Opinions vary
Submitted by Doug Thompson on June 2, 2008 - 6:28am.
The young reporters from The Smithsonian Institution say they found varied opinions about the music culture of Floyd during their visit this past weekend to prepare a video report for the institution's web site.
For the most part, they found many musicians who ply their craft out of love for music, willing to play anywhere, anytime and for most any reason. Few get paid for their efforts and those who do don't make a real living at it. Many don't care. They play because they love it.
In some cases, they found bitterness and anger over what some musicians see as exploitation of the talent in the county. I know where this comes from. I've talked to the same musicians and heard the same complaints. A sharp divide exists between musicians who play primarily for love of music and those who play for pay. It's not so much that those who demand to be paid for their music don't love their music as well. They also want to make a living wage out of that love.
But Floyd is not a town where those who do what they love can always make a living out of that love. Most artists, musicians, craftsmen, etc., have other jobs or resources to pay the bills. Those day jobs or deep pockets allow them to do what they love and let other things pay the bills.
Floyd's longest-running and best-known music venue is The Friday Night Jamboree where musicians play pretty much for free. When Woody Crenshaw bought the Country Store he began paying bands a small stipend that is, for all practical purposes, gas money. At Oddfellas Cantina, Cafe del Sol and the Blackwater Loft, the musicians play for tips. The Winter Sun books acts and pays for them but many of those acts are from out of town. FloydFest has different pay scales for out of town and local acts. The Oak Grove Pavilion pays for acts at its summer music series.
Should local venues pay more for musical acts? Perhaps but the real question is not so much "should" as "can" these venues afford to pay more. Most local businesses run on razor-thin margins and some lose money. Paying more for entertainment could mean the difference between staying open and closing the doors.
It's the same deal...
...here in Fredericksburg. You can't swing a dead cat up here without hitting a musician and the downtown buzz usually seems to include a lot of chatter about what place is having an open mic night where no one gets paid. Fact is though that it's the patrons who can make or break the pay process for the artists. Often here the cover is collected directly by the performer. But then how many people walk away when they see that there is a $5 cover? Then there is the question of CD sales. In a small town, audiences and fan bases tend to be small as well and it doesn't take long to saturate the market with your CD's. Our local Borders store used to have one rack in the store devoted to local music and they have done away with even that. Seems a shame though since a couple of square feet of floor space isn't much of an investment to promote local music.
Without offering an answer
Without offering an answer as to whether or not local venues should pay more for talent performing at their places, I have to wonder if Floyd's reputation as a place for local music would suffer with increased rates and cover charges, ending with the loss of opportunities for performers to play and music lovers to listen. In other words, maybe the free or low cover for listening is the draw to bring in patrons who will buy food and drink from the establishment, and CDs and tapes from the performers. Without that draw, everyone suffers.
Ouch!
Do you know how hard I'm biting my tongue right now?
Same Everywhere
Doug, Same story different day,year and area. Little story, My Uncle Randall Hylton from here in Willis became one of the nations top musician/entertainers, many times voted Songwriter of the year in the Bluegrass world, played many festivals, drove many miles and grossed little money..but he loved what he was doing. Not until his death did any of Nashville pay much attention to his work, but after he died articles were written in Nashville newspapers praising his contribution to the business. Likewise I have been in the world of southern gospel music for years and if you are not in the Gaither Homecoming Series or part of the big 10 of southern gospel groups you do it for the love of God and music cause you don't get noticed and the money just don't come your way. So as I read this blog looks like its the same story just a different day and venue and genre.
a comment on no answer
I think it's as bad as stealing when a venue, store, or bill's backyard bbq, is:"
1. Charging Admission
2. selling anything to make a profit
3. Not sharing a significant percentage (%30-%40 of that with the artists at the least.
That is the most ridiculous arguement in the book that a business can't afford to pay musicians accordingly. Obviously if a business goes in the hole one night, then the band shouldn't get paid but if they have an exceptional night then the band should get a little bit to boot.
If a venue benefits on sales then a % of those sales should go to the musicians providing their services as well. Obviously within reason for both parties involved.
I have friends that leased a building in Mt. Pilot, NC for years had a coffee shop and hosted music and had open mic nights too but the nights they booked bands to play, they gave the band 40% of the door. They would get up to 90 folks there and I saw several shows there. They did so well that they had enough money to buy the building but the owner wouldn't give it up so they relocated.
I'd love to see a shop in floyd adopt something like that. That would increase the quality of performances which in time would help patrons realize "hey, every time I go there, the music is great and I love the atmosphere"
Fat chance, that's why I only play for free on my terms...
You pay for what you get most of the time...
The ANSWER is it takes everybody to improve the system. Businesses need to support local musicians but offering a piece of the pie, patrons need to come out and support the shows that go on, musicians need to understand that one can't get rich in the local market regardless and they should focus on creating/performing/promoting the best music possible. It's all related...Guess I'll stop talking now. Good job Doug. You finally struck a nerve to get me to post.
Thanks for all the great pictures...
Scott Patrick
PS come out to the Blackwater Loft tonight and see me and Abe peel back the walls with our axes...
More on the country store
I posted a link to this blog at the Roanoke Times' New River Notebook (http://blogs.roanoke.com/newrivernotebook/2008/08/smithsonianmagcom_profiles_flo.html) dispatch about Smithsoninanmag.com's profile of the Floyd Country Store.
I also wanted to say I've really enjoyed reading the Blue Ridge Muse. I've found all kinds of info and story ideas here. You guys do a good job covering local news.
Best,
Tonia Moxley
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