Sometime I wonder about my mental competency. Why is everything I enjoy doing either very hard to make money at or it's socially unacceptable to want to get paid for your time and resources spent? In this article I'm addressing punk rock and everything that goes with it. Let me start with some examples.
I know a live concert promoter. He works hard putting on a weekly punk show. In my eyes this is an awesome undertaking, as it creates opportunities for bands to get gigs and is a great resource for the community to have a place to hang out, meet up and have some fun. But from many people I hear disparaging remarks. Stuff like "He only does it for the beer. You see him standing over there sipping his free beer?". Is it so wrong that after all the challenges of promoting a weekly show he gets compensated with a few lousy cans of PBR?
A zine is a small self published magazine and an old school punk tradition. I had a great time publishing one until suddenly everybody thought they should be given out free. I wonder if these people realize the amount of work and cash that goes into publishing a zine? Sure, a person could sell ads but is shaking down small businesses more punk then punk rockers coughing up a buck to keep this tradition alive?
I feel a culture should have it's own economy if it's going be healthy and thrive. Is punk rock a charity? I've heard some sentiment of "we have to keep it alive for the kids". Punk has a lot of merit and good can come from it but I don't see it as some kind of daycare or Ronald McDonald house.
I speak from experience when I say that hobbies are fun but when you start making money with your hobby is when things really get fun! I got interested in punk rock after watching "The Great Rock And Roll Swindle". A lot of the film is fictional but Sex Pistol manager Malcolm McLaren spells out how he made a lot of money in punk. Looked like fun and I wanted a part of it. If you like something, anything, support it financially so it continues a thing. Save the free stuff for the hippies. If making money at punk is wrong, I don't want to be right!
I know a live concert promoter. He works hard putting on a weekly punk show. In my eyes this is an awesome undertaking, as it creates opportunities for bands to get gigs and is a great resource for the community to have a place to hang out, meet up and have some fun. But from many people I hear disparaging remarks. Stuff like "He only does it for the beer. You see him standing over there sipping his free beer?". Is it so wrong that after all the challenges of promoting a weekly show he gets compensated with a few lousy cans of PBR?
A zine is a small self published magazine and an old school punk tradition. I had a great time publishing one until suddenly everybody thought they should be given out free. I wonder if these people realize the amount of work and cash that goes into publishing a zine? Sure, a person could sell ads but is shaking down small businesses more punk then punk rockers coughing up a buck to keep this tradition alive?
I feel a culture should have it's own economy if it's going be healthy and thrive. Is punk rock a charity? I've heard some sentiment of "we have to keep it alive for the kids". Punk has a lot of merit and good can come from it but I don't see it as some kind of daycare or Ronald McDonald house.
I speak from experience when I say that hobbies are fun but when you start making money with your hobby is when things really get fun! I got interested in punk rock after watching "The Great Rock And Roll Swindle". A lot of the film is fictional but Sex Pistol manager Malcolm McLaren spells out how he made a lot of money in punk. Looked like fun and I wanted a part of it. If you like something, anything, support it financially so it continues a thing. Save the free stuff for the hippies. If making money at punk is wrong, I don't want to be right!
Wait, Before You Go...
RSS Feed
