The fact that it’s harder than ever for musicians to turn a profit from their craft these days is no secret. It’s a sentiment that we at Tone Deaf have repeated ad nauseum, but the numbers make the reality of the situation pretty clear.

That’s why we feel it’s important to open a dialogue any time there’s a situation that’s potentially exploitative for Australia’s hard-working musicians or simply making it tougher for them to make a living from their art.

It was recently brought to our attention that shopping mall giant Westfield have been inviting musicians to apply to busk for free inside some of centres, specifically Westfield Miranda – see the mall’s application form here.

Westfield’s invitation to let unpaid musicians effectively work in their malls has caused some controversy among the independent musician community, with the Association of Australian Musicians launching a social media campaign against Westfield.

We spoke to John Prior, Secretary of the Association of Australian Musicians, who insisted that by allowing musicians to bring a collection box/instrument case rather than remunerating them, Westfield is treating musicians as “vulnerable freelance beggars worth nothing”.

“[We] believe that billion-dollar businesses like Wesfield, which made $1.6b profit last year, should pay workers at least the minimum award rates recommended by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, which is a minimum of about $200 for each musician per session,” said John.

“Musicians don’t learn and practice music for tens of thousands of hours in the hope of busking in a shopping mall, although some musicians are keen to seize any possible opportunity to succeed. As a result, many musicians will perform for free in the hope of further employment further down the track.”

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“We believe billion-dollar businesses like Wesfield should pay workers at least the minimum award rates.”

“However, apart from a handful of dedicated buskers that can earn a reasonable income, busking is not a viable career path and it generally doesn’t lead to better opportunities. In fact, the more aspiring musicians that are prepared to work for tips, or less, for the hope of recognition, the less paid work there will be in the future.”

We decided to speak to a musician who has gained recognition from busking, Regan Lethbridge, lead guitarist for Melbourne band BONJAH and booking agent at Melbourne’s 123 Agency, where he handles a number of clients who gained notoriety from busking on the streets and manages duo Pierce Brothers.

“If Westfield have reached out for entertainment and requested musicians to perform, they should pay a fee, even if it’s small,” Regan told Tone Deaf. “My belief is artists should always be paid for their time, unless it’s charity of course.”

“Westfield are a multi-million dollar chain. I’m sure they won’t miss a couple of hundred dollars to bring a certain vibe to their malls. Different story if a busker is volunteering their time and taking a punt.”

“BONJAH performed in Bourke St Mall 3-4 times a week for five years, living off our album sales,” Regan recounted. “We invested 100 percent of our time in playing, recording, and touring. The coins in the guitar case would pay for our lunch and parking for the van.”

“CD sales would go straight in the bank and we would reinvest every dollar back into the next recording or tour – ‘paying our dues’, as you would call it, no one can ever give you shit for selling out if you have sat on a street corner for years!”

As Regan noted, busking can provide an important foundation for up-and-coming musicians. “Apart form the fact it was a lot of fun playing music with your best mates most days of the week it got our name out and helped to sell out big Melbourne shows,” he explained.

“It’s a direct connection with fans that we are fortunate enough to still have now. We never got paid by a business or council, you had to earn every $20 sale and stick around for signings and chats on breaks, which is how we made most of our friends we still have today.”

“I think there is a perception now of music being so accessible and free and it’s been devalued so much,” he continued. “It’s the same for every artist though, so you simply need to adapt and roll with the times.”

“Touring and sync has never been so important for a band to survive. Each to their own, but I would say buskers have the right to say no to any particular deal or move on to another spot. We did a busk last year for fun to celebrate our third album release and we did a couple of busks for charity to raise money for things.”

“I think the definition of a busker is we get paid by our ability to provide entertainment to a crowd.”

“We are now focussed on making the best music we can and writing and recording, so we would say no at this point. I think for a young and upcoming solo artist or band, they should take any and every opportunity like this to play in front of people and create their own destiny. Don’t sit around wait.”

Someone who’s certainly not sitting around and waiting is Zechariah Walters, guitarist and vocalist for Yarrawonga trio Woodlock, who got their start busking in areas like Melbourne’s Bourke St mall – a popular spot for buskers in the city.

According to Zech, it’s not essential for Westfield to pay their buskers. “In terms of busking, no, it’s not a necessity to be paid by the mall,” Zech told Tone Deaf. “I think the definition of a busker is we get paid by our ability to provide entertainment to a crowd.”

“If you’re getting grumpy and are demanding to be paid by a mall, go work doing wedding gigs or pub gigs as an actual act. It would be nice to get paid, admittedly, who doesn’t like being paid? But to be expectant of it, like you deserve to be paid, seems to be demanding a bit much.”

“When we busk outside a store we don’t demand to be paid by the store owner, it’s a bit rude,” Zech added. “We have been paid to busk before and we have also been asked to busk in places and not offered to be paid. Either way, payment from these places is a bonus for us, not a necessity.”

“I don’t think in our history of busking we’ve ever had an outlet take advantage of us,” said Zech. “In all honesty, we’ve been taking advantage of the crowds that gather around shopping centres, it allows us to get our music out there.”

“Usually, what we’ve done is we each help benefit each other. Several times, a store has paid us in small items they sell as a thank you for our music.”

When we asked Zech if Woodlock would consider the Westfield opportunity, he replied, “Yes, and we would probably do it too.”

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