Rick Landers playing for free at a tribute for deceased coal miners, Raton, New Mexico 2022 – Photo credit: Gruene Guitars
The concept of playing for free or for spare change is one for the ages. And the decisions for performing for little to no compensation is one to not take lightly, and should consider one’s level of talent, name recognition, commerciality, as well as the venue or circumstances that offer “real estate” to perform your original songs, cover songs or, most likely a mix of the two.
Have you prepared yourself to perform music in front of audiences at a level that is both competent and entertaining? It takes hundreds of hours to competently learn a musical instrument, and for vocalists to have either a gift of vocal talent or a studied level or vocal achievement in order to gain a near intuitive ability to perform. Open mics are clearly a venue that can illustrate the listenability of musicians with a mix of other unpaid musicians. By recording your songs, you may get a more objective idea of your level of talent than from friends and family. One key value of open mics is getting an opportunity to perform in front of an audience of strangers. Polite applause is not a reliable metric as to their appreciation, as much as it is a possible kindness.
Have you been offered paid performances, commonly, called gigs? When a venue or a person, like a house concert host, approaches you asking you to perform, you have been given the “nod” that you are good enough to be compensated for your talents. Once you have landed a gig, you are to be congratulated. But then you must continue to work to ensure that you can repeat solid performances for future work. Yes, I try to talk about “playing” as work or performing. In my opinion one plays for free, but works or performs for compensation.
Should you play for free or for tips? This is always a personal or group decision and one that generally takes several things into consideration. Playing for free can serve as an audition for a new group, it can provide stage experience to gain comfort as a group and to gain lessons learned to improve their performances. Still, it may not be to the benefit of a professional person or group to play for free, given the time and effort to perform. At times, professional musicians may offer free or for tips only performances in order to help venues that are having revenue shortfalls. That said, the financial solvency of a venue is a private business matter and is not the business of performers. Businesses cash flow pays staff, rent, owners and is used to set aside money for other investment opportunities, to shore up cash for seasonal slumps, to pay family members’ tuitions, medical and other insurance; all private company business.
Venues should appreciate that paid opportunities may be “lost” and that professional musicians have, in many respects, paid their dues and that any performance takes many hours to prepare for, make the effort to load in and out several times for each performance, as well as perform the amount of time to entertain audiences.
And the decision of a venue to offer venue space and time to play for free or for tips only, is a reasonable business decision, for a number reasons: (a) The musician may not draw an audience to support a financial outlay, (b) an open mic generally offers several musicians brief opportunities to “show their wares” to gain experience and to build name recognition and (c) offers its clientele opportunities to see emerging artists for no cover charge.
I believe any venue that provides an opportunity for musicians to play or perform are “friendlies” and should be respected for their appreciation and love of live music!
Finally, and possibly more importantly, if you ever have an opportunity to play or perform without monetary or other substantive compensation, but you desire to do so for the sheer joy of entertaining, collaborating with your fellow musicians or to hone your skills, knowledges and abilities – go for it!
Music is an integral part of all cultures and their communities and there is a lot of personal and professional fulfillment performing for non–paying festivals, civic action or social protest events, open mics, weekend jams sessions, charities, folk clubs and around campfires….and, yes, oftentimes, for “exposure”.
What about playing for charitable organizations? Playing for senior communities, animal welfare groups, and other non-profit organizations are laudable places to support. These groups should be assessed first to determine their abilities and willingness to pay performers. Some may be reviewed by the Charity Navigator website or your local Better Business Bureau, to determine their ability to be financially responsible, and other individuals or groups that play or perform for them, can tell you when and if they pay, and possibly paid rates. The management of the organization may also let you know its ability to pay, the support logistics and other interests that may be of benefit before you play or perform for them. The decision to play for free or a reduced rate will be your individual or group’s decision. The audiences tend to be very appreciative of your talents.
What about busking on the street, meaning playing on public property for tips only? I personally busked in the Washington, D.C., area. when I first arrived to the area. Passersby were friendly and depending on the time of day, the location and the number of people walking by, the tip jar was filled or not. But, if you play consistently and well, at the same or a nearby location, you can fill your tip jar more often and sometimes with more than one-dollar bills. First, you’ll need to determine whether playing at your location of choice is legal, whether you need a permit, acceptable noise levels or even if a battery-powered amplifier is agreeable, whether you can ask for or even have your instrument case open or a hat available to “ask” for donations, as sometimes this will constitute “begging” rather a freedom of speech issue. That all said, you’ll need to be a bit tough, to watch people ignore you, listen and smile and not open their wallets, as well as handle the hot, the cold or precipitation, and keep in mind your instrument’s ability to handle bad weather.
ABOUT RICK LANDERS: Multi-award-winning singer-songwriter, publisher (Guitar International magazine); author and past busker, Rick Landers has performed at house concerts, DC-MD-VA venues, the 2023 National Cherry Blossom, the 41st Annual Washington Folk Festival, the Republic of South Africa embassy and more. He has published Guitar International since 2004, a free news and information resource about acoustic and electric guitars. He and his group, Heartland can be reached HERE for booking and interview requests.
