Karaoke Forums

I had a famous NFL football player here in the Tampa Bay area approach me about working for him on NYE. He is planning a charity weekend that includes a golf tourney, cornhole tournament, and fishing tournament. This event raises about $300,000.00 a year for the local children's hospital.

I was more than happy to help.....at first. THEN, he told me that he wanted me to MC and DJ the ENTIRE NYE event for 9 hours for free.

I checked into it, and professional services CAN NOT write off their services if they give them for free to charity. You CAN write off any expenses related to providing the service for the charity, but you CAN NOT write off the value of the service itself.

I've done major events in the past, and even the exposure doesn't particularly lead to any other jobs, so I'm not sure that is a good incentive.

I'm not trying to come off as selfish, but isn't 9 hours unreasonable with very little incintive beyond the charity work itself? Thoughts??

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C Mc
KJ, FL

I was in a somewhat similar situation when I had volunteered to a karaoke friend that I would give them the gift of a show for their wedding reception. He extended it to providing music for the ceremony and other things, making it 9 hours by the time you added load-in/load-out.

I said "No, sorry. I will do the reception show, no problem. But 9 hours is too long." He had zero problem with that and found someone else to do the rest of the show, and I was still able to happily give my gift.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Hmm..... perhaps getting maximum exposure if the event is advertised on radio, banners, programs, tv coverage(?), may be worth it.

Perhaps also stipulating autographs and pictures taken with the celebrities, future tickets to games (vip), autographs and jerseys are resaleable for compensation. Just even pictures with the celebrities can make your webpages and business literature appear more lively, up to date, and show you believe/participate in charity events.

I have done a few myself and if it required me to purchase new music, extra equipment, a canopy, tent, suit/outfit, and food/beverages, then it's all tax-deductible.

In the end, if you have the time, it sounds like fun and for a worthy cause. Just make sure you get credit for it somehow and definately get treated respectfully...and get some good pictures in return.

Charities have budgets for these types of events. I'm pretty sure the caterers, servers, florists, etc are not doing it for free. As for exposure, that's highly overated. We've done some charity work and have had nada shows because of it. Nobody goes to these things to remember the entertainment, they are there to network and look good.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

To (me), charity comes from the heart, NOT the pocketbook. So if it is something that I believe in, I DO IT, if it's something that I DON'T believe in, I DON'T DO IT. I don't believe in MOST charities, and think they are just a way to make money for their "ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS", or they're just flat out SCAMS, so therefore I don't contribute. HOWEVER, if it is one of the FEW that I do believe in, I'd have NO problem doing something for FREE. I picture them as kind of a "homeless" person on the street that asks for money, "because he's HUNGRY", so you offer to buy him a sandwich, and he tells you that he "doesn't want a sandwich, he wants MONEY", then he gets NOTHING!!!!

Srnitynow

Precisely, Srnty. I tell the street hustlers that they can polish my shoes and I'll gladly pay them. They run the other way. I watched a street hustler carefully tuck his "need money" sign into a bush and he went across the street to the store, picked up some cigarettes and a few of those HUGE beers. MMhhh.... No free money. PERIOD. Irritates me when people throw money at these people. Many of them are professional street hustlers.

On the other hand, I do believe in the Boys & Girls Club as a charity, and am happy to do shows for them when they ask. Of course they also pay me without a question...they are nonprofit, and what I accept from them (since they are 5 minutes from my home) is far less than what I normally charge for a private event. The boss there is a great friend of mine and a wonderful person who is involved in all things community.

Of he doesn't want a sandwich, he wants a filet mignon dinner and a bottle of Château Margaux to go with it!
That is what this sounds like to me. Remember, this is your BUSINESS. A few hours for charity, sure, but nine hours? That seems excessive to me and they want you to do it completely for free to boot. They should at least give you SOME compensation. They aren't getting the food they're serving at this event for free. I can pretty much guarantee you that!
Personally, I would pass, but that's my opinion.
As for the exposure, as someone else said, it's terribly overrated. I've done a few things for the exposure and I must say I won't continue doing it. It was a real dead end as far as that was concerned. I ended up with nothing from it. It's simply not worth it. Word of mouth and fliers posted around town (visibility) is far better in the "exposure" department.

BTW, what is a cornhole tournament?

I'm amused that a PRO FOOTBALL player who WOULD NEVER do his job for free would ask someone else do do theirs......

Maybe he should talk to a few of his teamates who probably make $300,000 per game ?

Turn it down unless it's a charity you really believe in/want to support. I hate to sound cynical or anything here, but, seriously, unless it's something you really support, you need to get something out of it. 9 hours with no compensations - ESPECIALLY on New Year's Eve, is completely unacceptable.

I work for a catering company. We work a lot of charity/non profit events (Russell Simmons big charity event every year just as an example), and I can assure you, NO ONE who is working the event (caterers, DJ's, other entertainment, etc) does it without a paycheck. Some may discount their rate because it is a charity event, but NO ONE is donating ALL of their time. These events HAVE budgets.

People have this weird "It's a charity event, therefore, you should be HAPPY to work a full shift for nothing." Ummm....yes, well, *I* am not a charity, and donating my time on a night when I can (and SHOULD) be booking a well paying gig does not pay my bills.

