I noticed on the registration form that musicians will be paid with a t-shirt. Jeez, not to start the bitching...... but. If people are being charged money to get into a music event shouldn't those providing the music end up with some of that money? I know the committee is volunteer but everyone else will be making money i.e.the bars, the sound companies, the sound people working the clubs, the waiters and waitresses, etc. Not to be the squeaky wheel but please explain how that works again. Nothing promotes music like paying musicians. I also believe the committee should get a stipend of some amount.
Musicians playing Homegrown are offered a stipend. Most turn it down. That's part of why there's some extra money this year to also make t-shirts for everyone.
Thanks Shana for the clarification. The registration didn't mention stipend just t-shirts. PS: you did a great job last year. My wheel has now stopped squeaking.
If you are playing homegrown to make money... LOL.
T-shirt for best party of the year vs. $50 split 6 ways... I'll take the t-shirt.
Plus bands get free admission and drink tickets, more than fair IMO.
Sorry Ian, I don't agree re: "Playing Homegrown to make money." It is not about the money per say it is about what is fair. Most working musicians I know don't/won't play a regular gig for $25 solo or $50 for a band (usual Homegrown rate) so clearly we are not doing it for the money.
I'll state it again; if my friends, who all drive up from the cities and spread their money around town, or any one else, has to pay money to get into the event then some of the money should go to the musicians.
On some years I have played my Homegrown set with up to 100 people in the room. If they all paid $25 to get a ticket I don't think it is too much to ask that the price of one of those 100 tickets ($25) could go to me and the organization can keep the other 99 $25 tickets (99x$25=$2,475) to off set their other costs.
If I put a new set of strings on my guitar for the big gig ($10) and print up some special Homegrown posters ($10 minimum) and drive around town to hang them up ($3.15/gallon of gas) that's pretty much all of $25 and then some. I would hardly call that being in it for the money.
Like most people I don't like being misunderstood or misrepresented. I would do it for free and in fact many years I have. It is a great time and I am sure the T-shirts will be cool, just like the ones we used to get. None-the-less, are the sound companies doing it for a T-shirt? I doubt it. I am, was not bitching, just asking a question and as Shana posted there will be stipend so question answered.
The week pass to the show is nice, but in reality it does not cost $25 to give a musician a ticket it cost exactly what it costs to buy the plastic wrist band they give you (less than a penny).
One last note Ian, it was not drink tickets (plural) last year it was A drink ticket, singular. (There again, not bitching, just the facts). I love Homegrown and hope I haven't just excommunicated myself. But I am not ashamed of being honest about how I feel and what I think. I prefer to see it as trying to raise the bar for working musician for the other 358 non festival days a year. Hope I get a set so I can play my ass off for all the lovely people, stipend or not.
Will there be any t-shirts for sale to the general public? Most of us are not awesome enough to be in a band, but this is a kick-ass design, and I would buy one!
I generally agree with WTF. I rarely play Duluth because of the crappy pay. Shows in just about every other state I've played pay substantially more. When I play HG (and I hope I make the cut this year and get off the "maybe" list) I make it a point to accept the payment on principal. Those who donate back to the fest are generous and should be applauded. It's not really the HG committee that needs to be educated here, it's the audience. If you go out to see live music (or any artistic event), you really need to open your wallet and pay for the awesomeness being shared.
Thanks Tim, it is nice when at least one person sorta gets what you are trying to say. I was planning on coming to your Sat. show even before you got my back. Now I'll be there for sure with my money in hand. Should be a lot of fun.
There have been band t-shirts one other time (2005).
2011 t-shirts will be given to bands and volunteers only, so if you want one, play in a band or volunteer. Or, make your own. The collective effort of merchandising (making, sizing, pre-paying, STORING, dealing with dated merch, SELLING, consigning, tracking; you want to sell 'em online? shipping, shipping material storage, paypaling, webvertising, paying a programmer, etc.) is generally not worth the effort or revenue, when efforts could be better spent on making the music and the venues* more awesome.
Most venues provide two drink tix per musician. If it's a super small venue, we only ask that they give one, so five bands aren't consuming the profits of their endeavor. Also, there could have been a fuckup when assembling the band packets, or, one of your bandmates is a cheap, lowdown, dirty bastard.
*I am providing explicit instructions to venues this year on expectations for their staffing (bar / security).
I worked at a local bar (shall remain nameless) over the last two years of college and heard management say several times that Homegrown is the best money thing to happen to their business all year! Venues in Duluth pay pitiful wages to musicians.
My boss told us once that Homegrown helps create a flood of bands in Duluth who are willing to play for almost nothing which creates a huge pool of groups to keep the bars full of musicians that will work for almost nothing for the rest of the year. He also said it has been a great gimmick to help keep musician's unions out of Duluth's bar scene in recent years. This seems shameful to me.
The bars make tons of money during this event. What do the musicians make, pretty much nothing. It seems bars are using Homegrown musician's to make huge profits that week while simultaneously driving down the musician's own pay scale. I don't buy the argument that this is an "opportunity" for many bands. It's more like baiting bands with dreams of local fame while training them to expect less pay.
I have even heard stories that certain bands get paid behind the scenes to appear in the event, giving the look to other bands that these big name bands are equally donating their time to the event.
If you don't like the lack of pay for musicians in Duluth, think about what you are contributing to the problem by giving your talent away so bars can get rich during Homegrown week!
@Sleepless
I think Homegrown started out as a fun thing/ party for locals with no expectation of getting rich from it. Now it is a business and "money makes a man funny". Who cares who gets paid what, are we all 6 years old and worried about what is "fair"? The only place you are supposed to be treated fairly is in court; the rest of the world is hit and miss.
Devaluing yourself is a real problem, but cheap-ass patrons are a bigger problem in this town. I hear people complain about a 3, 4, or 5 dollar cover charge to see a three band line up EVERY NIGHT I WORK. If we start charging 10-15 dollar covers for local shows no one would attend (a few exceptions of course).
*turn on sarcastic voice* Oh yeah..... the musicians union, that is a driving force in every other city with less than 100K in population and could really benefit the scene here.
"Bars getting rich during homegrown week" really? You think one or two busy nights makes a business rich? Maybe you need some better education in the area of a service orientated businesses. Add up overhead, labor and liability, all three factors increase with the volume of patrons so the percentage remains stagnant. Yes bars make money but they do not get rich off of two days of sales. On the flip side where should this event be held if not at bars? Perhaps your house and you can donate all of the proceeds from the alcohol you sell to the bands, and then you can all sing kumbaya and count your money.
If you want to participate, have fun.
If you want to hate, have fun Trolling.
Either way it is a good thing for this town.
I only respond on the PeeDeeDee to posts about Homegrown that contain elements that are patently untrue. Sleepless has it wrong on a couple of counts.
-- The story you heard about other bands being paid more is just that: a story. Not true.
-- Homegrown doesn't create a flood of bands, nor would I describe it as an "opportunity." Regardless of where it started, as it stands now Homegrown is a celebration of a year round scene (that is flooded with bands).
-- Union busting? OK, as the person who deals with the majority of the griping about Homegrown I gotta say this complaint really stands out. Are you for serious? No wait, please don't answer that.
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