I was recently dropped from a ‘professional’ ensemble I have been playing with, essentially because I’m a freelancer, and I can’t help but feel a little miffed at the decision. It boiled down to the fact that I had depped quite a few of the gigs with this particular ensemble out to other trumpet players because the fees were very low, the gigs were often on the weekends, and I was eventually offered much better paid work on the same dates. As a freelancer living in London, money can be tight, and I’m in no financial position to turn down well paid gigs; it literally makes the difference between being able to pay the rent and eat, or not – this is hardly a choice that is difficult to make when it comes down to simply being able to afford to live. However, it’s never a decision I like to make, as the gigs I had to dep out would, I’m sure, have been much more fun and enjoyable than the better paid ones I was offered instead; a point I had tried to explain to the band leader, but who seemed to take the whole thing rather badly.
I had been very open and honest with said band leader about my position; that I rely solely on my work as a musician in order to pay the bills and while I enjoyed the gigs I played with their ensemble, if I was offered a gig that clashed and where the difference in fees was sizeable, that I would have no option but to take on the higher paid work and find a suitable dep for the original gig. The next thing I heard from the band leader was that I had been replaced, probably indefinitely, as I wasn’t seen to be showing commitment to the group. I think that if the band leader was made uncomfortable by the knowledge that I may dep some gigs out closer to the time after originally taking them on, that I was owed the professional courtesy of them discussing these concerns with me first, not just booking somebody else and telling me the next day.
I do understand that they want a core band of people who play at every rehearsal and gig, but if they are going to have freelancers in the band then I think it’s unrealistic to expect that. As far as I have experienced, it is standard in the industry to dep out gigs if you need to – as long as the band leader agrees and the dep is suitable. Yes, I did have to pull out of some gigs that I originally said I could do, but I never left anybody in a position where a dep could not be found and the part left unplayed. Unfortunately I couldn’t commit more than that to the band – turning down higher fees would cripple me. The band leader seemed to think I wanted ‘one rule for me and a different one for everybody else in the band’ – perhaps I was the only one there who wasn’t sitting on a pile of money – or perhaps the other musicians have more secure sources of income. Either way, I told the band leader that the only way to secure your core band members who rely solely on playing for their income is to secure higher fees for the band (in one instance I depped out a £70 gig on a Saturday night so that I could take one for £170 instead, and passed up a gig for £30 on a Monday night as I would have lost more than that from not doing my teaching while at the gig). I think when you’re working with an established band it is not unreasonable to expect a decent fee – or dep out the work appropriately as required.
So, now I’ve been replaced, and while I don’t have any hard feelings about it if that is the basis on which the ensemble is going to be run, I do think it’s a very dangerous move in terms of them maintaining the highest possible performance standards. If they are only going to work with musicians who can commit 100% to all gigs regardless of the fee, thus essentially ruling out working with freelancers, won’t they essentially end up with a band of amateurs? I don’t mean that to sound like a negative comment – there are many amateur musicians who perform to exceptionally high standards, of course – but if you want to run a band as a professional outfit, surely it would be best to use professional musicians? I would appreciate any thoughts or comments you have on this – have I just got the wrong end of stick, or is my approach to working as a freelancer in line with everybody else’s?
