Hi,
i don't get a lot of 'readings', but tend to take what is offered -
within bounds. In other words, i don't have a 'set fee'. Some places can
pay, some can't. Some can only give expenses or a share of door split.
Sometimes it's £25 or £40 or £100 or whatever. sometimes it's "can we get a
date when you're next passing this way, 'cause the travel is more than our
usual fee" and so on". Some venues / promoters have funding, (some motors
shave winnings) some don't. - and so on. Sometimes it's worth doing unpaid
readings for me, simply for 'the crack'. I've never asked for a reading or
written off to try to get one or cold called. It is always by invite and so
at the point of invitation i make it clear that it's down to what the venue
can afford. I expect people to be fair in return. But to respond to
Pierre's question i have been caught out. The worst instance was at the
Albert Hall re-union gig when the promoter was hiring the hall and worrying
sick (at least that was the front) about the debts being run up. I was
offered the same fee as everyone else. I said, if you've had a decent house
and things are catastrophic financially then pay me, if it means piling
extra misery onto you head then i'll do it anyway out of a spirit of
generosity of community. He never paid me, but worse still gave permission
without my knowing for the BBC to film Sianed and myself from the hall and
we went out (i still haven't seen it) on breakfast telly the following
morning (for which i would certainly have expected a fee). Grump grump.
I suspect that Andrew Motion was offered the fee quoted. I'd thump another
card down behind Pierre's challenge and say, who here if approached by
Lowestoft Festival to read, offered £200 for doing so, plus accomodation,
travelling expenses and a meal would say "I only want £100 plus thanks"?
You can always put the extra £100 surplus to your sense of equity into
publishing a little book or donate it to your favorite struggling little
press.
>To turn the fee thing around: is there any poet on this list who would
>turn down a 200 quid reading, arguing that 100 is quite enough for him
>or her and would hand back the other 100 to the organisers so that the
>latter may bring in one more poet? -- Pierre
that's my tuppennyworth
love and love
cris
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