Petition to Pay the Musicians at the London Olympics

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 5 Jul 2012 5:31 pm

OK, and seems like your cost estimate is reasonable. Maybe it would be best for them to just ask for a donation if you like the service without getting into all the operating costs. I don't donate just to support someone's high cost of operation, but I do donate to services I use a lot based on how useful they are to me.

Greg

chas smith · Post by **chas smith** » 5 Jul 2012 8:45 pm

So, I think the $5 donation they request in exchange is pretty reasonable for the service they provide. As an initiator I should be happy to pay that (and probably will,

Me too. I'm a bit sensitive, and hostile, to getting hit up over and over and over again.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 6 Jul 2012 9:04 am

i wonder if michael phelps pees in the pool?

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 6 Jul 2012 9:11 am

chris ivey wrote:i wonder if michael phelps pees in the pool?

Only when they ask him to show up with his guitar and play for free.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 6 Jul 2012 9:20 am

chas smith wrote:
So, I think the $5 donation they request in exchange is pretty reasonable for the service they provide. As an initiator I should be happy to pay that (and probably will,
Me too. I'm a bit sensitive, and hostile, to getting hit up over and over and over again.

There's a link at the bottom of their email to unsubscribe.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 7 Jul 2012 8:53 am

It's difficult to overcome the general attitude of the public that musicians don't have a "real" job, but are just having fun. So, why should they get paid?

The public, and even sometimes our families, have a problem with the concept that we are "going to work" like any other trades-person. Most think music to be just an excuse to drink, chase women, and in general live an immoral lifestyle.

While there are those among us who rightfully belong in that category, most of us are responsible, hard working, individuals.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 7 Jul 2012 6:27 pm

Oh great... now it turns out that this sort of crap is going on all over London, even for the Queen's Jubilee! Check this out:

http://boingboing.net/2012/06/05/auster ... loyed.html

Howard Kalish · Post by **Howard Kalish** » 7 Jul 2012 7:17 pm

I just signed it. I think it's ridiculous to expect musicians to give it away for free. Those who take such gigs just make it harder for everyone else to make even a modest amount.

I got to play at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta for 6 days (before the bomb) and it was one of my favorite gigs ever. They paid us fairly and we had nice accommodations. London needs to step up.

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 7 Jul 2012 11:24 pm

Music isn't the only gig that people get into because they like/love doing it. Just the least respected!

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 8 Jul 2012 7:07 am

Once, when I was younger, I played at a naturist (nudist) resort.

But honestly, I just did it for the exposure.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 8 Jul 2012 12:32 pm

Is there a link to a schedule showing the musicians/bands that are performing for free for the Olympics, and where and when they are playing?
Just curious.

Alan Tanner · Post by **Alan Tanner** » 8 Jul 2012 1:26 pm

As far as who is doin' what to who where and when, I don't see much difference between some band playing the olympics for free and the snakes that will undercut a working band and take their job on the cheap....

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 8 Jul 2012 6:06 pm

Alan Tanner wrote:As far as who is doin' what to who where and when, I don't see much difference between some band playing the olympics for free and the snakes that will undercut a working band and take their job on the cheap....

If you signed the petition, who exactly are you supporting???... that would be nice to know, no?
Again... Just curious.
For example... Are The Rolling Stones playing the Olympics for free???... Cuz I'm good with that.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 8 Jul 2012 6:14 pm

No, Paul McCartney is playing the closing ceremonies (since they were unsuccessful in recruiting Keith Moon) and you bet he's not doing it for free. You're supporting all the unknown, work-a-day musicians who will be performing for various functions all over the olympic grounds, generally entertaining the crowds. The fact that they may be willing to play for free does not diminish the demeaning nature of having to play for free because the so-called "policy" calls for paying every other kind of support service-person EXCEPT for musicians who, as everyone knows, don't need any money anyway...

It's bad enough when this attitude comes from a sleazy bar-owner ("play for the exposure") but when it comes from a mega-million-dollar/pound international organization, it really sucks bigtime. Sure, they'll get exposure, but so will the caterers, the construction company, the security company, all of whom will brag that they provided services at the London Olympics, but all of whom will ALSO have been paid for their professional services. Musicians?? Nah...

chas smith · Post by **chas smith** » 8 Jul 2012 6:38 pm

Music isn't the only gig that people get into because they like/love doing it. Just the least respected!

