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I wont be selling my gear for much more than 40% of its cost. That way it would sell fast and I dont really need the money. Are the people selling trying to get too much for there stuff. Do they need to make room where they live. If your not on tour and you dont have the room for it all do you sell or get a storage unit. Think On It?
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08-20-2020 09:30 PM
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Doesn't really say much at all, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to take away from that.
Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
I don't think selling lots of albums is a good measure of anything..... profitability maybe? Just look at what's popular today! It's safe to assume record sales are certainly not an indicator of quality music.
No disrespect intended to Bruce Springsteen but comparing him to Danny Gatton is kind of pointless.
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I hope you can hang on to your gear. I’d rather go soup kitchen -if that helps. Very few successful pop artists are accomplished musicians-that would stand in the way of making simple banal music with fashionable rhythms and corny lyrics that sell so big.....
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My friends who make their living playing music are really struggling. It's just awful. Zoom teaching is about all some of them have.
Some older "name" players I know are struggling, not just to make a living, but to deal with the emotional strain of having put so much time, effort and talent into a career to see it fizzle overnight. It's really tough on them.
Those of us with the means can support them by buying CDs, lessons and, in some cases, merchandise like charts or T shirts.
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Well I didn’t mean to sound dismissive of Danny Gatton, whom I admire of course. I guess I was just pointing out that Springsteen does what he does very well, is widely admired, and has staying power. Originally Posted by entresz
Maybe the wider point is that the Tele has been the instrument of choice for artists like Gatton, Springsteen, Prince, Ed Bickert, Bill Frisell, etc.
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Selling lots of albums is not a measure. But selling lots of albums for a long time, decades, sure is. Longevity always is. It's sign of a true artist. That said, Danny Gatton is still probably selling, just not as many, because his niche. So all is fair. Originally Posted by entresz
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my guy have more work than he ever had. His theory is that many other techs worked out of shops that are now closed so he's absorbed a lot of that market by being one of the few available options. And he's been a name guy doing work for other name guys for decades now. Originally Posted by deacon Mark;[URL="tel:1055877"
Originally Posted by FourOnSix;[URL="tel:1055895"
he's exactly as good as he needs to be. Isn't that the goal? Originally Posted by doc w;[URL="tel:1055917"
I'm not a fan, and I can appreciate talent, but as a garbage player and songwriter, I never aspired to be "good", just good enough to be myself. I get better at being myself all the time, but as long as I'm not in my own way, I'm happy.
And yeah, 2020 was supposed to be the year for me and a lot of my friends who were finishing school or transferring to a new one. But all the gigs and projects dried up. I was really going to pivot away from my real job but that sure isn't happening anymore. And as an essential (
) sort of fellow, I'm lucky to have worked through this (aside from the fact I could die or kill my family at any time). But this really is the apocalypse for artists, freelancers or anyone who believed the gig economy lie.
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Those of us with extra means can sponsor musicians playing gigs at Small's in New York. It cost 800 bucks to sponsor a gig; 600 goes to the musicians and 200 goes to the club to cover its expenses, since they are still paying full freight on their rent, etc. The club is empty, the show is streamed and amazingly they have thousands of people watching around the world compared to the fewer than 100 people that fit into the club. There may also be clubs closer to home for us with similar programs. The normal gig scene may be on life-support but there may be some ways to keep it going; the pandemic will not last forever even if it feels like it now. Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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Umm, comparing anyone to Danny Gatton is kinda pointless... Originally Posted by entresz
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Way to derail a topic! ‘Real musician’ is a little bit of a slight to your singer songwriters and rock stars, but we all know being a ‘real’ guitar player is a profoundly different path to being a singer songwriter, so it makes sense to make a distinction. Especially economically as your session players etc are paid scale aren’t getting a cut of Bruce’s record royalties or whatever. (Well they may get mechanical royalties)
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... at the other end of the spectrum, someone not selling his stuff
Beatles icon Sir Paul McCartney, 78, reveals he still uses amplifier he bought aged 14 | Daily Mail Online
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Of course the jazz musician is particularly dependent on hand to mouth income if they don’t write... and even they do write they probably don’t sell many records... Streaming additionally has basically removed that income steam for everybody.
