I was in Covent Garden for dinner at a burger chain. It was an open seating space. I could hear music from the open basement area. They play rather lovely music I would say. As I was finishing my meal, I decided to take a look at the beautiful faces of the people who play this beautiful music. I went to watch from upstairs.
(Note: photo credits go to Capco and Lady Jerez respectively. I do not own them nor were they taken the day I visited. I hope they make it clear what the place looked like!)
It was a group of violinists. They're good! I thought I'd stay a couple more minutes for another song or two. Then I heard a group of ladies next to me say: "They're not here for the music, they're here for the money!"
Whoa. What are they talking about?
Just after that, I saw a guy approached me and asked if I would like to make a donation for the musicians. I politely declined. He was being pushy. "Not even 2p? Not a 20p?" I shook my head.
"It's only free if you don't have conscience!" he yelled and walked away.
What?! Is that how they treat their audience? I was happily enjoying their music and then this guy approached me and totally ruined my mood.
Now I get what those ladies were talking about, who have obviously left before I finally did too.
Okay, I'm not gonna defend myself for not making a donation here. That's gonna be another long post. The point is: these musicians were not there for the music, they were there for the money.
I think it's a shame they're doing this. Everyone could clearly see a donation box next to where the musicians were standing as well as a pile of albums and a sign that says "£10" basically inviting us to buy their album. That's perfectly fine for me, but I don't feel they needed to send a team member to approach all the audience and ask for a donation. Especially telling people off when they don't make one!
I often see musicians on the tube stations or on the road performing and promoting their albums, but I really appreciate the ones who also put a sign with a link to their website or YouTube channel. They're clearly there for the music. They want people to hear their music and see their passion. And I totally respect them for that.
On the other hand, surely nothing in the world is free. These people need to make money in order to survive. It is true that approaching individual audience will increase their earnings, but is it that important for them?
Do they want their audience to give them money because they enjoy the good music they make, or because they feel bad being asked directly to pay a donation (especially if you risk being told off when you don't donate!)?
I believe that people who are truly passionate about what they do will know how to prioritise the different things they want in life, whereas the ones who don't will only be chasing figures.
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