Just an idea, SCV

[scheherazadesghost]

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Edited June 11, 2023 by scheherazadesghost

[MarimbaManiac]

9 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

Do you think drum corps hiring gig workers is exploitation?

If they are working the entire season, attending camps, shows, and going on tour, 100% YES.

9 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

Someone close to me once worked a six-week minimum-wage no-benefit gig in the field they aspired toward.  They had no experience at the time.  Successfully completing that assignment gave them the toenail-hold they needed to claw their way into a career in the field.  Was that exploitation?  And if so, who exploited whom?

Where is the tradeoff here? You work a summer in drum corps for $1500 and receive what exactly? A toe hold into school programs? Likely you will need that experience to get the job at the drum corps in the first place and have it already. A toe hold into teaching/academic music? A degree is needed to get you there and will open many more doors than drum corps will. The only trade off you get is the opportunity to continue working there, and possibly move up a food chain where only the designers with the national profile will be compensated appropriately. This is a straw man. 

 

9 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

Meanwhile, can we admit what it is currently?  

 

A business model that exploits young workers for maximum time with minimal compensation?

I enjoyed my time working with drum corps, solely because I enjoyed the process and the students, but I was under no delusion that I was getting a toe hold into a business, or that I was being compensated properly. It was one brick in a larger structure that was keeping my head above water while I finished my Bachelor's degree, but to be clear, it was at best window dressing complimenting my high school income. The biggest plus was that It gave me the ability to claim my 20 hours of work in the summer so that my food stamps didn't get cut off, and paid for my gas to and from events. 

 

I have my issues with BA5, and how it has impacted the arts industry, but this isn't one of them. This is exactly the kind of situation that the law was intended to address, and it's definitely a move in the right direction. It's time organizations move to an hourly employment model, and compensate their staff who give up 12 hours a day for months on end for what amounts to pennies per hour. If they can't afford that, maybe cut one of the staff coach busses, or make cuts elsewhere. Without a staff, the corps doesn't function. Pay them. 

 

Edited March 15, 2023 by MarimbaManiac

[scheherazadesghost]

Memewhile, this probably exists for a reason:

 

[MarimbaManiac]

Just as a little thought experiment, I approximated what a full time staff member might make if they were paid hourly. 

• A weekend camp is something like 28 hours (12+12+4) - at $15 an hour that is $420 per camp. 
• A drum/brass tech would attend probably 5 camps from December-April, so $2100 for pre-season camps. 
• Spring training is different for each corps, but for SCVC it was 2 weeks on site, 12 hours a day. but visual/drum/brass techs will usually get a block off (pit techs do not), so let's call it 8 hours - $1680 for spring training. 
• After spring training rehearsal is roughly 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, for about 6 weeks, again paying 8 hours to compensate for off block  - $4320 for summer rehearsals. 

That's $2100 + $1680 + $4320 = $8100 for JUST rehearsals, not including shows or tour. If you're a front ensemble tech who does not get a block off, it would obviously be more. Even if each tech was only putting in HALF time, that's $4,000 for a part time tech for just pre-tour. I don't even know how you would compensate for tour. 

I can tell you for sure that very few people are making even close to that amount. 

[keystone3ply]

1 hour ago, MarimbaManiac said:

Just as a little thought experiment, I approximated what a full time staff member might make if they were paid hourly. 

• A weekend camp is something like 28 hours (12+12+4) - at $15 an hour that is $420 per camp. 
• A drum/brass tech would attend probably 5 camps from December-April, so $2100 for pre-season camps. 
• Spring training is different for each corps, but for SCVC it was 2 weeks on site, 12 hours a day. but visual/drum/brass techs will usually get a block off (pit techs do not), so let's call it 8 hours - $1680 for spring training. 
• After spring training rehearsal is roughly 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, for about 6 weeks, again paying 8 hours to compensate for off block  - $4320 for summer rehearsals. 

That's $2100 + $1680 + $4320 = $8100 for JUST rehearsals, not including shows or tour. If you're a front ensemble tech who does not get a block off, it would obviously be more. Even if each tech was only putting in HALF time, that's $4,000 for a part time tech for just pre-tour. I don't even know how you would compensate for tour. 

