Promoting small-scale gigs and making money? Defining 'folk' in 2014? Tricky.
Ben Calvert is a songwriter who runs regular Sunday night gigs and a small record label under the handle of Bohemian Jukebox. We had a
terrific, lengthy and detailed conversation this past week after an email exchange triggered by a post on promoters who love what they do and the
music they work with. Ben pointed out that, contrary to the popular belief that music promoter equals bloodsucker, he and many others work for ridiculously silly money.
So we met up and he showed
me his books. Guess what? He really does work for a pittance. But
promoting penury hasn’t slowed him down; he loves his music. Bohemian Jukebox now runs as a venue-supported freebie at the Bulls Head in
Moseley, Birmingham. After well over a decade, Ben's not
getting rich; he's not alone. A huge tranche of local music businesses work this way. Without this kind of gritty idealism / bloody-mindedness / music obsessions (delete as appropriate), local scenes would be a lot poorer.
Scary financial stuff and noble
principles to follow…
