Would You Work For Free?

If you have a friend that is an actor, a dancer, a singer, a photographer, a musician, a painter, a writer, or any other sort of creative artist or even someone who works in the service industry, then chances are they've probably been asked at some point to provide their services in return for 'exposure' or 'experience'.  You may have even asked them yourself.  Sure, everyone loves getting something for nothing, and what is better than 'free' entertainment.  Sadly though it means no value is placed on that service.  Of course, if your best friend is a photographer and they offer to photograph your wedding as a present to you, then you might not say no, but in general don't you think they deserve to be paid for what they do?

We spend just as much time studying and perfecting our craft as the next person.  I always knew when I was younger that I wanted to perform, but my parents never considered it a 'real' job.  Of course we know that only a small handful of performers make it 'big' in the industry, but there are plenty of other performers out there that are still making regular work by doing what they have been trained to do...  and in some ways we probably have to work twice as hard to do so because we don't have a 9-5 job day in/day out.  But like everyone else we still have bills to pay, we still have to eat, we may even still have study debts or have to pay for continuous further training and development, and on top of that we are most likely working as a sole trader so also have to pay our own insurance, and travel costs.

Sure, we will generally happily travel for a paid job, even if the pay is less than the travel cost, because we are being PAID, and therefore being valued!  Of course, we'd love to sometimes be paid a bit more, but something is better than nothing.  But sadly, there are many younger, less experienced performers out there willing to do anything for 'exposure' or 'experience' and this isn't helping the rest of us.

I saw an audition listing today from a medium sized business (whom also happen to be in the service / entertainment industry) and I was disgusted to see they were wanting actors for a Cinema Commercial, noting it was UNPAID but GREAT EXPOSURE!  Seriously, what are they thinking??  This company is paying to have a cinema ad, but can't afford to pay actors?   Sure, an actor might think this is good exposure, but by doing an unpaid commercial they are doing themselves out of a paid commercial for the next 3 years!!  How is that good exposure when you can't work for 3 years, and you didn't get paid for the first job in the first place??  Thankfully the listing was reported and removed.

Of course there are the occasional times when we might be happy to work for free - it might be a student film where no-one is getting paid; or a festival film which either no-one is getting paid or they will pay if they sell or make money on the film later.  Usually these are done with the agreement that the performer will get a copy of the film for their 'showreel'.. of course your showreel is only about 2-3mins and there is only so much you can put in there..  but sadly, there are many films out there that I've done that I've never ever seen nor heard of again.

As a dancer, I always get asked if my dancers can perform for free.  Maybe it's a charity event, a fundraiser or a community event, there is always a good reason for the event.  And maybe we will perform for free - if we feel it is value to us; if we are wanting to support the cause/event/charity; and/or if we know that no-one else is getting paid either - and I mean NO-ONE..   But this isn't always the case.  One event last year we pulled out of because we found out certain groups were getting paid, and others weren't.  How is this fair?  It was supposedly a 'community event'.  It should either be pay everyone or pay no-one.

We need to make a change in the way people view our services.. This is what we have chosen to be our profession, and surely we deserve to be respected for that just like anyone else.   We are not asking for ridiculous amounts of money for a job, but we deserve to ask for something.