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12 Sep 10 - 06:13 AM (#2984969) Subject: Free Festival MC From: Alio Hi everyone, I'm looking to expand my work as a festival MC next year - this year I've MC'd at Wirral, Cleckheaton, Saddleworth and Fylde festivals, and received some lovely comments (from audience, artists, stewards, and guys on the sound desks). I never charge as I just love doing it! Could anyone point me in the direction of a festival organiser who'd like to give me a try please?!! Ali xx |
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12 Sep 10 - 05:08 PM (#2985295) Subject: RE: Free Festival MC From: banjoman Try Broadstairs (kent) The artistic director is Kim Headley -check the web site |
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17 Sep 10 - 07:32 AM (#2988584) Subject: RE: Free Festival MC From: GUEST,MC Fat (at work) Why do it for free Ali ? and if you do, remember for some of us, like me it's part of my income. You wouldn't expect a sound engineer to sit at the desk for 4 or 5 hours and do it for nowt. |
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17 Sep 10 - 11:04 AM (#2988700) Subject: RE: Free Festival MC From: r.padgett Tis true Jimmy. A lot of goodwill in folk music too I thought someone had Kidnapped Jim Mc Donald for the moment he will compere in some funny places! Ray |
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17 Sep 10 - 01:46 PM (#2988806) Subject: RE: Free Festival MC From: GUEST,MC Fat True Padge that there is goodwill and long may that continue and I will help anyone out when the cause is right e.g. a new festival, charity jobs etc, but for years there's been little or no thought to the skills that a good MC can bring to running a concert. The recognition of that skill is in receiving a good fee for a good job. At Shrewsbury the MC's team get a rate per concert mainly it's times two but it can be times one. The old addage of if you pay peanuts you get monkeys comes to mind |
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17 Sep 10 - 04:44 PM (#2988909) Subject: RE: Free Festival MC From: MoorleyMan I'm with you all the way, Jim. I do feel that the expert and quality MC is seriously undervalued on the scene as a whole. Yes, a good fee for a good job should be the norm - but is blatantly not. Sadly, my own experience (of the past dozen or so years) has borne that out. My offering of services for free hasn't generally worked for me in terms of getting engagements, except in the kind of circumstances Jim refers to above. I've gladly shown goodwill on many occasions only to be cast aside for the following season in favour of a "paid" compere (or even worse, a booked artist with no MC-ing skills), or a mate of the festival organiser, when none of these have the required expertise, knowledge or commitment to do the job properly or professionally. I too will happily help anyone out under the same criteria as laid out above, but there is a finite limit to one's own financial resources (especially when travel and accommodation costs are involved) - and goodwill can so easily be abused or taken for granted, which is not a good thing. And Alio, however laudable your intentions I do think the effect will be that of unintentionally devaluing us experienced MCs who are continually both underused and underappreciated. |
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17 Sep 10 - 07:22 PM (#2988988) Subject: RE: Free Festival MC From: GUEST,MC Fat I was once met with a statement in the first years of Sheff Folk Festival when I suggested that myself and ken johnson took on these roles 'Don't think you are getting the plum jobs', I promptly 'booked' a very good compere , who cost the festival. He wasn't that well received, he couldn't do the sunday final concert, I took over and everyone said how much better the concert was. The use of booked artists as a compere , I personally think is flawed and crap, and cheapskate, ( unless it's an experienced compere like Keith Donnelly)i don't want to totally diss Ali's offer to festivals but I think it should be tempered with the knowledge that an experienced compere is worth the same weight as an experienced sound engineer. I have worked as an established compere for 30 years and i would like to think that I get rebooked ( and do get rebooked) because I can do the job. Best wishes with getting more work Ali but doing it for nowt might not be the answer |
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18 Sep 10 - 05:23 AM (#2989127) Subject: RE: Free Festival MC From: MoorleyMan Absolutely agree, Jim. Keith Donnelly is a brilliant compere and he's truly one of the very few exceptions to the rule when it comes to using booked artists for that role. Good luck to one and all, but there really needs to be a sea-change amongst those festival organisers who do not realise, recognise or reward the skill in the art of successful compering. |
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18 Sep 10 - 07:20 AM (#2989149) Subject: RE: Free Festival MC From: GUEST,jim hancock Hi Alio try http://www.yorkshire-folk-arts.com/directory/festivals.html it's got all the festivals in Yorkshire on it (which is more than many would expect) All the best Jim |