Indoor Busking: The New Club Gig Model?

[Jefenator]

There's a newer venue in my area - in the tourist trap zone - that touts live music and has it all the time. But they don't pay the musicians; tip jar only. (They comp food & drinks FWIW.)
After having played 1000 gigs on that block for money - plus tips & comps - this doesn't sit well with me.
Regardless of how I feel, they manage to get a steady stream of performers. A few people I know have tried it. Apparently sometimes the jar provides - other times not. There's a bunch more people I don't know who are quite willing to go along. So it's not like I have much leverage.
I finally stuck my head in last night to check the place out for myself while a buddy did a solo set. They have a huge selection of exotic whiskeys and a $55 Old Fashioned on the specials board. And they source their entertainment for free.
I've never been the class warrior type; I've always been more empathetic with venue owners than most. But this is too much.
I may have finally found my hill to die on. What say you?

 

[ArtechnikA]

Kinda like open mikes - with which I have a love/hate relationship - but with the potential of the tip jar and a meal...
So I don't like it much on principal, but I'm a side man, not a solo artist, I don't do acoustic, and I don't sing.
So this doesn't really affect me much - it's just not my scene. I think it's cheap and exploitative, but there are people who will line up to be exploited...
Might be a cheap source of live performance video for people needing such a thing.

Does the venue at least provide the PA? I feel a whole lot better about being exploited if all I have to do is show up and play...

 

[sean_on_bass]

probably a good gig for performers that are new to the game to get their feet wet, or just need something to get by when better gigs are running dry. at this point i don't fault an establishment for not properly compensating musicians if musicians are willing to still take them up on the offer. if the market will bare it, then so be it i suppose. i guess i don't consider it exploitation if you are volunteering for it and in no way forced into it.

 

[51PRI]

There's a newer venue in my area - in the tourist trap zone - that touts live music and has it all the time. But they don't pay the musicians; tip jar only. (They comp food & drinks FWIW.)
After having played 1000 gigs on that block for money - plus tips & comps - this doesn't sit well with me.
Regardless of how I feel, they manage to get a steady stream of performers. A few people I know have tried it. Apparently sometimes the jar provides - other times not. There's a bunch more people I don't know who are quite willing to go along. So it's not like I have much leverage.
I finally stuck my head in last night to check the place out for myself while a buddy did a solo set. They have a huge selection of exotic whiskeys and a $55 Old Fashioned on the specials board. And they source their entertainment for free.
I've never been the class warrior type; I've always been more empathetic with venue owners than most. But this is too much.
I may have finally found my hill to die on. What say you?

Exploitative

 

[Lance Bunyon]

I don't drink alcohol and try and stay a little on the thin side, so the comps better be in the small juicy steak category.
My grandpa played speakeasies during prohibition for $1 per night and all he could drink. Bunyon men can really drink.
I'd do it if I was still a blackout drunk, but I guarantee they wouldn't have me back

 

[friskinator]

A $55 Old Fashioned better be amazing.

 

[Eilif]

If the potential for tips is good and the bar and food are generous I'd do it. I prefer cash on the barrel, but at some places the tip jar is the payment and it's up to the musicians to work it. In this sort of situation I straight up tell the audience this is like Broadway in Nashville. The door is free and if you like what you're hearing, please put some in the Jar.

My last gig with my hobby original trio made a couple hundred in tips and and we didn't get any comps.

 

[Killing Floor]

Pretty much describes every bar and restaurant in Nashville.

 

[JRA]

this is too much. I may have finally found my hill to die on. What say you?

i don't care for what you're describing, but i'm pretty sure i'd play for little or nothing in certain circumstances (where generous tips flow). i play in one such venue where i live, and we clean up (TBH, we have a dedicated/loyal fan base for that joint).

tips only? i might try to exploit that with certain ensembles if i thought i could grow the audience in my/our favor. it would take a strategy, obviously.

 

[Snaxster]

A $55 Old Fashioned better be amazing.

There's one born every minute. So yeah... for them it is.

 

[Jefenator]

A $55 Old Fashioned better be amazing.

Be fun to try as a comp.

 

[Jefenator]

Pretty much describes every bar and restaurant in Nashville.

That's what I was afraid of.
Not that I was living high on the $62.50 guarantee that BLs have to go out hunting for & book a year in advance.

 

[StyleOverShow]

Not a tourist trap venue within 100 miles of where I live so I ain’t likely to drive the 200 miles round trip for a share of a tip jar. Still, this seems to be the trend so I weigh it in my ongoing decision to continue playing out or not!

 

[gln1955]

Playing for tips is nothing new around here, especially for originals.

 

[Ostie]

We played in a brew pub that did tips only, but they promised if they liked us, they’d take care of us. And they did. A nice $100 tip, plus a lot more from the patrons. So I guess my answer is yes. But generally, no. If they sell $50 old fashioned and can’t afford to pay the band, I’m out.

 

[31HZ]

I will on rare occasions buy drinks such as that $55 Manhattans/Old Fashioned, but I am much more likely to drop $20 or $50 into a tip jar as a way of offsetting such exploitative "employment opopportunies" for working artists.

Does that make me a class warrior? I sure hope so.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

I like expensive booze as much as the next person. If I could play while sloshed, I might try it. But I can't. So I won't.

 

[P. Aaron]

There's a newer venue in my area - in the tourist trap zone - that touts live music and has it all the time. But they don't pay the musicians; tip jar only. (They comp food & drinks FWIW.)
After having played 1000 gigs on that block for money - plus tips & comps - this doesn't sit well with me.
Regardless of how I feel, they manage to get a steady stream of performers. A few people I know have tried it. Apparently sometimes the jar provides - other times not. There's a bunch more people I don't know who are quite willing to go along. So it's not like I have much leverage.
I finally stuck my head in last night to check the place out for myself while a buddy did a solo set. They have a huge selection of exotic whiskeys and a $55 Old Fashioned on the specials board. And they source their entertainment for free.
I've never been the class warrior type; I've always been more empathetic with venue owners than most. But this is too much.
I may have finally found my hill to die on. What say you?

Audiences are fickle and even a band would rather have certainty.

 

[Pocket Dave]

Really? Is the restaurant making money because we're playing there? Hint: If the answer's not "yes", we're clearly not doing something right.

Then pay us a respectful flat rate and we'll make up the difference in tips.

Otherwise, hard pass.

In fairness, I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metromess, hardly a tourist-trap scene.

 

[Runnerman]

In a tourist trap area? Absolutely I would. I know of a couple of bands that take a vacation in New Orleans book 2 weeks of gigs up and down Bourbon street, sometimes 2 per day. Very little pay and exceptional tipping from a party crowd. I think it would be a lot of fun. Do I think it's the new gig model? No, it's an exception to the rule.