Hey, Cooperation is a beautiful thing. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. It's all good in the hood and don't forget the reach around. Of course something that can be beautiful can also be a grim and twisted effigy of itself.Recent developments have touted a NEW SYSTEM, where a Co-Op of Performers, Venues and Management types will band together to FORCE people to pay money for musical events. While it didn't mention it specifically, I'm sure pixie dust in a major component of this plan.
Now wait, it gets weirder.
Seems this Co-op is going to Share the imagined wealth from their pixie dust fueled enterprise.
There are a few flaws (actually a plethora of major gaffs) in this gem of an idea.
Aren't the management types suppose to strong arm venues in to paying fee? What the hell do the management types do in this hippie commune of love? Why are they getting a cut? For fucking venue owners over in the past? Is it some kind of Legacy payment?
Aren't all the people involved Prima donna? Don't all ventures centered on self serving retards end in political back biting and grand theatrics?
Don't Co-ops provide the most benefit to the mediocre? Why would Joe MEGA STAR want to share his money with Pete Kind-of-okay? He won't. It's a cut in his paycheck and he's going to wonder off the moment he figure that out. How well will the Co-op do without exceptional talent? Well you can see mediocre everyday for free, so why would you want to pay for it? Perhaps... Pixie dust???
What can a venue offer the a concert attendee that is worth paying for? A bazillion Prim Lights? Free T-shirts? Quality fake sound system? MORE Marshal Stacks? Group messages every 30 seconds till show time? Wait.. you can get all that and more at free venues.
Isn't the primary building block of the current music scene social? And how are the Fan friends going to feel when their performer friends tell them, “You can't hang out with me any more unless you pay me”?
You might accuse me of taking the low road here by poking holes in this idea. But frankly it's a lot of work. Kind of like poking holes in Swiss cheese. Hard to find a place that isn't already a hole.
While I'm confident this can only end in tears for the people involved, I am concerned about how it may color people perceptions of good honest hard working performers like myself.
I'm not a money grubbing bastard. I am arrogant, but you are welcome to listen to my music and tip me as you see fit.. or can afford. When offered fees I accept them, but the majority of my shows are for tips and I don't find issue with that. My supporters are generous and I do make enough to live off from my musical adventures in Second Life.
I'm am not an aberration, as all the people I count as peers find no reason to try and compel payment from their supporters.
Cooperation is a beautiful thing. If people were pulling together to better develop the music scene in Second Life I would support that without hesitation. But to pull together for no other reason then to try to make a few bucks just seems sad and selfish.
These people don't give a shit about music. They only care about what their ego demands.
3 comments:
It does seem to be all about money and not about music. SL is becoming like RL more every day.
This whole thing annoys the hell out of me and I am not sure why, I am pretty sure it won't work. I think it is the feeling it gives me as you so well describe : “You can't hang out with me any more unless you pay me”
If musicans feel they need to charge a fee, it is their good right, just don't expect to get asked 5 times a day. And even if they were, I doubt those fees will cover their high costs as some say they have. So if that would mean we will lose these musicians to RL, good luck to them.
And as for venues that can't cope, I get the feeling ppl don't think before they start one. I know a lot don't, same goes for ppl that start a club or something in SL, it has been that way for as long as I am in SL.
What it all comes down to is that some musicians and venue owners are thinking about systems where everyone gets paid ( yes managers and staff too) and the one that has to pay for it all is ME and suckers like me. No way.
More and more venues are having trouble coughing up the exorbitant fees some musicians charge. So people start coming up with plans to ensure that the money keeps flowing their way.
Forget about the all-for-the-improvement-of-SLmusic blabber. It's basically all about greed.
Not about music.
Hexx- too true. The single biggest cost venues face is musician fees. Tier fees be damned- they 'd be paying them to build their homes if they weren't running venues in most circumstances. The biter is the fees. And the best way for musicians to help the venues (and each other, and themselves, too really,) is to NOT ask for real-world numbers to perform. Because UNLIKE the real world, we actually DO get to keep most if not all of what we earn. (Personally, I tip back between 10 and 25 percent of any fee to the venue kind enough to offer it.) So what if it's only 2 bucks? we don't have gas and tour vehicle maintenance, producers and agents and lawyers and photographers and stylists to pay... etc, etc, ad nausiem.
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