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Will (Not) Play For Hugs And Beer: Musicians Attack Amanda Palmer's Request For Volunteers
Asking fans to contribute to her music-making has long been Boston rocker Amanda Palmer's M.O. They've given her lyrics, feedback, moral support and a whopping $1.2 million via the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter.com to help produce her new album, "Theatre is Evil."
But this week the indie musician ignited a firestorm in the same social media universe that's nurtured her success.
On Tuesday, the day her album was released, the New York Times picked up on what would become a torrent of angry criticism aimed on Palmer via Twitter (where she has 600,000+ followers) and on her blog. Fans and musicians were reacting to an invitation Palmer posted on her website back in August asking "professional-ish" horn and string players to volunteer to play with her and her band on tour.
Palmer offered beer, hugs and merchandise in exchange for jamming on stage in cities across the nation.
Over the course of the week musicians from all genres have been aiming barbed accusations that Palmer is taking advantage of working musicians by asking them to play for free.
The Musician's union in Seattle tweeted:
@amandapalmer, please pay your musicians who "ACTUALLY, REALLY PLAY THEIR INSTRUMENT!" a fair wage.Hugs don't pay rent. amandapalmer.net/blog/20120821/— SeattleMusicians (@Local76_493) September 11, 2012
Non-musicians chimed in too:
@maiamadness @amandapalmer It bugs me because Amanda has the means to pay these people. She's not a starving artist. It just seems sleazy. — Greg Forsyth (@Le_Saboteur) September 11, 2012
But plenty of people sided with Palmer:
@amandapalmer Tomorrow something else will happen in the media and this will be a vague memory. What's that about all press being good...?— Kristen Maloney (@EpidemicZero) September 14, 2012
I called Pat Hollenbeck, president of the Boston Musicians' Association, to get his take on the uproar. He acknowledged having a unique perspective on the situation, since Palmer grew up in Lexington and has been part of Boston's music community for years.
"I know her, I’ve worked with her and support her 100 percent," Hollenbeck said. At the same time he qualified, "When you start going on a major tour, worldwide, she can still collect musicians wherever she goes, that’s a great idea, but I feel there’s a moral obligation to pay them."
Any musician on stage, union or not, deserves to be compensated, Hollenbeck added. He has particular sympathy for students currently paying tuition (which can cost $50,000+ a year) or graduates saddled with student loan debt.
"Hugs and beer are not going to help pay for that. And the ones that are out of school, last time I looked, MasterCard wasn’t accepting hugs and beer either," Hollenbeck said, adding, "I think people that don’t know Amanda’s work are misunderstanding her motives here," which he believes are wholesome and sincere.
If it wasn't for Palmer's record-breaking Kickstarter campaign Hollenbeck doesn't think this would be causing such a stir. A lot of people can’t get their heads around the idea that Palmer would ask musicians to play for free after raising $1.2 million from her fans. Palmer told the New York Times that it would cost her $35,000 to pay musicians to tour, and that she couldn't afford to do that.
Back in May, Palmer defended how she’d be using the money she raised via Kickstarter.
I reached out to Palmer Friday but she declined to be interviewed about the melee. One of her firsts tweets of the day read, “good morning believers.”
Palmer did post a lengthy open letter on her website, though. She wrote it in response to a confused and agitated fan and musician. Palmer admitted, “It’s definitely got me (and a lot of other people) thinking and talking about what it means to ask a musician to volunteer their time.”
In line with New York Times writer Daniel Wakin, Palmer also pointed to the cultural divide between union musicians (a high percentage of which are classically trained) and those who make rock and roll.
Palmer also alluded to musician David Byrne dropping by to sing with her band a few months ago. Palmer wrote: “we never had a formal arrangement…we paid him in thanks and beer which i’m not sure he even drank.”
In sum she shared this:
i would never criticize or judge you for drawing your own lines and deciding how to value your talent and time. more power to you, for real. it takes a strong commitment to do that, and i wish you luck. in exchange, i’d ask that you not criticize us because we belong to a different culture, where we’re playing a different game, with different rules. and we’re making a pretty joyful noise, and we’re happy to welcome those, with no judgement, who want to hop on stage and make it louder.
from one musician to another with loads of love and respect, afp
Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra have three concerts in Boston this November. It will be interesting to see how (or if) this debate plays out in her hometown.
