Ann Lister's post reminds me of the link further above to a blog about a proposed jazz festival in Brighton. There someone was trying to start up a new festival and proposed a structure where bands paid a £150 registration fee. This was criticised as the worst case of exploitation the blogger had seen, which seemed to me to be an over-reaction. The organiser had adopted a business model used by other festival, including the Edinburgh Fringe.

It struck me that with a very slight change the story might have been very different. If a few local bands had decided to put on a festival, each chipped in £150 seed money and invited other bands to participate on the same basis, it would probably be seen as a fine example of musicians promoting themselves.

There are plenty of examples of musicians being exploited by promoters, but not all promoters are in if for the money, especially in minority genres. The folk scene has depended very largely on amateur promoters who are prepared to spend their own money to support the music. Equally, musicians are adults who can make their own decisions and judgments when and on what basis they perform. If they sometimes make bad choices, they will know better the next time.