25. Is It Exposure or Exploitation?

In this episode of the Music Executive Podcast, host Cinnamon Denise addresses the contentious issue of accepting unpaid gigs in the music industry. She discusses the fine line between valuable exposure and blatant exploitation, providing listeners with practical advice on how to vet opportunities and determine if they are worth taking. 

Key topics include:

• researching the gig, 
• assessing personal and professional worth, 
• setting boundaries, 
• and ensuring fair compensation, even if it isn't monetary. 

The episode wraps up with a personal rendition of Buddy Miles' 'Them Changes,' inviting listeners to join Cinnamon Denise's journey on social media.

Chapters

• 1:50 How to Evaluate Unpaid Gigs
• 6:55 Setting Boundaries and Looking Out for Your Team

Transcript

Hey, music executives. This is the Music Executive Podcast, a show where we dive into what it takes to thrive in the music industry. I'm your host, Cinnamontal (Cinnamon Denise), and today we are ending this ridiculous debate once and for all. You get a gig. They say they can't pay you, but it will be great exposure for you.

Is it exposure or is it exploitation? Let's do this. Music executives.

I am feeling Cinnamontal.

So I hope you've never been there, but let's be real. We've all been there. You get a gig and it's unpaid. Then the event organizer is now sitting there trying to convince you or tell you all about this amazing exposure you're gonna get for their event that they are starting this year.

Or even better yet, they tell you that you have to pay to play at their event. Ah, that's good. And you feel like something isn't right about the whole scenario because I will tell you something, something isn't right, or as we say in my household, if it feels wrong, it is wrong. So on today's the music executive episode, I'm here to share how to decide if an unpaid gig is really worth it.

Is it exposure or is it exploitation? If you're enjoying this podcast, please don't forget to give us a five star rating wherever you listen to your podcast. If you're really enjoying the show, leave us an emphatically affirming five star review and share the podcast with a friend. And if you want us to cover a topic that we haven't yet, fill out the contact form on cinnamondenise.com and we'll see what we can do.

Let's first clarify something. When I say unpaid, I do mean that you are literally not getting paid, but I also mean really low Paying like this won't even cover your cost. Low paying and or the price point is nowhere near representative of your experience and skillset. So I am not talking about a scenario where you're trying to start doing live sound engineering and you want to shadow someone and you have no idea what you're doing at all.

You're basically a liability at this stage in your career, and you're not being paid. Like I really don't think someone should get paid to shadow someone else. That's certainly my opinion. Of course. But I'm also not talking about a viable, unpaid, or, or low paying internship with a great company, with an incredible networking opportunity at hand, because that is in fact exposure to a great company and network.

I. I'm talking about you are at least two years into this field, into your industry, and you have a study to show yourself approved, and they're not paying you or they're just paying you for your gas or something like that. So how do you decide if you should take this unpaid or basically unpaid gig? Well, let me tell you number one, that the gig.

Honestly vet every gig because musicians get scammed all the time. Look up as much as you can about the gig. If it's a festival, how long has the festival been going on? An established festival should have at least five years in the game. If it's a situation where you are opening for another artist, look that artist up and see what their shows are like.

See what venues that artists have played at. Look at their social media channels. Is that artist music even in alignment with your beliefs because you do not wanna open for an artist that has a big falling, but their music is talking about something that opposes your core belief system. That the venue.

Where is the venue? Does the venue have parking? Okay, hear me out. It sounds like a tangent, but it's not. Venues that have actual parking, valet paid, unpaid, what have you? Venues that have parking typically have a certain type of people that go to that venue. Yes, because people who care about parking are driving a car and people who have a car care at least a little bit about that car.

So look up the person who reached out to you, are they or their company even someone you want to be associated with. So again, vet the gig from all aspects, find any and everything you can about the gig, the venue, et cetera. Hunt the good stuff, but for real, for real. Look for the stuff that will literally make you say no if you are a sound engineer.

For example, do they have a sound system? Like what a fail If you have to bring a sound system with you and not be paid, that would be a no. If you are doing something where you are going to a pitch. Or you are pitching your music to a publisher or something. Look at the publisher's website or their placement history.

How long have they been in the industry? Can they even possibly connect you with anyone worthwhile? Are they someone worthwhile at this stage in your career in professional development? I. This one, number one, vet a gig is so important because you can stop or continue while you're ahead, right at this point in your decision making process before you've agreed, before you've hired musicians, et cetera.

