The case AGAINST working for free
Dear friend:
In yesterday’s email, I gave a few examples of how “working for free” is a good thing; and today I want to talk about why it’s not such a good thing. As always, this is one man’s opinion, so ingest these words with a hefty grain of salt.
As with just about everything in life, this is a very nuanced topic, so the perhaps most important thing to define is what it means to “work for free.” As I pointed out yesterday, one can work for no money yet get some benefit out of it. If a musician is getting back into the swing of things after a long layoff, he’ll be wise to take any gig that’s available, even if it’s singing in the church choir. The paying gigs are occupied by those who’ve been in the game for awhile, and have established themselves in their local area. And forgive me, but work is work. Even if it’s for no pay, it’s better than sitting at home watching Netflix waiting for your iPhone to light up with calls and texts.
But taking this approach can be risky if:
- You’re selling yourself short, and in turn burning yourself out.
- You’re taking away paying gigs from other musicians who likely need it more than you.
Money is amoral. Notice I didn’t say immoral. Amoral means it has no morals, neither good nor bad. Like air, money is just there, and it’s necessary for our survival. Funny enough, money is all too often created “out of thin air”, thus leading to a need for more of it, but I digress.
Money doesn’t care who owns it, nor how it is spent, and on what. So if you choose to take a gig “for the exposure and connections” as I have recently, there’s nothing inherently immoral about it. But if you work yourself to a nub, causing your main job and cash flow to suffer, it’s not really in your best interest. And if you “working for free” takes away work from your colleagues, I suppose you’re free to do so, but don’t expect to be warmly welcomed into their inner circle. You’ll be branded as selfish and a narcissist – and the criticism won’t be completely unfair. You’ll create the classic “don’t feed the bears” situation with people who do the hiring in your area; they’ll come to expect everyone to work for free. So you must be careful and wise with this approach.
I began playing with a really good band here in the Virginia Beach area this year. It’s my first time doing any ensemble work in quite awhile, so it’s been good to get some of the rust off my chops, and it has led to some paying gigs. So it’s worked out well. Everyone in the band does it for no pay, so we’re all in the same boat in that regard. Whether or not it, or any other marketing efforts bear any fruit (by the way, I’ve never been paid to practice, and I’m pretty sure that qualifies as work) remains to be seen.
All that to say “Working for free” is quite subjective. It really depends on the needs of the individual, and how they value their own services. It can’t be defined by Facebook posts, nor by the local musician’s union. But we do need to be aware of our local ecosystem, and whether our actions (or lack of action) is doing it harm or good.
Speaking of musicians working for free, today (or around today) is the 1 year anniversary of publishing the audio version of Within the Sphere of the Master. It’s the story of how a guy named Tim Kent who had loads of raw talent, and was nurtured and eventually became a colleague of the great Adolph Herseth in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Tim knows a thing or two about working for free – even driving 500 miles each way for one lesson with The Master.
This link will give you some more info about the book, but if you want to purchase it for 50% off to celebrate the occasion, DO NOT BUY FROM THE PAGE. Just reply to this email and I’ll tell you how to make it happen. PayPal did something weird with their purchase buttons, (I can’t find them!) so I’d just as soon do it manually.