I can tell you for sure that very few people are making even close to that amount. 

While in college in the late 80s, I made $15-20, i.e. "gas money", per camp for a tech position with a Div II (open class) corps for a couple of years.  When I started arranging the battery book, I was contracted for a set amount for that service.  

I worked the tech position for the experience & for my resume.  And I would do it all over again; it was a great experience.  Of course, there was 'free room & board' for the camps & the tour. 😁            

[MarimbaManiac]

6 minutes ago, keystone3ply said:

While in college in the late 80s, I made $15-20, i.e. "gas money", per camp for a tech position with a Div II (open class) corps for a couple of years.  When I started arranging the battery book, I was contracted for a set amount for that service.  

I worked the tech position for the experience & for my resume.  And I would do it all over again; it was a great experience.  Of course, there was 'free room & board' for the camps & the tour. 😁            

Great, it's 2023, Things have changed in the last 40 years and the world doesn't work like that any more. Not trying to be rude, but we have to come to terms with the fact what worked in 1983 will not work in 2023.

Anyone working for a top level open class group like SCVC or BDB already has a good deal of teaching experience, and there is zero chance they will be working up to writing the book because there are well paid professional composers doing most of that work now. Free room and board doesn't really mean anything when it's not consistent, because you're still paying rent wherever your stuff is. Maybe those teaching a top world class group can count to be on the road for 3 months, but most groups are only on the road for 4 weeks or so at this point. 

 

Edited March 15, 2023 by MarimbaManiac

[keystone3ply]

2 minutes ago, MarimbaManiac said:

Great, it's 2023, Things have changed in the last 40 years and the world doesn't work like that any more.

Anyone working for a top level open class group like SCVC or BDB already has a good deal of teaching experience, and there is zero chance they will be working up to writing the book because there are well paid professional composers doing most of that work now. Free room and board doesn't really mean anything when it's not consistent, because you're still paying rent wherever your stuff is. Maybe those teaching a top world class group can count to be on the road for 3 months, but most groups are only on the road for 4 weeks or so at this point. 

 

Great; I'm glad it's 2023!  I wasn't debating or trying to "get under your skin".  Just relating my experience from the 80s.  

Carry on Wayward Son...  

[cixelsyd]

1 hour ago, MarimbaManiac said:

Just as a little thought experiment, I approximated what a full time staff member might make if they were paid hourly. 

• A weekend camp is something like 28 hours (12+12+4) - at $15 an hour that is $420 per camp. 
• A drum/brass tech would attend probably 5 camps from December-April, so $2100 for pre-season camps. 
• Spring training is different for each corps, but for SCVC it was 2 weeks on site, 12 hours a day. but visual/drum/brass techs will usually get a block off (pit techs do not), so let's call it 8 hours - $1680 for spring training. 
• After spring training rehearsal is roughly 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, for about 6 weeks, again paying 8 hours to compensate for off block  - $4320 for summer rehearsals. 

That's $2100 + $1680 + $4320 = $8100 for JUST rehearsals, not including shows or tour. If you're a front ensemble tech who does not get a block off, it would obviously be more. Even if each tech was only putting in HALF time, that's $4,000 for a part time tech for just pre-tour. I don't even know how you would compensate for tour. 

I can tell you for sure that very few people are making even close to that amount. 

Okay, add that up for the whole corps.  If each general caption (brass, percussion, guard and visual/drill) had four techs and a caption head, that is 20 people.  20 x $8100 = $162,000.

[scheherazadesghost]

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Edited June 11, 2023 by scheherazadesghost

[MarimbaManiac]

37 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:

Okay, add that up for the whole corps.  If each general caption (brass, percussion, guard and visual/drill) had four techs and a caption head, that is 20 people.  20 x $8100 = $162,000.

Yup, and that would be a cost of doing business. Just like uniforms, equipment, travel, etc. This idea that a 165 member corps should be instructed by a 20 person staff for basically free because they offer "experience and exposure" is an outdated and frankly dangerous concept. These are adults with specialized valuable experience. Pay them something that respects that, and their time.