I had to laugh when someone reached out today with a writing gig that could only pay in exposure.
Buddy, I've been barely holding my life together on gigs that went from paying to nonpaying, unreliable classes, and seasons of high editing demand followed by crickets.
I'm freaking done with adding more uncertainty to life in a field that pays peanuts. At this point, I'm waiting out the next coronal mass ejection like any sane person, and looking forward to a better economy on the other side. 🙃
@realDDGlover Ditto.
I will gladly play for free *if I have offered to do it* at a get together with friends or a charity event, but otherwise, you want me? You pay the same rate per hour as you'd pay a mechanic to fix your car or a plumber to fix your washer, because that's the equivalent skill and study to what I've done as a musician.
@stueytheround @realDDGlover @MLClark I'd probably charge less to perform than I do to work in my capacity as a power engineer, but that's just because if I screwed up as a musician it'd simply be unpleasant or boring... whereas if I screw up as a power engineer - well, depending on how bad the screwup is, things could go boom, people could die, and a lot of consequences would fall on my head.
Mind you when I say I'd charge less... my rate would still be a (very) far cry from free.
@stueytheround @MLClark
Yep.