And at this point, if it is giving sketchy, it is not going to get better. I will repeat music executives. It is not going to get better. It is not going to get less sketchy from here. So number two in this, is it exposure or exploitation scenario, is assess if it's worth it for you after you've vetted and all is copacetic enough to continue.

Is this gig worth it for you? Is possibly having to take time off of your actually paying gig to go to this unpaid gig worth it? If not, will you have to maybe pick up extra hours at your paying gig in advance to then take this unpaid gig to keep a peace of mind? Or let's say you vet the gig and you are opening for an artist.

But you open at 5:00 PM and the artist goes on at 9:00 PM and that could potentially not be worth it for you at this stage in your career because there may literally be no one in the audience at 5:00 PM given how much earlier your set is in comparison to the 9:00 PM headliner. Also, that same gig may still be worth it because is this a venue that you've been trying to get in contact with for months?

So now you'll be able to meet the owner or get close to the owner decision makers to later get your own gig at this venue, or it's worth it for you at this point in your career because you can go in and get some live venue experience. Try your best when deciding if it's worth it to hunt the good stuff.

As I said, you've vetted it, but now how can it be worth it? Or better yet, how can you make this gig worth it for you? Because if they aren't paying you, it would not be unreasonable for you to then have a request such as a recording of your set or personally meet the owner. Or record a few videos on the stage during your soundcheck for your social media because you would otherwise probably have to rent the venue, schedule pay, so on and so forth.

Right Now that you've vetted the gig and you've assessed what's worth it for, you hear me and hear me well. Number three, determine what your boundaries are. Stick to them. So if you are in fact opening for that artist at 5:00 PM and the headliner goes on at 9:00 PM you better make sure you are very explicit on how long your opening set is, because you may end up playing from five to 8:30 PM and that's a long time to play with no money or again.

If that venue has food, be clear that they have to feed you and your team and or band. I try to tell people to think of what would piss you off the most if it did or did not happen given that you aren't being paid and then that's your boundary. Like, I don't like being hungry. I can't do a show hungry.

So you best believe that I know whether or not the venue is feeding us all. That being said, you as a music executive have a duty to look out for your people, not just yourself. Your people, your team, these are the musicians that are playing with you, your engineers, anyone helping you manage a merch table, anyone helping you promote, et cetera.

So you need the answers to these questions for your team because you want your team to want to work with you. They are likely just innately trusting you to sort out these details, whether they say it or not. And they will appreciate you for sorting this type of stuff out, and they will want to be loyal because, hey, I always know what to expect when I do a gig with Cinnamon Denise.

I know that Cinnamontal (Cinnamon Denise) has my best interest in mind, and it's gonna look out for me. In music executives, if you vet and it's a no, and then you assess that, it's not worth it for you, I want tell you right now, this is exploitation. Especially if a gig tries to continually force onto you that it's great exposure.

You have a skillset and you should be compensated in some way for it. Even if that compensation is not money, which is another episode, I feel like, but you should be compensated according to your efforts and experience. The only thing that equals money is money, of course, but compensation comes in many shapes and sizes.

If it feels wrong, it is wrong. Music executives, and the truth of the matter is that there are so many things that we are facing. Pick a struggle and stick with it. Alright, I'm off the soapbox, but I really want you to know that you are not alone. If you're trying to figure this music thing out, I get it.

I struggle too, but you got this. Follow me on social media at Cinnamontal. I'm rooting for you. Music executives. Alright, I'm gonna leave you with a song that has been floating around on my socials. It's my interpretation of the song, them Changes by the incomparable Buddy Miles. It's mixed and mastered by Jim Phelps at Dan Studios.

Produced, written, performed by me Cinnamontal (Cinnamon Denise). Now the visuals for this song are on YouTube, so head over to my YouTube channel to see those. I'll see you next time. Head up Music executives. Sometimes I want know where did the time go? It's like a car away from me.

I think I might go for a try. Committed to clear my mind before you ask God. Next thing I know I've driven for,

I.

Thinks cute. How quick the tables day turn when you procrastinate. Don't like me, I think.

Committed to before you ask God, next thing I know, I,

I'm feeling Cinnamontal.