TBH the music industry was screwed before Covid, in so much as it is evaluated as an industry that produces music (this is of course not how the higher ups think of it). Once again the tech sector has cleaned up.
So, here we are. I have little time for musicians who moan about the situation (no one really cares) and I have to say musicians (at least here) have been generally pathetic at collective action, so the free market will always reign.
At the moment the going rate for a jazz guitarist is basically zero due to low demand and massive oversupply. So your choices are look to the state for funding (which was basically true before Covid) with all the issues that involves (I am not a huge fan of state subsidised arts philosophically) or find some other avenue of work connected to you passion (if you are lucky.)
Of course there’s the idea of UBI. We’ve kind of had it here. That’s a separate discussion lol
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In not-unrelated news, Apple has just become a two-trillion dollar company.
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Before covid hit I was really considering retiring from my day job in higher ed to play musical pit jobs full time. I was getting so many offers. Now I'm glad I kept procrastinating about doing it.
Last edited by Woody Sound; 08-21-2020 at 07:56 AM.
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In the last month I bought two amps, sold one, and sold a guitar. I think for smaller ticket (<$1.5k?) personal things, the back-and-forth is not that bad, still going. Might be getting ready to sell a higher end guitar, just because I am so pleased with my Eastman. We shall see how that sale goes.
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It's going to be very rough for a while yet. I picked up a part-time driving gig, as well as the occasional solo or small group gig. Lots of driving gigs available, since nobody goes out: food delivery is always looking for people, especially if you have a vehicle. Car dealerships are good, you drive OP's cars. If I get 15 hours in driving and one gig a week, that's more than I need, having kept life simple and small. I'm older and my kids are out on their own, so my wife and I will survive in pretty good shape unless we get sick. Best of luck out there!
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I've heard demand is actually up, for acoustic guitars, and used ones are getting higher prices because of curtailed production by manufacturers like Martin. I haven't seen any big sales by local or on-line retailers indicating slack demand. I'm always window shopping though I don't "need" anything. A local store I like to stop in is doing curbside or appointment only, and I would feel bad coming in to just be a tire-kicker of the latest Fenders, etc.
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Do I see a shell pink Strat at about 2:25? Or is it just a faded something or other? Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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I think that there might be a very saturated market for the next few years. I also think that the vintage guitar market is going to take a permanent nose-dive. The old guys are dying off (I am old but still alive!), the ones who made these guitars collectible in the first place. So when someone like Rick Nielsen dumps a few hundred Strats (among other things), along with other collectors, coupled with the social effects of COVID, it is going to be a buyers market.
Perhaps I should have waited to buy that Gibson archtop, which, by the way, is still waiting for a CITES permit. But then I might die before the market drops to where I can afford any more fancy archtops.
The trade-offs..... sigh
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reportedly, setzers "for sale" gear has so far amassed a total of $250K!!
cheers
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When I wore a younger man's clothes I took a course and the instructor made a point about economics for the working family... "The difference between a comfortable lifestyle and financial hardship is... three to four months without an income"
I never forgot that professor's opening statement.
That said, if this selloff of well heeled professionals with a name in the industry is becoming common, I am surprised they manage their resources so ineffectively to have a few month gap in income affect their lifestyle.
Oh well, I took early retirement three years ago and never looked back. Hopefully my selloff will be managed well by my son when I'm gone.
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a jazz musician has no retirement..it's bop till you drop...
even miles was cuttin michael jackson tunes at the end...
cheers
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True. But Miles Davis is not a good example, considering how much he made and his penchant for the high life, including Ferraris and other high-end sports cars. Originally Posted by neatomic
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I just moved to Upstate SC 3 weeks ago. We bought in Fountain Inn. I’m looking for a luthier. Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
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I grew up next door to SC in GA and have never heard inland SC described as "upstate". That's a Yankee expression for sure! Originally Posted by zcostilla
BTW, I have a brother in York and one in Charleston. Love the low country, can't take the heat and humidity anymore though.
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