RE: BREWERY PAY, WORSE THAN YOU THINK

Albuquerque NM

Description

I just moved here a couple years ago from the Northeast USA near Boston and I also played all over the South and I have NEVER seen worse pay for musicians than here. Average pay back east for a 4 piece band in small to medium clubs in the places I played was 500 bucks. Had quite a few gigs where we made 800-1,000 and to be honest we were ok, we weren't a "premier" band. I will tell you what, the upkeep and drink prices weren't much different and as a matter of fact they were higher for the owners back east and yet they paid their musicians a decent wage. Hell my friends back east that do solo acoustic gigs make between 150-350 for a gig! This happens when musicians accept poor pay as a whole. Just like people that accept poor job conditions, poor living conditions, poor Governing etc etc.. So until EVERYONE at THE SAME TIME say to the club and venue owners that they want "X" amount of dollars to play, it's gonna keep being that way because you are the ones being played and the owners are laughing all the way to the bank. All the musicians I talk to out here about this subject all pretty much say the same thing. "It's just the way it is here". BULLSHIT. You have the power to change that.