you represent the Hogle Zoo, you ought to be aware of the light you are casting on your organization.
If your zoo is a non-profit organization and performing for free would count as a tax deduction (in other words, the musicians would be given the choice to donate their fee back to the zoo), that is different. Many churches and other non-profit organizations that frequently hire musicians use this model without upsetting anybody or negatively effecting their public image or bottom line.
However, if your zoo is for-profit, it seems pretty clear that you are taking advantage of certain musicians' "stars-in-their-eyes" and it is this part of the deal that's unethical, if true.
Now, I do not have first-hand knowledge of you, your zoo, or your event, so if I am mistaken and the article I linked to above misstates your position, please feel free to disregard this email. On the other hand, if you truly do not intend to pay musicians but are instead feeding them hopes about "exposure," you are setting yourself up for some very bad PR.
I just wanted you to be aware of the message you are sending, in case you were not already or it was unintentional.
I also wanted to let you know that there are mutually beneficial alternatives to "hiring" live music for no pay. In theory, the more money you pay for a service, the higher quality the service will be. If you want live music that sounds good, played by technically competent musicians who show up on time, conduct themselves professionally, have an appropriate repertoire, etc, you may have no choice but to pay well for it, and this is fair for both sides. A technically incompetent or unprofessional band is *worse* than no band at all, and I encourage you to offer at least a token amount of money, say $100, so that both sides understand a contract for music services is in effect, and that you have certain minimum expectations of professionalism that you now have the authority to enforce. A good band will cause people to stay longer and enjoy your event more, rather than leaving early to avoid the bad music, etc. Good bands also attract *more* attendees and ultimately make you a positive return on investment—that's why they cost more. What I'm saying is, you get what you pay for. Presuming you are putting time and effort into this event and charging admission, it makes sense that you would want every aspect of it to be of high quality, including the music.
If you can convince some poor sap to play for free, well, more power to you, but at the very least acknowledge in your heart, if not to his face, that you are suckering him, if for no other reason than to avoid the bad PR & "karma" if word gets out. Really, though, I encourage you to offer payment for the services you're hiring, as in my experience from both sides of the deal (as both a promoter and a musician), you will make it back, and more.
Sincerely,
--
Dave Muscato
- As seen in Rolling Stone, People, Time, The New York Times, SPIN, Entertainment Weekly, Billboard Magazine, and on MTV News, VH1, NPR, MSNBC, ABC, Kevin & Bean/KROQ in LA, and Howard Stern --
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