It’s obvious who deserves more, but you’re totally right about how it feels to pay for something someone else seemed to magically accomplish in a few flicks of the wand. POTTER!

Finally, it’s worth it to not that restaurants and retailers routinely donate goods and foods and are asked as often as anyone else to provide things gratis. Every restaurant in town is probably asked 10-25 times a year for free gift certificates to auction off at silent auctions. When I owned my retail store for three years I gave away roughly $1500 a year in children’s goods to all the places that came asking for a donation to their fundraising effort. It was “the cost of doing business” and is by no means unique to creative types.

I just don’t think some folks who are new to their own business get that it can be a way to further gain exposure. But I agree 100% that artists and others should be shown how much their contributions to society and cutlure do matter with solid payment for services delivered and arts funding in schools.

As some spit their morning coffee through their noses in laughter, I say, “but what’s so silly about that?” Why is it that the artist is the one asked to give it up every time for next to nothing? What does it really mean to say you live in an “arts-friendly town”?

Maybe it’s because we teach our children from a very young age that the arts have less value in society than practically any other discipline. Isn’t that the message we send when we cut funding for arts education? (Never mind the measurable benefits that support brain development and learning skills when the arts are part of core education curriculum — that could be a whole series of blog posts!)

I know my comments aren’t necessarily going to change any societal habits. But maybe we can start to think about a bigger picture of sustainability that allows artists to sit at the table as equal partners — even to the point of earning a living worthy of monetary compensation.

Perhaps the issue is that at some point those newbies get in line for the freebies and giveaways and the more established folks craft a limited policy and move up the ladder.

Artists and creative types are routinely undervalued, and yet the call for their services show how necessary and in demand they are. Is business and are non profits ready to pay a fair wage?

Finding the right balance is key. Clearly, “will work for food” is not something the established one should be doing. But the newbie to his or her own firm? Mebbe.

Early in my design career, I did a LOT of pro bono work. What I learned was two-fold: 1.) give as you would loan money to a friend or family member: that is don’t expect any “repayment” business to come from your gift. Freely gift and you won’t be disappointed. 2.) Unless you tell them, don’t expect the recipient will understand or appreciate the true value of your services.

A very real question my musician colleagues and I ask ourselves all the time is “when do the freebies begin to dilute a musician’s perceived value?” I would say very, very quickly. So as the economy has turned south and even modest honorariums for musicians have in many instances disappeared, I find myself trying to decide which of the plethora of free performance requests I get for my groups — Funk45 and Mr. Jefferson’s Bones — to even consider. What’s more, if I take those freebie jobs, will there be a willingness to pay for the same performances once things get better? Unfortunately and all too often, I have found it’s not the case.

What’s more, while a “thank you” mention in the next e-blast might be have some nice perceived face-value cache, I believe it often actually locks the artist/musician into the “will-work-only-for-food/free-publicity” niche which can be very hard to break out of. Event organizers understand that if you’re going to serve chicken, someone has to grown the chicken, butcher it, ship it, cook it and serve it, and (correct me if I’m wrong) don’t often question the cost of paying money for the chicken. It’s a given — even to serve at a “pro bono” event. Yet, the perception that us artist/musicians can exist on “thank yous” and canapes persists. And it continues to devalue the arts.

I will continue to consider pro bono work, but I will do so with my eyes open and with absolutely no expectations.