Playing for peanuts?

Staunton VA

Description

I've been performing in the area for a long time. For many years the venue selection was pretty sparse and so it's nice to see so many new places popping up. (Primarily breweries and vineyards). In talking to other musicians I am disappointed at how little some of them are being paid. In fact many are making less then we did 20 years ago. (Solo acts as well as bands). So this post is just to encourage local musicians to value what you are contributing to these businesses. Live music is a major draw for many of these venues and most can afford to pay more then they are currently paying. Unfortunately too many musicians take the "I just wanna play man" attitude and the savvy business owners take advantage of this. But when you play for peanuts, you do a disservice to those of us trying to make a decent wage. Stand your ground and ask for more and we will all benefit.