Business Cat is here to make this rant more fun.

A cool thing has happened: I’ve talked enough about the importance of artists receiving fair compensation that now a few of my non-dancer friends immediately think of me when they see something about artists working for exposure, or something along those lines. Since SXSW just happened, I got a few interesting articles sent my way.

First was the issue of McDonald’s asking musicians to play for for free. My response to that was “Having your song associated with that time the listener got a free Big Mac is not the sort of exposure any artist needs.” By the way, after an internet outcry, Mickey D’s realized the error of their ways and SOMEHOW scraped up some money to pay the bands.

But then there’s issues like this article: Paying a Price to Play at South by Southwest.

I’ve made it pretty clear that I don’t believe in paying an event promoter or venue in order to perform at an event. But how do we decide how much is too much to spend on the travel and other related costs to get to a prestigious but low-paying (or unpaid) gig?

At low levels, being a dancer and being a musician are pretty similar. There’s lessons you have to pay for, hours of (often frustrating) practice, limited opportunities for student performances, and expensive equipment (instruments for them, costumes and props for us). But the upper limits of dance fame are much lower than the upper limits of music fame. Belly dance doesn’t have an SXSW, a Lollapalooza, or the Grammies. There’s no way to “go platinum” as a dancer.

As such, I think it’s easier for a dancer to do the cost-benefit analysis on spending thousands of dollars to attend a large event. As a dancer, you know the most you’re going to get out of such an event, business-wise, is maybe being hired to teach some workshops somewhere, if you’re a teacher. Beyond that, it’s mainly about having fun, learning (if it’s an event with workshops), and networking.

But as a musician, you’re chasing the specter of super-star status. Sure, very few people make it to the top, but if you do, there’s tons of money and merchandising (what is it with rockstars and perfume? Why did Target have One Direction eye shadow palettes for Christmas?), and screaming fans following you everywhere. It’s easy to see how a small indie band might dream of making it big, and be willing to spend $10,000 to be part of SXSW.

As a dancer, I can’t imagine spending thousands of dollars (or even just one thousand) to travel to an event just to perform. When I go to an event like Tribal Fest or LVBDI, the performance is just icing on the cake. Even if I don’t get a slot on the community stage, I’m still attending to learn from awesome teachers, shop for costumes, and hang out with my friends, plus I get to watch other dancers perform and get inspired. If I do get a performance spot, it’s a chance to get some new photos and video footage for self-promotion. But I don’t have any illusions about getting “discovered” based on a four minute solo sandwiched between dozens of other performers.

In the end I think it’s up to each artist to decide how much they’re willing to invest in related costs to be part of a big event, but we probably owe it to ourselves to really think about what we’re doing. In the case of an event like SXSW, it seems to be turning into a rather bloated corporate event, as usually seems to be the case with anything indie that grows fast and loses touch with its roots (I’m looking at you, ETSY!). Indie musicians might want to ask themselves if it’s even the right scene for them anymore, and if they want to be part of something where they have to pay $10k in travel just to compete with free Big Macs and concerts by superstars.