Play free for exposure?

No kidding. I've seen ads on Craigslist where people want a band to play for free in return for "exposure." They can "pass out their business cards" and "sell their "CDs" for "tremendous exposure."

All the while these same people are paying for he facility, the caterers, the flowers, and so on.
 
OK I get it.
But, there are exceptions.

Would your band play, should your band play, for free if you were the opening act for say the Rolling Stones
in front of 40,000 people, for one show?


.
 
No opportunity that would give you good exposure is going to try and get you to do it for free...

...all depending on how you define 'good exposure'.
 
OK I get it.
But, there are exceptions.

Would your band play, should your band play, for free if you were the opening act for say the Rolling Stones
in front of 40,000 people, for one show?


.

Sure. But only if the lighting people, sound people, set designers, riggers, security people, caterers, front of house staff, cleaners, office administrators and everybody else agrees that they should also provide their services for free.

TBH, I don't really have a dog in this fight. My band plays for the fun of playing, a handful of times a year. If ever we find ourselves playing where money is being made, sure we'll want some of it. Playing for exposure? Exposure for what? So a bunch of middle aged people with real jobs can get the opportunity to play somewhere else for free?
 
Them: "Do you want to play for free at an outdoor gig? It'll be great exposure!"


Me: "Yeah, to the elements."


I also tell people of they want me to play for free, they should have asked me 20 years ago. Unless I'm getting paid, I don't leave the house. As much as I love to play, it's simply not worth it anymore unless I'm getting something. I'm too old and experienced to play for free.
 
My Halloween gig went like this...

I spent $70 on bags for my new drums.
I spent about $12 in gas driving there and back.
I spent $9 in parking fees.
I spent about $10 for drinks (one somebody bought me but I got to pay the tip)

The bags I needed anyway, but that's a $30 night for me to go play for "free". It doesn't sound free; doesn't even sound break even. I do it because the old guys I'm playing with get such a thrill out of playing a gig. For a few of them, it's their first gigging band. That's not saying that I'm not enjoying myself, but I would prefer to at least break even.
 
That's hilarious. I also can't count how many times I've been told that I have an "entitled" attitude, or that I think "the world owes me a living" for taking basically the same attitude as the people in the video. Those exact words, over and over- even from other musicians.
 
All joking aside, there are probably hundreds of charities in your local area who are really in need of entertainment for their fundraiser events. If you're going to donate your time and gear free of charge, do it for cancer research or suicide awareness. Don't ever do it for the benefit of a bar or a hotel.

OK I get it.
But, there are exceptions.

Would your band play, should your band play, for free if you were the opening act for say the Rolling Stones
in front of 40,000 people, for one show?


.

Obviously, we would charge 10 times our usual rate. There is a very small possibility that we would do it for free if they would play support for one our gigs in exchange.
 
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When I was 13 or 14 i played for free with my buddies. We donated our time to provide background music for local yard sales. You never know when a music mogul might stop by a yard sale.
 
I have played for free about six or seven times, every time for a charity I felt an attachment to. I would never play for free to enhance the taking of a bar. If a bar is so bad it cant attract an audience for live music its probably best avoided.
 
The same should go for internships that don't benefit the public welfare.

I worked for many years in the advertising world as a digital artist.
There were always interns who had exceptional skills, worked very hard and received no monetary compensation. This was pretty un-cool. The amount of money coming in from large corporate clients was huge. They could afford to give some paid work the interns but they didn't. The interns gleaned most of their business education from the independent freelancers. Freelancers who would never work for free.

I also worked for a very popular small beer company. We would try to do at least one monthly charity event for no charge. People always asked for free beer for exposure. As much beer that could be made was sold. There was no need for more exposure. "We want you to supply the beer for our Bain Capitol party. It will be good exposure".
 
Them: "Do you want to play for free at an outdoor gig? It'll be great exposure!"


Me: "Yeah, to the elements."


I also tell people of they want me to play for free, they should have asked me 20 years ago. Unless I'm getting paid, I don't leave the house. As much as I love to play, it's simply not worth it anymore unless I'm getting something. I'm too old and experienced to play for free.

This +1000. I like to use the line " yea, but you can die from exposure" lol.
 
OK I get it.
But, there are exceptions.

Would your band play, should your band play, for free if you were the opening act for say the Rolling Stones
in front of 40,000 people, for one show?


.

Call me crazy, but no. The crowd is there to see the Stones, not your band, and the likelihood of winning any meaningful exposure seems minimal. The only reason to do such a gig, in my mind, would be to have your ego stroked so you could say you played to 40,000 people and opened for the Stones.

I work free only to support charities I believe in, or to help personal friends achieve something. Even then I am rewarded by the friendship.

(To be fair and honest, I have played for free in the past, but not anymore.)
 
OK I get it.
But, there are exceptions.

Would your band play, should your band play, for free if you were the opening act for say the Rolling Stones
in front of 40,000 people, for one show?


.

I don't think that scenario would ever exist... You won't get paid what the stones get paid, but I can't imagine their management is hiring bands for nothing...

I'm lucky in that I don't run into this often; I bill the band for my time regardless of how much they get paid. Often times a singer will play a big festival for free, and ends up paying the band out of their own pocket. I understand that exposure is valuable, and can turn into paying gigs, but working for free is just backwards.

Funny story: I played with a burlesque troupe at a club owned and operated by Harvard, and we were all hired to play behind the dancers. Great gig. The club had us booked from 7-11 and they took the first $2000 from ticket sales to cover their staff and the use of the location. The crowd was going crazy, so we ended up playing until almost 12. Afterwards, the dancers paid us our rates, and then went to the club owner to get their money from ticket sales. The bar told them that since they had to stay open an hour longer, they have to pay overtime for all of the staff, and they actually owed the club money. The dancers had to give up all the ticket sales money and come up with $200 more to cover the clubs costs... but the club owner assured them that it was one of the best nights the club had and they got great exposure...lol
 
Would your band play, should your band play, for free if you were the opening act for say the Rolling Stones
in front of 40,000 people, for one show?
.

Chances are, if this were to happen, everybody would get paid.
 
OK I get it.
But, there are exceptions.

Would your band play, should your band play, for free if you were the opening act for say the Rolling Stones
in front of 40,000 people, for one show?


.

Yes. Yes, I absolutely would, no question. I can't think of anything more fun.

And I'm glad to see so many in this forum would turn it down...better chance that my band will score the gig.
 
OK I get it.
But, there are exceptions.

Would your band play, should your band play, for free if you were the opening act for say the Rolling Stones
in front of 40,000 people, for one show?


.

This is a similar scenario to what the NFL did with having their halftime show entertainment play for free. Now they want the halftime performers to PAY TO PLAY! Honestly, I think a viral message should have been sent out to all record labels, band managers, and bands to boycot the NFL because of this.
 
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