Doppler, A Roadies View

Monday, January 20, 2014

The road and another year gone...

It's a very cold and snowy day today.  I decided to log onto my blog, which I realized today I never seem to post to anymore.  I guess it happens.  I find myself on Twitter and unfortunately Facebook. Also there are a few industry blogs and forums that I like to frequent.

Time seems to go by quicker each year.  2013 found me still touring, though not as much as the previous few.  The guys in YES have been keeping me busy and 2014 is gearing up to be more so than 2013.

The music business is shifting on so many levels.  Bands are making very little money selling their music.  So touring is a means to make some real money and if they are lucky a living.  The bean counters have really stuck there noses into the industry.  Managers, accountants and even the bands themselves are cutting back on salaries offers.  They are also pushing to cut back on the amount of people they hire and ask the ones they do to wear more than one hat.

This multi hat issue is not new.  It has been going on with the younger and up incoming artists for some time.  The problem is established and more well known bands are doing it more and more.  For example they want the same person to do sound and road manage.  Or they want someone to set up the band gear and handle the merchandise.  Yet they only want to pay them the equivalent of one job or even less.

What this is leading to is the quality of work is suffering.  Also I believe it will lead to safety issues as well.

As a fan it will effect you to a point.  The quality of the product will go down.  Say if you have an young inexperienced sound person mixing your favorite band and it sounds bad, you a not getting what you paid for.  This will come back on the artist because "you" the fan may not be willing to pay your hard earned money to see them the next time around.




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