There is a lot of support in Portland, and in other parts of Maine, for artists and musicians. When I compare Maine to central Massachusetts, which was my home prior to moving here, there are more opportunities for singer/songwriters to perform, more venues, and bigger crowds.

However, in Massachusetts, there are more not-for-profit “coffeehouses” and house concerts, which represent fewer performing opportunities, but which pay a smaller number of more accomplished artists a fair wage for their art.

So, while the folk music scene in Maine gets a lot of support from folks who will come out to hear it in the bars, clubs, and other venues that are so numerous across the state, how well does that “moral” support translate into financial support for the songwriters and musicians who are its beneficiaries?

Most of the folk musicians, songwriters, and performers who I’ve met are making ends meet with a “day job”. The money they earn from their musical endeavors may occasionally come close to covering their expenses. Some of these folks are incredibly talented, yet they develop their music careers in the margins of their lives. Wouldn’t we all benefit if they could focus their full attention on what they do best? Where does the compensation for their creative efforts come from, and how can we, who want to see them succeed, best support them?

The sources of compensation for performing songwriters include pay for performances at ticketed concerts, pay for performances at bars and clubs, tips, CD sales, and royalties.

Most singer/songwriters who are developing their careers have not yet been signed to a record label, so CD sales means sales of their self-produced disks; the break-even point on a self-produced disk is usually at least 500 CDs. In order to make real money on a CD, sales in the thousands (or tens of thousands) are required. This can be difficult to achieve when you are promoting them yourself.

Royalties can be either mechanical rights (where the songwriter is paid for the sale of a CD by another artist who has “covered” their song), or performing rights (where the songwriter is paid for a performance of their song in a venue, over the radio, or in a jukebox or “musak” recording). These can be substantial if the song is picked up by a major artist (as in the case of Lori McKenna – what a great story that is!) That type of deal takes a great song, lots of hard work, and perhaps bringing a music publisher into the deal if you don’t have the time to “pitch” the song yourself. Of course, this is also the definition of "making it" for many of us songwriters, and what many of us are working towards!

That leaves gig revenue, which means the performer is touring, or working locally, and booking as many gigs as possible in order to earn something approaching significant money.

I asked a few singer/songwriters, who are in various stages of developing their careers, to give me their thoughts on these subjects. I corresponded with Dan Gonzalez, Liz Carlisle, Paddy Mills, and Jud Caswell.

Check out tomorrow's blog entry for their perspectives on getting paid and how fans can work with them to help them reach their goals.

All the best to you!
Bob McKillop

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