http://fairtrademusicpdx.org
The Fair Trade Music campaign seeks to elevate the quality of Portland club music and improve business for club owners by establishing equitable minimums for the musicians that play in them.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Billboard Article on FTM
Check out the article about the campaign on Billboard.biz:
Although I'm glad for the help in getting the word out, e..g a mention in a national magazine's website, this article does have a few assumptions that need to be more closely examined.
For example, when writer Glenn Peoples says that "two things are possible" as a result of this campaign, I'd hope that it would be clear to most readers that he's about to do at least two things: speculate and oversimplify.
Many more than two things are possible with fair trade music; for many, many hours, our core group has discussed possibilities good and bad during almost two years of weekly meetings. Unlike the speculations in the article, they're overwhelmingly good, which is why we're still fighting.
Peoples assumes, without research or citation of sources, that "a fair trade logo isn't likely to bring new concertgoers to venues." We actually have good reason to believe that exactly the opposite is the case. It's about building a quality brand for live music: by allowing a participating venue to enhance its image and differentiate itself from pages of overwhelmingly dense, homogenous listings in the local music rags, we believe that they will stand out and gain more customers.
A venue displaying the fair trade music logo sends the message to potential fans/club patrons: "Quality music is important enough here to warrant an investment, and an additional degree intention in booking quality acts." A brand for quality live music = Music fans' win.
Another possibility Peoples fails to mention is that the campaign may result in a higher quality music scene. Musicians need time to work on their craft; time that is too often gobbled up by menial work in unrelated fields. If paid some kind of minimum wage, musicians might be able to reduce the number of hours they spend doing unrelated work, which would give them more time make better music. Again, music fans win.
He also assumes without sources, that it would mean higher prices for tickets or for alcohol. Again, we found the opposite to be true, only we did our homework.
We actually sent researchers into a number of local clubs to count drinks and people. What we found was that businesses that were investing in their music by paying reasonable guarantees and not charging cover had long-term, viable, stable businesses, whereas venues that paid musicians as little as possible (e.g. with no-guarantee door deals that involved no risk or investment on their part) were going out of business much faster and more commonly. The shocker is that both types were selling roughly the same number of drinks at roughly the same prices.
It's a shame that a supposedly "balanced" piece lists two speculative negative possibilities without mentioning a single positive one, let alone that he implies that these are the only two possibilities!
Nonetheless he is correct in that the campaign will change the music scene in Portland and beyond. As musicians, we believe strongly that it will do so for the better.
Although I'm glad for the help in getting the word out, e..g a mention in a national magazine's website, this article does have a few assumptions that need to be more closely examined.
ReplyDeleteFor example, when writer Glenn Peoples says that "two things are possible" as a result of this campaign, I'd hope that it would be clear to most readers that he's about to do at least two things: speculate and oversimplify.
Many more than two things are possible with fair trade music; for many, many hours, our core group has discussed possibilities good and bad during almost two years of weekly meetings. Unlike the speculations in the article, they're overwhelmingly good, which is why we're still fighting.
Peoples assumes, without research or citation of sources, that "a fair trade logo isn't likely to bring new concertgoers to venues." We actually have good reason to believe that exactly the opposite is the case. It's about building a quality brand for live music: by allowing a participating venue to enhance its image and differentiate itself from pages of overwhelmingly dense, homogenous listings in the local music rags, we believe that they will stand out and gain more customers.
A venue displaying the fair trade music logo sends the message to potential fans/club patrons: "Quality music is important enough here to warrant an investment, and an additional degree intention in booking quality acts." A brand for quality live music = Music fans' win.
Another possibility Peoples fails to mention is that the campaign may result in a higher quality music scene. Musicians need time to work on their craft; time that is too often gobbled up by menial work in unrelated fields. If paid some kind of minimum wage, musicians might be able to reduce the number of hours they spend doing unrelated work, which would give them more time make better music. Again, music fans win.
He also assumes without sources, that it would mean higher prices for tickets or for alcohol. Again, we found the opposite to be true, only we did our homework.
We actually sent researchers into a number of local clubs to count drinks and people. What we found was that businesses that were investing in their music by paying reasonable guarantees and not charging cover had long-term, viable, stable businesses, whereas venues that paid musicians as little as possible (e.g. with no-guarantee door deals that involved no risk or investment on their part) were going out of business much faster and more commonly. The shocker is that both types were selling roughly the same number of drinks at roughly the same prices.
It's a shame that a supposedly "balanced" piece lists two speculative negative possibilities without mentioning a single positive one, let alone that he implies that these are the only two possibilities!
Nonetheless he is correct in that the campaign will change the music scene in Portland and beyond. As musicians, we believe strongly that it will do so for the better.