I just received this message from Jazz in the Neighborhood, a non-profit performing arts presenter through whom I’ve been lucky enough to book my band BOCA MUNDIAL. I think this is a brilliant idea! Let’s see how many San Francisco Bay Area venues take them up on it!
Dear Fellow Musicians,
If you’ve lived and worked in the Bay Area for awhile, you know firsthand that the working situation is getting worse. Each year seems to bring fewer and lower paying gigs. It’s been a “race to the bottom.”
At Jazz in the Neighborhood, we think there’s a lot to gain by actively working to improve how — and how much — professional musicians are paid for live performances. That’s why we’ve started our Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund.
Under this program, we’re asking venues to pay each musician $150 in advance, and we help the venues do this by subsidizing 40% of this cost.
You can get in on this program if you book a gig at a participating venue and then apply to receive these funds. Of course, funds are limited, so we are trying to distribute them in a way that emphasizes the diversity of jazz performance in the Bay Area.
CJC and Bird & Beckett are the first two venues to take advantage of the Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund. We’d like to see many more venues and presenters participate in the program. Please ask the places you gig to consider giving the GFWF a try.
Here’s an example of how it would work for a trio:
The venue pays you $450 in advance ($150 per musician)
Jazz in the Neighborhood gives the venue $270 (40%)
Plus Jazz in the Neighborhood pays the band leader an additional $45 (10%) for handling logistics and paperwork
The fine print and specifics are on our website at http://jazzintheneighborhood.org/guaranteed-fair-wage-fund/
To apply for funds, see the instructions at http://jazzintheneighborhood.org/guaranteed-fair-wage-fund/gfwf-musicians/
Got questions? Email gfwf@jazzintheneighborhood.org
or leave a message for Mario or Jon at 415-737-JITN (5486)
Best,
Mario Guarneri and Jon Herbst
