For over twenty years now I have been involved in either
entertaining, or coordinating the entertainment, for events around
Ontario. A trend I did not like back at the start seems to be
getting worse. Entertainers are still constantly being asked to
provide their services free for fundraising events.
Although these
events and their causes can be very worthwhile, I feel it is an
insult and lack of respect to the entertainers. These entertainers
such as bands, musicians, solo artist, duets, buskers, magicians,
dj’s, and karaoke hosts have spent a lot of time and/or money to
become an entertainer. They have everyday living expenses just like
everyone else. It seems strange that we ask someone to work for free
to help support someone else financially.
When I started
coordinating entertainment and production for events, I made it very
clear that I would not be involved if they were looking for free
entertainment. I would only be involved if there was some sort of
budget to pay the entertainers for their time and effort, even if it
was just an honourarium to help cover expenses. Most of the time I
would coordinate the entertainment, stage and production, even emcee,
for free. But, if they wanted us to perform, there would have to be
some sort of pay being received. In addition, I usually end up
helping with social media, digital marketing, and media and public
relations as a bonus.
We have a good rule
of thumb when trying to decide to donate our services. If absolutely
no company, person, or service is getting paid for their work,
product or service at the event, then we would consider doing it for
free as well.
Some entertainers
will donate their pay back, as we have done in the past. But, that
is their decision, not the events. For some entertainers what they
do is their full time job. For others it is a side job. Certainly
there is an element of passion in what they do, but for most,
especially in these times, they need the money to survive. I doubt
anyone that has a regular full time job would donate their time or
pay cheque to the business they work for, so why are entertainers
asked to do it so often?
I do understand that
for the organizations holding the events to raise awareness or funds,
that budgets can be a challenge as well. Decide on what you can
afford and put it out there. At least you are making an offer and
the entertainers themselves can make the decision to accept that
offer or not. Alternatively, look for sponsors to cover
entertainment costs and co-brand them with the entertainment. Many
organizations have successfully done this to help cover the costs of
entertainment, stage and sound.
In summary, make the
effort to offer something for entertainment to show that you respect
them and their craft.
If anyone is looking
for a duet, full band, DJ, karaoke host, or entertainment
coordinator, give me a call. Besides what I do, I have a list a mile
long of entertainers.
Rob MacArthur
A Multipotentialite
