"Why don't you write your own music instead...?" Facebook Post Response

There are a number of reasons why I've been staying away from Facebook over the past 6 months, although I've found myself dipping my toe back into it now.

The psychological impacts of social media, in my opinion, do more harm than good but, as a business person, I have to recognise that it's one of the primary ways to reach people today simply because everyone's on it.

In the UK, there are very few decent places to advertise Music Jobs. In fact - of the ones that I do use, the quality of the responses and the profiles I get are really quite poor If they're free to use, anyone will make a profile on them. If they're subscription based, a company isn't going to turn down a yearly subscription if someone wants to put a poor quality profile on, so, Facebook seems to be the next logical step as there literally hundreds of "dep" and "Musicians wanted" groups.

And there are some fabulous musicians and people in the communities - but there are also the bedroom wannabes that feel the need to bring everyone else DOWN to bring themselves up. It's very sad.

Recently, after purposely not advertising jobs on Facebook for a period of time, I took the plunge again because I want to find local musicians in the South of England to form two new tribute bands that I intend in keeping busy in theatres, holiday parks, hotels and beyond.

Here's the thing - Musicians need work.

Work only exists because people make it. And there are way fewer people who make work than those who take it. If there was, everyone would be doing it I suppose!!

So when you get a douche bag placing a comment like : "Why don't you get a life and make YOUR OWN music. Does anyone else hate tributes?" one must respond - although not directly to this guy, because he doesn't deserve the benefits of my words.

Anyway - here's my response to such a post:

1. I do write my own music. I'm just too busy developing work and earning opportunities so that I can keep the lights on and keep income coming in to the members of my band. My work is a full time job - and not all of it is paid. Admin isn't paid. Marketing isn't paid. Communicating with venues isn't paid. The intention is that I will derive an income from it through the events that this work generates. But, largely, my work is office based and it leaves little time to produce my own work. However, I am slowly getting my album together.

2. I do write music - every time a client comes into my studio with a lyric and a basic song idea, I spend 8 hours of their studio time composing Guitar lines, Bass lines, Drum parts, percussion, string lines, synth parts. I've written and produced more music for other people in the last 6 years than I have my own music. And I get paid for my studio time. Nice!

3. Covers and tribute work pays. Originals don't. If I ditched the covers work and paid the members of my bands to tour and perform my (or even 'our') own music, I'd likely be bankrupt in 6 months. It takes years of grinding to build a following for your own music, of which only a fraction will actually give you money for the music you produce. Read any number of articles in the music press about how the members of famous bands are still flipping burgers, working in colleges and tending bars when they're not touring, or their albums aren't selling.

Thank fully, there tend to be more positive people on social media than these trolling cock-wombles but it doesn't make it any less unpleasant when they pop up their little purple mushroom shaped heads!

So - the next time you see a post about someone trying to make work for a community where there are no full time jobs, and everyone is fighting everyone else for the same opportunities, take a moment to forget your own narrow view and think a bit as to 1. why people do the work they do and 2. maybe they ARE doing the thing you suggest they should be doing in your insulting post, but it doesn't earn them anything.

Of course, I could also give up my work (and give up on my years of training, experience, grinding, etc) and work in some kind of dead end job that the staff hates….. but that would open YOU up to the very real possibility that I'll be managing you one day…… so be careful what you wish for.