Musicians working together.

Being a musician is a strange world to be in. I have had many jobs in my life, and owned my own business. The music indusrty however, is a league of its own. As a computer technician with my own computer shop, it was always easy to find help when you needed it. Even from other computer shop owners. Everyone knew thier spot and didn't try to step on each others toes. The music industry is a whole other world though. Everyone is out to tread on everyone.

Agents want venues and bands to book exclusivly through them, and bands are willing to cut thier price just to get the gig. Its totally killing the cover band scene. Gone are the days of great live bands in every pub on the weekends. Not only do cover bands have to contend with poker machines, they have to contend with each other. Are we crazy. Why does it take becoming big and famous before musicians will start working together? If band "A" undercuts band "B" by $100 just to secure a gig, then the message they are sending to the publican is clear. You don't need to pay $800 for a band. You can get them for $700. And so the trend is set. Slowly but surely, the prices are driven down. This is the only industry I know of where inflation has the opposite effect on how much we earn.

The price of petrol is getting over the top these days, not to mention many other costs of living. But week after week and month after month, we see ourselves out there projecting our talent for far less than its worth. Its just ludicrous. If we banded together as one industry, we would all be better off. I'm not talking doubling our prices, but an extra $50 per gig would certainly go along way to keeping most of the great talent out there. A simple 3.5% rise per annum would bring the music industry into line a bit more and keep us struggling musicians from throwing in the towel. Come on people, think about it. It makes perfect sense.