Why I Won't Pay to Play

Creators are frequently asked to contribute their talents to events, promotions, and venues, and instead of being paid for their time, talent, and craft, they are asked to pay to participate. This has been going on in the music world for years. 

At some point, venue owners realized there were enough musicians who were desperate for exposure out there that instead of paying for musical performances, they would ask the musicians to pay to play. In this video, I share my point of view on what is wrong with that picture.

I am begging at this point for people who host venues, events, and promotions to stop this practice. You need to work out compensation for creators into your business model. Your short-term gains are leading to the demise of your cash cow industry, and you won't be able to sustain your business with this practice in the long term either.

And if you are a creator, please stop offering your time, talent, and craft to people at a cost to you that will never be compensated. If they can't show you tangibly how you will benefit from participating, don't offer your creative output. This goes for anyone who creates anything. We must stop devaluing what we do if there will ever be a chance for us to make a sustainable living wage from our work.

This is one of the few things I feel is worth fighting for.

#creativebusiness #compensation #creatingiswork