Making a Living with the L1®: Difference between revisions

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{{Editorial

|Author = [[Cliff Henricksen: L1 Inventor|Cliff Henricksen: L1 Inventor]]

|discussion page = [http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1506041054/m/4440014176 discussion in the Bose Message Board]

}}

'''Making a Living With the L1'''

by Cliff Henricksen

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==Introduction==

When I was a full-time musician playing in restaurants and clubs in the early 1970's, I and everyone else doing the same were making $50-$100 a night playing in bands, 4 or 5 piece. I also played in a rock and roll duo with a big PA, singing drummer who occasionally played left-hand Rhodes bass. It was a musical circus, sounded good and we made even more money than most individually. My musical colleagues all nod in agreement to this level of income figure. It is a very good indication that live music is dramatically devalued since 1972. This makes me very sad, and it is indeed a "sad situation". The music is devalued, but not the musical instruments, the equipment,the transportation costs, clothing or anything else. That's all gone up. But we are still in a time warp on pay.

When I was a full-time musician playing in restaurants and clubs in the early 1970's, I and everyone else doing the same were making $50-$100 a night playing in bands, 4 or 5 piece. I also played in a rock and roll duo with a big PA, singing drummer who occasionally played left-hand Rhodes bass. It was a musical circus, sounded good and we made even more money than most individually. My musical colleagues all nod in agreement to this level of income figure. It is a very good indication that live music performance is dramatically devalued (by its customers) since 1972. This makes me very sad, and it is indeed a "sad situation". The music performance is devalued, but not the musical instruments, the equipment,the transportation costs, clothing or anything else. That's all gone up. But we are still in a time warp on pay.

Today, club gigs pay about the same and the better or perhaps more "connected" players (the ones with long-time local connections) might get $200. Party, wedding, bar mitzvah, corporate and the like gigs will pay more, but they always have. Such gigs require production rivalling big pop concerts (including costumes, sets and big sound systems), a wide variety of musical styles and typically require pro-level performers who often are required to travel extensively. On these shows, original music is basically out of the question. In general, it's rare that a musician in 2006 can make a respectable living simply by performing music in local venues. You must have other work. It seems that inflation has passed most musicians by, indicating that the services of musicians have declined steadily since the 1970's. Why would this be? Here are some possible reasons:

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However, like all problems, there is a solution. Identifying the problem is often the biggest step. The rest is merely work.

[[Category:Performance]]

[[Category:Editorial]]

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+{{Editorial
+|Author = [[Cliff Henricksen: L1 Inventor|Cliff Henricksen: L1 Inventor]]
+|discussion page = [http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1506041054/m/4440014176 discussion in the Bose Message Board]
+}}
 '''Making a Living With the L1'''
 by Cliff Henricksen
@@ Line 4: / Line 9: @@
 ==Introduction==
-When I was a full-time musician playing in restaurants and clubs in the early 1970's, I and everyone else doing the same were making $50-$100 a night playing in bands, 4 or 5 piece.  I also played in a rock and roll duo with a big PA, singing drummer who occasionally played left-hand Rhodes bass.  It was a musical circus, sounded good and we made even more money than most individually.  My musical colleagues all nod in agreement to this level of income figure.  It is a very good indication that live music is dramatically devalued since 1972.  This makes me very sad, and it is indeed a "sad situation".  The music is devalued, but not the musical instruments, the equipment,the transportation costs, clothing or anything else.  That's all gone up.  But we are still in a time warp on pay.
+When I was a full-time musician playing in restaurants and clubs in the early 1970's, I and everyone else doing the same were making $50-$100 a night playing in bands, 4 or 5 piece.  I also played in a rock and roll duo with a big PA, singing drummer who occasionally played left-hand Rhodes bass.  It was a musical circus, sounded good and we made even more money than most individually.  My musical colleagues all nod in agreement to this level of income figure.  It is a very good indication that live music performance is dramatically devalued (by its customers) since 1972.  This makes me very sad, and it is indeed a "sad situation".  The music performance is devalued, but not the musical instruments, the equipment,the transportation costs, clothing or anything else.  That's all gone up.  But we are still in a time warp on pay.
 Today, club gigs pay about the same and the better or perhaps more "connected" players (the ones with long-time local connections) might get $200.  Party, wedding, bar mitzvah, corporate and the like gigs will pay more, but they always have.  Such gigs require production rivalling big pop concerts (including costumes, sets and big sound systems), a wide variety of musical  styles and typically require pro-level performers who often are required to travel extensively.  On these shows, original music is basically out of the question.  In general, it's rare that a musician in 2006 can make a respectable living simply by performing music in local venues.  You must have other work.  It seems that inflation has passed most musicians by, indicating that the services of musicians have declined steadily since the 1970's.  Why would this be?  Here are some possible reasons:
@@ Line 101: / Line 106: @@
 However, like all problems, there is a solution.  Identifying the problem is often the biggest step.  The rest is merely work.
+[[Category:Performance]]
+[[Category:Editorial]]