Can you get away this anymore, especially after hitting the Kickstarter lottery? Apparently not: after soliciting for dozens of volunteer, ‘professional-ish,’ unpaid musicians to join her recently-started tour, Amanda Palmer is now facing some backlash from the musician community.
Like this professional touring musician, who asked Palmer to at least pay minimum union rates – especially when asking for qualified players that are screened beforehand. He wants her to change her mind.
“Dear Amanda Palmer,
I’ve been a professional touring musician for 23 years, and I’ve never heard of you until today. With all due respect, your request for free labor sounds like a promotional gimmick dreamed up by a corporate Republican who has no concept of the history of working people in this country. Americans fought and died for the right to have a union, for fair pay, for a forty-hour work week, for the concept of a weekend, and for the dignity of all labor. And working people are still fighting for a living wage, health care and pensions in the USA, the stingiest of all industrial democracies.
I have learned that you raised a million dollars through Kickstarter. That’s a lot of money. And the best you can do is come up with a scheme to take advantage of desperate musicians by reinforcing everything that’s wrong with the music business and the modern American economy?
I would expect this sort of exploitation from a record label, a retail chain, or a music venue, but it’s shocking coming from a musician.
I believe that you could turn this around for yourself by offering an apology, retracting this sad publicity scheme immediately, and replacing it with a serious job offer to hire a string and horn section for union scale in each city that you peform in. You would still generate excitement by hiring relatively unknown local players, with the added bonus of paying them a fair wage. Now that would be some great publicity, and lead people to sing your praises nationwide.
Anything less would get you even more negative press at this point, and demonstrate a stubborn refusal to listen to your musical compatriots. You deserve a second chance. Show some heart and some guts, and stand up for what we all know is right.
With hope and respect,
Chris Siebert.”
amandapalmer.net: “Wanted: Horn-y and String-y Volunteers for the Grand Theft Orchestra Tour!!!”
(Written while listening to The Used.)