I had a friend who was a retired hooker at the age of 31.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 8 Jul 2012 6:41 pm

... and I'm sure she didn't do it just for the exposure!

Alan Tanner · Post by **Alan Tanner** » 9 Jul 2012 2:57 am

Pete...I DID sign the petition. My point was/is that some musicians will always work for free or cheap in order to "play". That's how management types come up with this stuff. "Exposure" is just BS and management KNOWS that bands and entertainers that are not nationally known will be more than happy to do it for free. All the petitions in the world are NOT going to make any difference other than a statement. I'll bet they ALREADY have MORE than enuff volunteers frothing at the bit signed up....the only way to really have an effect is for NO ONE to sign up to pick for free....but we all know THAT ain't gonna happen.......

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 9 Jul 2012 4:35 am

You're of course right, Alan. I'm not naive about it. All we can hope is to embarrass the Olympic committee through the media with the petition, so perhaps some little lightbulb might start to flicker in their numb skulls about how to treat people decently. The fact that there will always be people willing to work for free doesn't mean that one should take advantage of that fact, especially if one has very deep pockets. $500 is worth a whole lot more to the band than it is to the organizers. (Looked at another way, a starving, desperate person will do just about anything for food but that doesn't make it appropriate for someone else to require them to do unspeakable things in exchange for a meal. And they can't hide behind their actions by saying, "Well, if you don't want to eat, you don't have to do this; no one is forcing you." You get the point...)

Rick Campbell · Post by **Rick Campbell** » 9 Jul 2012 7:05 am

I don't get it. Is somebody holding a gun to these people's heads and making them play for free?

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 9 Jul 2012 7:24 am

Correct. You don't get it. You don't get how it cheapens the profession for everyone else. Know any electricians who will work for free? Of course not. And why not? Because they all refuse. You have to view this from a bigger picture to see the problem.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 9 Jul 2012 7:54 am

And you know that these unpaid musicians won't be treated with respect. It'll be "Use the service entrance through the kitchen", "Set up silently in 5 minutes while we serve desert", and "We'll be using your microphones for two hours between your first and 2nd set".

Remember that they're not just talking about the big show music at the ceremonies. They are talking about all music at Olympic Committee-sponsored events. Their policy is to not pay musicians.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 9 Jul 2012 9:36 am

Again... No biggie... I'm just curious...
Can anybody provide a link to any professional Band or Musician who was booked by the Olympic Committee and is playing for free at the Olympics???

chas smith · Post by **chas smith** » 9 Jul 2012 10:50 am

Article in the LA Times about how the NBA wasn’t making an abundance of money by lending its “assets” to the cause of national (pride)...

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-usa ... 6457.story

“(Mark) Cuban, after all, had said the league's quadrennial gift to the Olympics was "the biggest mistake the NBA makes."

"If you look up 'stupid' in the dictionary, you see a picture of the USA Dream Team playing for free for corporate America so the U.S. Olympic Committee can make billions of dollars," Cuban told reporters in April. "And it has nothing to do with patriotism and it's all about money. You don't see the [International] Olympic Committee in Switzerland saying, 'Oh, we made so much money, let's give it to people.' How many jets do they have?"

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 9 Jul 2012 1:37 pm

I wonder if the musicians that play for free would be permitted to publicly announce that they are playing for tips only, and then place a prominently displayed collection jar at the front of the stage. Probably not...

This is how some venues have reduced their expenses (and musicians income) as well. Line forms on the left for all traveling minstrels, right line is for licensed buskers only.

Clete

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 9 Jul 2012 2:23 pm

Rick Campbell wrote:I don't get it. Is somebody holding a gun to these people's heads and making them play for free?

It doesn't matter if there are or are not musicians willing to play for free, the point of the conversation is that a multi-billion dollar organization is spending over $20 billion, in US dollars, to put on an event and to cut back on a couple of hundred dollars, because they paid the construction contractors an extra couple of million to finish early, they want musicians to play for free.

To me it's insulting for them to even propose the idea.