“Hey dude, you playing at Wombats, that new bar in town?”
Hell no man.
“Why dude?”
Not enough money man.
“What do you mean? Isn’t some money better than no money?
No man, we know our value.
As someone who has booked myself and artists, I have actually used the phrase “We know our value” as to somehow tell those bars / venue owners that I’m the stuff and they can’t low ball me (1990’s). I think it was mostly arrogance as if I had some band that was better than others, never realizing there are a lot of bands (even better) that wanted that same gig. I think it was my idea of a marketing tactic or something. I want to go back in time and punch myself in the face. Why?
- I didn’t really know our value.
- I didn’t really know our value.
Read on.. maybe that will make sense.
So, what is value? By definition:
Noun: a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.
Verb: estimate the monetary worth of (something).
Interesting huh? It can have two meanings! One is based on an internal need in someone’s life (playing music as an example) and the other is based on the worth in dollars.
Frankly, I was always looking at the verb (money side), as if to share with pride my accomplishment to make that extra $100 over the last band. It’s human instinct to want to be better I suppose. My use of “we know our value” didn’t play out as I expected. It showed my cards and ultimately prevented me from being able to work with the venue for mutual benefit. Even worse, telling them “I knew our value” meant it opened me up to the question back “ok, what is your value?” .. uh oh.. what is my value? If I would have just changed the words to “we feel we can bring value to you”.
Fast forward many many years, the good news is I’ve found the money is a byproduct of what’s actually important (the noun)… not the other way around. It comes after you establish the core values.
Anyway, I’m writing this article / rambling because I think sometimes we get this stuff confused and end up losing opportunity over our perceived value (in dollars) versus our real values to get out and play. It’s a two parter because it’s long and I could go on and on about this. I expect people will disagree with me on this and that is perfectly OK. In honestly, I’m looking for others opinions and their experiences. That’s the whole idea around putting these articles (ramblings) out there.
So, back to the story, it’s a good question. If money is what you value, then any money is better than no money right?
- If you said yes: Go get that money, go forth and prosper. No need to read further. (I’ll give you a tip though, you can make more working at Publix or Walmart than in a band – and you get insurance!)
- However, if no: Then we agree, money isn’t everything. You may actually value being in a band because it’s the coolest thing ever!
So, what are some things that you may actually value over money musically?
- Being in a band / rockstar
- Playing to a room full of folks / fans
- Connecting with others musicians
- Sharing your song / music
- Getting in the spotlight
- Being a part of a community
- Being on tour / travel
- Meeting people / getting followers and fans
- The energy / excitement
- Fame / Ego
- Giving back / charity
- Getting drunk (I hope not)
Obviously, there are many more reasons why someone plays music and enjoys it but when you start adding things up, money may not be the only single thing of value. It may be what comes after the “noun” value happens.
Side note: I can tell you with my own venue that money was never even talked about. The thought of having a venue dedicated to supporting bands / artists and providing a real listening experience trumped any thoughts of money. It’s our value that creating experiences and helping bands at that place is much more important than making a buck. We’re blessed to be in a spot to pay bands and do this type of thing and it’s great to pay the electric bill (our goal) but being a part of community growth and seeing and hearing some great bands is more than enough payment. I digress.
By now, I’m sure you are either disagreeing completely, or just maybe, it has caused you to realize that being in a band is not all about money, and you would be right, there is much more value to be had.
My goal in this part 1 was to try and look back to why you starting playing, singing, running sound, doing lights, or whatever role you have in a band.
I think you’ll find that you started playing because is the most fun experience on earth to be able to make noises, be in front of a crowd, and connect with others. It’s just plain cool. It’s hitting on some of the intangible values, which based on some of the previous articles can be most important (see the love languages article).
When I manage / managed bands or artists, I always ask the question. Why do you want to do music? The expected answers are: Girls, Money, Fame.
However, once in a while, I get someone who says “it’s all I want to do”. Those are the people who truly love and value music. Those are the ones I gravitate towards because they are fully committed at any cost and their goal is about creating something for others to receive, not the other way around.
I hope maybe this spawned some thoughts for you. It’s something I think about often. For those who play music, please don’t forget about the noun value. Don’t let the verb value be the only thing that determines your real value(s).
Don’t worry, we’re about to talk money in part 2 and I like money.