As far as the "exposure" factor....if i booked work every time I did something as a favour because I was promised I would get the "right" exposure, I wouldn't be struggling. I was hired (years ago) for an event that I was paid fairly well for, but, took more because the people who booked me swore up and down it would be great exposure - had me working with a major orchestra in the area, David Foster and Micheal Eisner were guests, and the people who booked me, of course, would then book me for future events. Lemme tell ya....everything went well, I got a lot of compliments, everyone supposedly loved me and what I did....but I never heard from anyone involved ever again. Thank goodness for the paycheck.

If you have nothing else to do NYE, and you think you would have fun, by all means, take it. But, do NOT take it on the hope that it will lead to something else. It MAY, and that's great, but, most likely, it won't.

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"I hold the key to an open door....will I ever be free...?"

Many people don't understand the value of what we do and that even though it looks like fun, and many times it is, it's still WORK and our JOB.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people expect us (entertainers - that's what we are!) to do our job for free. But ask your local mechanic to fix a car for someone on charity and see how far you get. It rarely happens! I was recently invited to a house party by some regulars at one of my karaoke shows. They called, and because I wasn't home, they left a message on my machine. At the end of the message was," oh and bring your karaoke set up with you. Let's all have some fun!". Except for me. Because I'll be WORKING. FOR FREE.
(Not that I don't enjoy my work, but when I'm off work, I'm OFF WORK!)
Needless to say, I didn't bother going or even returning the call.

I didn't mean to say that it is New Year's Eve. It is actually on New Year's day. And I did turn down the "oppertunity" on the spot.

I told him I'd be happy to donate 2-3 hours of my time, maybe DJ ONE of the events, but I just couldn't do 9 hours on a holiday (a day off from my day job!!) without some sort of compensation.

I still plan on going over there to check it out and say hello to show that I wanted to participate. I'm just not free labor

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C Mc
KJ, FL

9 hours for free Aaarg!

I'd try and ask for some compensation or offer a less amount of time. He maybe able to find someone else to do the event, but I'd think it would be hard for that amount of time.

It can't hurt to try and talk to him about it. I can't believe he wouldn't understand 9 hours free is a bit much. I personally would explain how I was feeling than offer a discount price for a certain amount of time.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Oh, and cornhole is the same as bag toss. Popular tailgate game these days:

http://www.playcornhole.org/

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Woops You posted before me.

On a side note: I love playing bags (Cornhole).

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Gotta love a pro athlete that wants someone to do this for free when many of them charge for an autograph.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

We got roped into doing a charity thing for an NFL dude....son of a friend (won't use his name, don't want to embarrass him or his family) -- he has a charity organization. His dad asked us to come up with a song for his son's charity foundation. So 3 of us sat around the table (ace guitar player, harmony singer too) around the table, wrote and recorded a song, gave him 20 copies of it, complete with CD label and case cover. He NEVER offered to pay us for any part of it. I hope he gave away the CDs. Live and learn. (BTW, it was a great song -- may have to use it again since we didn't sign away rights to it to him.)

Wow! When I brought these same points to light a couple of weeks ago in another thread, I was the greedy basta rd scum of the earth! Sorry, if the busboys are getting paid, I'm getting paid too!

Charity events always frame their pitch for free entertainment with "all the exposure" you'll be getting. Not! Unless you can negotiate putting flyers in the goodie bags, big signage at the event, your logo on the event T-shirts, your ad in the event program, etc. people won't remember who you are and you are unlikely to get any gigs from it.

However, there's also something to be said for having the opportunity to get exposure to "the right people". The fundraiser Topher mentions IS likely to get some high rollers who do lots of entertaining themselves. If I was able to negotiate some of the items listed above, I would probably do the gig.

Of course, if it's a charity you personally believe in then by all means nothing else really matters. I recently had a girl who was trying to be a contestant in the Miss Washington USA pageant call me to do a free show at a bar where she was having a "fundraising" event. How is THAT "charity"?

Usually I will seek out events for organizations I'm interested in supporting and offer my services. Or just simply write them a check.

If you end up going to the festivities, give us a review of the entertaiment!

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[font=Lucida Console]DangerousKaraoke.com[/font]
[font=Lucida Console]"Sing for the day, sing for the moment, sing for the time of your life!"[/font]

I wasn't one of them! I actually agreed with you. I won't work for free either. A reduced rate, maybe, but never for free.

This point is moot now as Topher has turned down this gig.

APPARENTLY quite a few folks here don't know how to turn charity opportunities into future money making opportunities...

MANY charities DJs perform, especially HIGH EXPOSURE ONES usually turn into reoccurring compensated future gigs for the SAME EVENT if it becomes an ANNUAL EVENT, LEADS to OTHER non-charity gigs, private parties, corporate events, birthdays, mitvahs, etc... through something callled "NETWORKING".

maybe something like getting business cards, doing follow up calls, finding out WHO knows WHO in other events and companies....HELLO????? IS THIS THING ON???

If You put yourself in a position where you are UNABLE to advertise your "wares" through an event, you are left bitter and feel like a heel. SORRY-YOUR OWN FAULT.

GEEEEEEEEEZZZZZ. so much GARBAGE spewed on this subject today!!!!

Just because YOU may have FAILED at turning an opportunity into future money gigs doesn't mean IT HAPPENS A LOT to other PROFESSIONALS!!!