A Job For Free!

          Musicians? Musicians not getting paid to sing for hours? In todays music industry it is becoming increasingly more common for musicians to not get paid after doing a set. And similarly for other professionals in the industry. I'm not talking about One Direction, or Taylor Swift. I'm talking about the old Justin Bieber and Austin Mahone who did gigs at birthday parties or sang outside on the street. There are now organizations that help promote fair wages for musicians, like Musician's Union and Work Not Play. Although not getting paid for DOING YOUR JOB is a major con, there are some pros to doing a free gig: exposure, experience and passion.
           For a starting musician to make it big they need exposure. But, the game is hard when there is a supply and demand for music. Just not the musicians music, yet, anyway. "Capital can come in many shapes, 

and is not exclusively monetary." Keeping that in mind, artist should remember to weigh the potential benefits of a gig.  For example, a free gig at a club might get a musician 300 new fans. Which means 600 albums sold (assuming the audience told AT LEAST one other person).  Taking a free gig is a gamble but it might pay off in the future
              When getting hired, the common question is "have you ever done this before?" By doing a free gig, ARTISTS HAVE DONE IT BEFORE! The free gig is just a way to get the artists foot into the music industry. " The key here is that you actually learn and actually get experience."  LIFE LESSON: If you know more about something non-related to music -- STOP, DROP, AND QUIT! They are using you, not teaching you.
              The passion every artist feels about singing and pleasing people with their beautiful voices should be enough to want to do a free gig. The music industry has the most passionate and driven people. Staying at the studio till 12AM, going to the studio at 6AM,

writing songs EVERYWHERE, singing randomly is all an artist ever does. However, the passion musicians feel can cloud their judgement. Earning minimum wage should be something every artist gets, no matter how well known you are. 
              Starting musicians and professionals in the industry should take the leap of faith and do a free gig. Experiences triumph over everything else. The recognition from playing a set is most beneficial. Maybe in a few years a magazine article will be written about a newly artist and how he started from the bottom and finally made it to the top.

Reeves, D. (2014, December 16). Is it ever OK to work for free in the music industry? - MTT - Music Think Tank. Retrieved December 16, 2014, from http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/is-it-ever-ok-to-work-for-free-in-the-music-industry.html