Nadine Shah is renowned for being frank and honest - and, it turns out, won't make an exception even when it comes to the nation's most venerable music festival.
Scotching rumours that she might be playing down Pilton way at the end of the month, she said on Twitter: "I would have liked to but I wasn't offered a televised stage so I declined. It's too expensive a hit for me to take otherwise."
When some people responded critically, accusing her of diva-ish behaviour, she was forthright in her explanation: "To be clear, if I'm offered LESS money than what it costs me to play a show then I WON'T play it. BUT if there's the bonus of it being televised I MAY take the hit for the exposure. Sorry if you find this crude and sorry to break it to you but music is my JOB."
First and foremost, she shouldn't have to justify her decisions to anyone - but this seems perfectly reasonable. If you're an artist, by all means take a gig or embark on a tour that you know will leave you out of pocket (as seems to be increasingly the case) if you weigh up all the factors and decide to do it anyway - but no one should feel obliged to undersell or bankrupt themselves just to be able to perform. On the contrary, you'd hope that a festival of the size and income of Glastonbury would be able to cover the costs of the musicians it puts on, at very least.
No comments:
Post a Comment