BellaOnline Forums Career Musician Do you think Musicians should be paid?

We find in talking to lots of Pastors, they dont have Musicians that want to be a part of a local Church, many want to go from place to place paying they state. Many Pastors state they cant afford Musicians.Please comment

What type of band and chorus set up do you need? Usually, someone in the congregation can play the piano or organ.

Maybe you can put out a plea to the congregation for volunteers. Ask for any instrument. Clarinet and flute, for example, with a microphone can be very nice. Set the requirements: auditions, a certain skill level, practice time at the church, etc.

You shouldn't have to pay musicians for church music. For one thing, it's a Sunday. Most of all, it should be a service rendered to the Lord.

Pray. The Lord will provide.

There are two sides to this question. One is - lots of musicians will give of their services if they are making a living at something else. However, someone who is trying to put food on the table solely as a musician may not be able to "donate" their talents.

There may be some other solutions. Many companies now sell music tracks - like karaoke, but for churches, and a lot of the tracks are very good, both for traditional and contemporary styles. For smaller churches, this may be a possible way to back up either soloists or choirs for not too much money.

If you can't get someone from your church you can ask music stores,schools etc. There are a LOT of musicians out there that would jump at a chance to play, you may have to line up a few volunteers so you can allow for them to discuss who covers what day. Since they will be young you want them not to have to commit every sunday as long as they can cover the sundays between themselves responsibly. If this doesn't work? I am a musician and a sunday afternoon would be a nice little deal for me. There usually isn't any work at that time unless you do family/kids entertainment. I'm in massachusetts and if it were right down the st. for me I would do It for $50.00 That is for my state. Look on bulletin boards in music shops of people looking for bands and ask them about it.You can also check some papers that have a classified for musicians. You may be able to get a break from someone who does it for money but not for free. Good luck. (seek and you shall find,ask and you shall recieve,loves its own reward)

I definitely agree that the congregation is the first place to ask. Someone who belongs to the congregation should donate their fingers since they'll be there anyway.

If not, ask around the area, maybe local students would love the chance to practice being in front of a group and getting over their stage fright in a warm environment.

But yes if you are going to hire an external person who has to drive to the church, perform and then drive home again that person is probably going to charge if only to cover their gas!

it is only right they get paid according to skills .Lets face it being an accomplished musician songwriter or vocalist takes a lot of hard work and MUSIC is very important part of inspiration and motivation ..YES they should be paid !

Wow - I know this post is super-old, but whatever. I'm a CAREER church musician, and I've had it both ways: paid and unpaid. I was an accomplished musician when I was in junior high and high school, and I attended church with my family. During these years, I volunteered as a musician at my church because: 1) I would be attending that church whether or not I was playing, 2) I had a ride to church and didn't have to fill my gas tank to get there, 3) I didn't have to show up early OR rehearse during the week, which most paid church musicians are required to do and - most importantly, 4) I was a kid and I didn't have bills to pay. Fast-forward about 15 years to present day: Now I'm the music and choir director/organist for a church in a different city from where I grew up. I have no historical ties to the church where I work (although I really love my job and the people there), and I would probably never have attended their Sunday services unless I was employed to do so. I make my living as a musician and I cannot afford to drive to and from the church 3 times weekly, as my job requires, unless I'm paid to do so. Also, as a gigging musician, I usually get off my Saturday night work shift at around 4am on Sunday morning - gotta pack up the gear, load out, drive home, and load the gear into the house after those gigs! So I only get to catch a couple hours' sleep before the service each Sunday. If I weren't paid to do it, I'd never get up so early on a Sunday morning after such a late work shift on Saturday night. How would YOU feel about volunteering your own services under those time constraints? I'm paid, and I'm under contract: I'll never show up late, I'll never call off, I'll never "forget," and I'll never be unprepared. It's a win-win, both for me and for my church. As a paid employee at my church, I'm able to organize my musical volunteers into a strong, congregational unit. Their budget for music is very small, but my professional training actually allows them to do SO MUCH MORE musically with SO MUCH LESS MONEY than they ever thought possible. So. . . . consider hiring at least one professional musician to organize your volunteers.

Thanks for your comments. I do think that when musicians put as much effort into learning their craft as a doctor or lawyer, they ought to be earning something.

There are plenty of times I have given my music services to benefits, charities, etc. But there have been other times when I've needed to put food on the table, just like everyone else.

It's good to know some of the ways that you can be paid as a musician. So, here's an article on Performing Rights Organizations that will help you get started earning...

Music Business - Getting Paid

I agree.

I am a church organist/pianist accompanist for our choir. I've been doing this side job for 25 years and enjoy it. But I do believe that I put alot of effort to practice, take the time to go to choir practice which requires some of my spare time to do. I do believe we should get paid for doing this. I truly believe God gave us a gift, so use it wisely but dont abuse it. Some people have to make a living to put food on the table. Musican's dont' always make great money but its something we love doing and share our talent with others out there. I teach piano lessons too. I do enjoy teaching. This is also a paid job too.

Julie

All valid points brought up so far. It depends on the situation. But I do think musicians should be paid eventhough I have never heard of a church musician being paid. I thought they were always part of the congregation and part of the choir and thus voluntary.

But, I have seen in different churches I have been to a special envelope sometimes put in the back of the pews for "Special" reasons. If a family was in need because of illness or death etc. Why not one there all the time as sort of a donation FOR the organist? I see nothing wrong with that. If people enjoy the music and certainly I have heard some great stuff in churches, I'd put a few dollars in. Why not? I think most people would.