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Singers, songwriters, musicians and entertainers may be the lifeblood of the Tamworth Country Music Festival, but few are making any money from their annual January trek to the capital of Australia's country music scene.
Anita Tressider from the New South Wales Central Coast fronts a band called Whiskey Business.
She and her band members have been spending their nights in Tamworth sleeping on the floor of the local high school.
"Coming out to Tamworth, the money isn't big unless you've got a ticketed show. The money that you get pays a small amount to each musician. It only covers our expenses and it's not enough to cover a motel or an Airbnb," Ms Tressider said.
"To hire that classroom's almost costing us what we earn for the festival, with a little bit leftover for food.
"We've pretty much come out here for free."
Ms Tressider said younger, inexperienced artists are cheaper for venues to book, leaving experienced entertainers without decent paying gigs, and festival-goers not seeing the artists who have spent years refining their craft.
Competition means low pay
Independent singer-songwriter Melody Moko agreed that competition for gigs results in lower pay for artists.
"In Tamworth it's highly competitive, and there are so many shows on and everyone's got a band behind them because they want to sound their best, but the pay that we're getting in Tamworth is nowhere near enough to pay a band because it's less than we would get normally," she said.
Ms Moko said long hours behind the scenes are often unrewarding.
"Hundreds of hours — the work that goes on during the week that nobody sees — driving, promotion, finding venues. That stuff is so far from being glamorous," she said.
"Every time I do a festival and I get enough money to pay a band … the fee would cover the band and maybe $100 or $200 for me.
"The costs, a lot of the time, just outweigh any of the profit, but when you're up on stage and you're singing, the feeling is unbeatable."
Why not get a 'real job'?
Ms Moko's husband Michael Muchow is a sought-after guitarist who has played with the likes of Catherine Britt and Kasey Chambers.
Despite his success, he has had trouble convincing his family that music is a 'real' job.
"It's a struggle to convince them that what I'm actually doing is running a small business," Mr Muchow said.
He admitted payment terms in the industry can be difficult, sometimes not being paid until months after a gig.
"You've got to survive going out on the road working for these people for one or two months before you start getting paid," he said.
"Sure, many businesses work like that, but I'm not like a construction company getting large contracts which carries them through until the next job's done."
The value of entertainment and the arts
Mr Muchow said many people do not consider working in the arts to be a 'serious' job, but challenges people to turn off all entertainment for just one week.
"Let's just say your radio and TV didn't work. You couldn't play CDs or DVDs and there were no cinemas. What if there was nothing and the world had to go without that for a week?" he said.
"Would the way they value entertainment change?"
Ms Moko admitted to at times reassessing her career choice.
"I'm 30 and I put my first record out a couple of years ago," she said.
"We make enough money to survive, but we don't make enough money to ever buy a house or … to pay our bills on time.
"I wonder if I'm doing the right thing for my kids."
Changing with the times
Changing times have affected Melbourne busker Rhys Crimmin who regularly takes his one-man show to festivals around the country.
He said busking is not what is used to be, with fewer people buying his albums or throwing coins into his guitar case.
"Australia's becoming a cashless society now so that affects any spontaneous tips," he said.
"And people don't buy CDs as much anymore because they stream from the internet, especially younger people."
But Mr Crimmin said he remains optimistic.
"I just keep playing to get my music out there. I pick up a lot of gigs and festivals from busking," he said.
"I enjoy playing on the street because it's always different. You never know how people are going to react."
A new business model
A changing marketplace has meant artists need to adapt to meet new audience demands.
Several musicians, including Melbourne's Andrew Swift, are tapping into the holiday crowd and taking their music directly to caravan parks.
"It's a great way to take our music to young families and grey nomads who wouldn't usually go out to bars in Melbourne," he said.
He too has adapted to the emerging cashless society.
"We sell a lot of hats and shirts and CDs, and even fly swats, but caravanners and campers don't carry a lot of cash," he said.
"We would have lost thousands of dollars in sales over the years if we didn't have EFTPOS."
Also changing with the times, Melody Moko crowdfunded her debut album, The Wreckage, which allowed supporters to invest in her music.
"It's easy for them to get involved while sitting at home," she said.
"They pay online to support music and they're able to get instant gratification from it.
"It's allowed me to make deep connections with fans."
While she is grateful for the support, Ms Moko said many people are reluctant to leave their house to see a live show because they have a range of entertainment options that do not involve them getting off the couch.
"There's so much magic to a live show and a feeling in the room that can't be replicated on Spotify or YouTube," she said.
"I think a generation of young people are going to miss out on that."
Music fans in control
Musicians of all genres are looking for new ways to get their music into the public realm.
Patrick Donovan, chief executive of Music Victoria, said consumers have driven artists to utilise non-traditional venues.
"There's a demand by music fans to experience music in different environments and older fans in particular might not want to go to the pub, and a lot of shows are quite late at night," he said.
"Musicians have a lot more control of their careers now because they can communicate directly with their fan base through social media.
"They can ask their fans where they'd like to see them play."
Mr Donovan said more competition for the youth consumer entertainment dollar has meant bands and venues need to diversify.
"The youth are used to going to festivals to see a range of acts, even including comedy, so the more traditional venues are looking at diversifying their line-ups because that's what young people are demanding."
Meanwhile, back in Tamworth, Country Music Festival manager Barry Harley admitted the laws of supply and demand have determined the pay scales for bands, the availability of venues, and the price of accommodation.
"I would suspect that there are some venues taking advantage of the emerging talent and getting them to play for a lot less than an A or B-list artist," he said.
Mr Harley said the festival's business model is unique.
"No one owns it. It's owned by the community, the stakeholders, by the artists themselves and the promoters," he said.
"No one's curating the Tamworth Country Music Festival, no one's telling anyone what to do, but there is a place for all."
Topics: arts-and-entertainment, music, music-industry, bands-and-artists, industry, tamworth-2340, melbourne-3000, gosford-2250
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