Re: Sit-Ins (sessions)/MORE

["John P. Giunta" <JGIUNTA@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > Have we come so far that music has to be done for money if it's is in a
> > public place?


A clarification from John:

The open mic nights that have become so ubiquitous in our night life 
were born partly as a result of so many musicians wanting to play 
out and not necessarily regarding themselves as "professional," 
[whatever the hell that means.]

Bar owners love it because they draw the public in.  THE PUBLIC 
DRINKS WHILE THEY LISTEN AND THE BAR OWNERS POCKET THE MONEY.  THEY 
DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR THE LIVE ENTERTAINMENT.

The issue here is not that music is being made available in a public 
place.  The issue of concern to professional musicians [in this case 
I refer to people who make a living at providing musical 
entertainment] is that they are being shunted aside in favor of 
people who will play free.  It undercuts the price and therefore, in 
the eyes of most Western culture-vultures, the VALUE of the art.

Make 'em pay.