New York City
PERKS
“The nice thing is, if you’re a fan of the band you’re
working with, you get to meet them. It’s exciting to
work with music you love. We got tickets and VIP
passes to their last show.”
PAINS
“The one thing about band sites is that they’re con-
stantly being updated. They’re constantly putting up
new tour dates, new blog postings, and new reviews
and press stuff. You have to build the site with that in
mind from the beginning. The site could be down and
they’re not able to send out e-mails or marketing stuff,
and it always needs to get right back up ASAP.”
PAY
New York City
PERKS
“To be involved in making music is the biggest perk of
all—using your skill and creativity to make listeners
enjoy the work. You get to work with talented people,
and you learn from them. I love new music and new
technology, and I’ve tried to keep up with all of it. And
with so many recording studios closing, not owning
one these days is a blessing in disguise.”
PAINS
“A lot of musicians today know they don’t have to
know how to play and that computers can correct
everything. They record a part and know they can
do it better, but just say to me, ‘ Well, you can fix it.’
Bands don’t play or rehearse as much. But even worse,
there’s no money anymore. The labels are going away.
Indie bands don’t have money to pay for a professional
producer. They want to hire you and pay you
$5,000 for eight weeks’ work.”
PAY
Chicago
PERKS
“The money’s really good, and you’re your own boss.
I’ve always loved to drive. And I get to see a lot of
different places. It’s opened me up to a lot of different
music that I maybe wouldn’t have given a chance,
like jazz and Glen Campbell.”
PAINS
“I always say to people, ‘ Treat the bus like it’s your
home—if you spill it, clean it up.’ But there’s a lot of ne-
glect. When I drove for Lil Wayne, they were pounding
music so loud on the stereo that it was vibrating my in-
nards and making me nauseous as I was driving. One
of the worst was [band name redacted]. There were all
these 13- and 14-year-old girls coming back on the bus.
I’d say, ‘Get them the fuck off. All it takes is for one girl
to say someone touched her, and you’re done.’”
PAY
Texas
PERKS
“Seeing other people get the shit they want. And I have
freedom. I can price stuff the way I want. We sell new
and used records, and in the end, if people want to
find a vinyl copy of Are You Experienced?, they’re gonna
come here; there’s nowhere else they can go.
Quentin Tarantino shops here when he’s in town, and
Johnny Depp bought a bagful of blues CDs.”
PAINS
“EBay has affected the supply somewhat; now people want to sell their used records there. There’s competition from chain stores and online. We’re by a university, so we have a lot of students, but they don’t have a hell of a lot of money. You can’t spend more than you make, and you don’t make a whole hell of a lot. I’ll pay $11.49 for a new release and put it on sale for $12.99. It’s irritating that Best Buy is advertising it for $10.99.”
West Coast
PERKS
“Seeing lots of great music and getting the opportunity to document pop-culture history. I have a lot of relationships with artists, managers, and booking agents, so sometimes it’s a little easier for me to get into a show. About 70 percent of my income comes from the music business. And it’s interesting to meet people who are creative and talented, but not in a groupie kind of way.”
PAINS
“We spend half our lives hurrying up and waiting for
the artist to show up. And the restrictions on access
for shooting shows get tighter and tighter. It can be the
first three songs only or, for a big band like the Police,
the first two songs. The digital medium has created a
whole ‘ We need it this second’ mentality. Magazines,
in print and on the Web, are willing to accept pretty
bad photography in exchange for little or no money.
It’s setting this horrible precedent.”
Northwest
PERKS
“Frequent-flier miles. That’s my main one. You get to
have a relationship with the guitar vendors, and if I
want a guitar from one of them, I could probably get a
good price on it. Not free, but maybe half.”
PAINS
“Giving someone the wrong guitar onstage—that’s
the worst that can happen. And people in the audience
try to steal stuff. They don’t really know they’re
stealing; they just want a souvenir. They think
anything onstage, like lyric sheets, is fair game. If the
guitar player goes out into the audience, someone
will grab a guitar strap or a necklace off his body, and
I have to go out and try to find it. Having to deal with
the masses can be gnarly sometimes.”
PAY
References:
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