Klarinet Archive - Posting 000460.txt from 2002/07
From: "Robert S. Nalezinski" <nalezinski@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Movie Trailer Music
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 17:25:12 -0400
The beautiful thing about America (like a lot of other countries), is
that if you don't like the job you are at, you can switch to another.
No one in America is forced to become a musician. It is a personal
choice.
I am sure that there are "smucks" out there as you mentioned who don't
think musicians should make enough money to survive. I also thank you
for your hardship story. But you becoming a musician was your own
personal choice. Just as a pre-med student is aware of the job they are
aiming for, being on call, 14 hour days, etc... You should have been
aware what the risks for becoming a musician is. There will always be
someone willing to do something for less money. Maybe for the "love" of
music, or they just need the cash. I repair computers for the enjoyment
of it, and the knowledge I obtain. Although I could make a living doing
that, like others... I do it for my own enjoyment... Like a lot of
musicians out there. I was in the military, and saw first hand how
there are many families in the military who qualify for food stamps.
(Talk about a group a people who give so much and receive so little.)
When I was getting ready for deployment I put in 18 hour days... And in
the real world, that would be less than $3 an hour. But we joked about
such things, because we all volunteered to do what we were doing. No
one forced us. We also knew the risks involved. There are hardship
stories all around... All you have to do is look.
As for hobby players, I think it would safe to say that the majority of
people who play an instrument are hobby players and they do it for the
love of music. Unfortunately it often seems that when something becomes
a "job" it changes everything. (One reason I will never repair
computers for a living.) As for why Americans view musicians as
superfluous I will tell you, but it may hurt. To use the contractor and
gas station attendant analogy... If all the contractors in America just
walked off the job... The country would come to a halt... Nothing would
be built, nothing would be repaired... Etc. If all the gas station
attendants (you know, those folks who don't require such a vast
education as a profession musician requires as you mentioned) decided to
walk off the job, there would be a lot of stranded cars on the highways.
If all the professional musicians walked off the job... Life would still
go on like every other day for the great majority of Americans. (I also
guarantee there would be a lot of people willing to take their place
too... Probably self taught hobby players.)
The amount of years spent perfecting your playing, hearing when your
instrument is slightly off and being able to fix that goes un-noticed to
the majority of people. The majority of people have not acquired your
ear for music. It is like a person hearing a foreign language for the
first time, it all sounds the same. How many times has a musician
played, and knew he or she played poorly, and yet there will always be a
lot of people who thought it was fabulous. Musicians have always held a
special place in my heart, not just because of the fabulous music they
produced, but because of the dedication and love they have towards their
music. So kudos to you for your years of practice and playing... And
thank you.
But people are only willing to pay what "they" think something is
worth... And just because you think otherwise, it doesn't make it so.
Some people are willing to pay for $300 bed sheets when $30 sheets work
just as fine, and there are others who think $300 is a waste of money to
spend on sheets. It is all relative. Play for the love of playing...
Not for the money... Because if you didn't play that three hour gig... I
bet there are others who would have... And probably for less money too.
-----Original Message-----
From: CBA [mailto:clarinet10001@-----.com]
Subject: RE: [kl] Movie Trailer Music
Contractors and Gas Stations don't have to go to
schools for years to become qualified, nor do they
have to spend time outside of the particular job
*preparing* the music. Liken a musician to a doctor or
lawyer. You can find one cheaper than another, but
NEVER just cheap.
Music Unions have had to fight (like other unions) to
get 1. benefits, 2. job security, and 3. money that
isn't ludicrous for the time they spent, so as to make
it worth doing this thing called a music career.
The wage for Union musicians is actually fairly low, considering the
amount of time put in. I played a 3 hour gig, also getting doubling fees
for playing 5 instruments, and this was in NY. The amount I got for
those 3 hours (WITH the 15% additional for each of the 4 extra
instruments) was only $119 after taxes for *3* hours, and this WAS union
scale. If I had played only
*ONE* instrument, I would have only made $75 for the
gig. I then had to basically not do anything else that
day, to enable myself to play this gig. At a usual 8
hour job, this is a little over $9 take home pay, and
I know I practiced more than the other 5 hours left
out of the 8 hour day. THIS SUCKS!
I don't know why musicians in America are not supposed
to make a real living, but be reduced to be "hobby players"
except for the fact that MOST people in the US think that musicians are
superfluous, and don't need to be paid for our time.
By the way, not only did the Kirov Orchestra NOT get
Union rate for their playing, they were brought in
under false pretenses, with the managing company
pledging to pay them union rates for the NY jobs. They
were not paid union rates, and they were not paid
residuals, for every time the movie makes money
either. This money is a FAR cry from what a
professional in another field would get for the same
time, and they weren't even paid that small amount.
Until people actually see that musicians aren't just
gas station attendants who don't need to be paid a
good salary because we LIKE our job, the Union
protects us from the schmucks who DO think we
shouldn't be paid enough to survive.
Next time you look for a kitchen contractor, I'll find
you one really cheap. He is a musician who does
kitchen contracting as a hobby. He's not very good,
and only does the kitchen contracting for about 3 or 4
hours a month professionally, but we aren't paying him
for the time he spent getting to where he is, or the preparation time,
are we?
Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds - New York City
--- "Robert S. Nalezinski" <nalezinski@-----.net>
wrote: > And so where is the problem here? If the gas prices > at
one station are > too expensive, you look elsewhere. If you are >
having your kitchen > redone and one contractor is too expensive, you
look > elsewhere. Why > shouldn't it be the same for musicians?
>
> Also if you are building a house... And want it
to
> be like all those
> nice houses you see in the Bavarian Alps... Would
> you use Americans to
> build it, or if you have the opportunity, use
some
> visiting Bavarians to
> build it who are also willing to work for less
too.
> Seems very much
> like common sense to me.
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