My husband ran a private club for years that had a restaurant attached to it. The waiters were unionized and while some of them were professional, others behaved in insane fashion - truly - especially the shop steward. They got a nice salary, great benefits, couldn’t be fired, didn’t receive tips and so had no incentive to behave professionally. What a nightmare!
yep.
As a musician, I have noticed that, if you play for a small amount of money, but put out a tip jar, you can have a very good night. This works in clubs, or even on a street corner. However, your success will be directly proportional to your perfomance, skill, enthusiasm, and artistry.
On the other hand, when doing a private function, a “Tip Jar” is very unprofessional and just plain wrong. So for a “General Business” gig, there is a much higher contract price for the gig and is based on an hourly wage.
The worst situation is when the union takes over the music business. You then have no choice what you charge for a gig, and you can be priced right out of business.
Then, along come the DJs and Karaoke-Mongers to fill in the gap.