Need the services of an artist? Here are some terms to know

Artists toss around a lot of terms to describe work, especially on social media. While we all know what they mean in general, it may be unclear exactly what each one means in terms of the work that is done and the obligation everyone involved has to each other. Here are a just a few common work terms in the arts, and what each type entails. 


Gig (May also be called a set, or if the person is a spoken word artist, a reading.) 

When you hire a musician for a gig or set, a spoken word or a literary artist for a reading, this means they have agreed to share their work with your audience for pay. You pay them the agreed upon fee. If that fee is to be $0, that should be made abundantly clear from the beginning, before anyone signs up to share their work. If that fee is to be any amount of money, you owe that artist that amount upon the completion of the work they agreed to do. 

The only time it is acceptable to withhold this fee is if the artist did not do the work you hired them to do, if they failed to show up, refused to perform, or arrived too drunk or high to produce their work. You still owe the artist the fee you agreed to pay them if members of your audience didn’t like the music or the poems, you don’t like the artist as a person, or you decided mid set that their art wasn’t suitable to your establishment. 


Collaboration 

An artist asking you to collaborate, often shortened to “collab” in contemporary speech, is asking you to partner with them. They do not pay you. You do not pay them. The two of you are going to work together on the project. Any money or other benefits gained will be split between you, according to whatever agreement you make before you start. 

Get this agreement in writing. An actual contract or agreement signed by everyone involved is best. At the very least, work out the details via email, so that everyone has saved, printed records of what each person agreed to do. 


Pitch

A “pitch” is an independent artist asking you to give them work. You will most commonly hear this from writers. The person may reach out to you proposing that they write an article about a local band for your guitar magazine, or cover a music festival for your newspaper or community webpage. When someone sends you a pitch, they are asking you to hire them to complete the project they suggest, and pay them for it. 

Once you agree to the person’s pitch, you are obligated to pay them for the work when they produce it according to the agreement. The article or other project is not free just because it was the artist’s idea to create it, and not yours. If you do not want to pay for whatever  the artist is pitching, turn down the pitch. 

Open mic or showcase

Artists participating in an open mic or showcase can be thought of as swapping their work for the guaranteed audience the venue provides. This is where the term “the wage is the stage” applies. No money or other goods change hands in most cases, but the venue owner or manager gets entertainment for their establishment, and the artist gets their work shown in front of anyone who attends the open mic or showcase event. 

Although the artist is not typically asked to pay to participate in an open mic or showcase, they may be asked to pay at the door for anyone who is accompanying them but not performing, and expected to purchase food or drinks if the venue is a restaurant, cafe, or bar. Artists and their entourages need to pay and purchase without complaints or snark. Supporting the businesses that support the arts is an important way to keep the arts alive in your community. 

Free content library

Video clips, articles, photos, and other pieces of work included in an online collection or library labeled “free” is just that, free. It means you may use the content on your own webpage or in your print publication without paying the artist. When using free content, remember to respect the artist’s stated rules for use, and respect their work. Using something offered to you for free is different than stealing it. Never alter the work to make it appear that you created it unless you have been given direct permission from the artist to do so. 

In situations where none of these terms are being used, it is perfectly acceptable to bring them up yourself, and to ask questions until it is clear to everyone what type of work the artist or artists involved are offering. Asking “Are you asking me to collaborate with you on this article, or is this a pitch?” Or “Are you looking for strictly paying gigs, or are you open to playing at an open mic or a showcase?” is perfectly acceptable. 


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