Some of us perform for little to no money, often driven by passion rather than financial gain. We play music purely for enjoyment, without the expectation of monetary compensation. We play 3 to 4 times a week but make no money, relying on our day jobs to support ourselves. Additionally, there are instances where musicians play for the love of music and to help a charity event.
There are also historical examples of musicians who did not play for money. Eden Ahbez, for example, wrote the song “Nature Boy” but chose to be homeless and may have sold the song for next to nothing. There are also musicians who have made their catalog public domain.
Community band thrive and that has never been about making money. It’s about recreating the music fraternity often found in the best of schools as we grew up. We don’t cater to huge audiences, but we are appreciated.
Still in 20+ years of running a band I have run into characters, often very talented musicians, who scorn the non-professional feeling that they steal money from the pros. I hafta say, most of the low or no pay performances my band does would never be acceptable to a professional group. So play on dear musicians, help make the world a more musical place.
The Bis Key Chronicles 
I don’t believe that it’s really helpful to have a discussion framed in terms of playing for free, while speaking of it as something that undermines professional musicians. To begin with, as correctly noted, many appearances are for charity. Beyond this, there is the question of what constitutes a professional musician?
Professional musicians, in one sense, are the relative few, such as Wynton Marsalis and Kenny G who are both distinctive AND fortunate enough to have attracted large followings among the general public, which generally understands jazz to be an esoteric music ( not often synonymous with what is widely popular, or exoteric, at any point in time ).
Wynton, Kenny and those in their rareified jazz spheres have income not only from well-attended live performances, but also from recording contracts, royalties, etc. It is preposterous to think that at any time, worthy amateur musicians playing for free would be accused of doing anything that is to the detriment of such luminaries.
Rubbish!
These super-talented have the rare good fortune to have backers with very deep pockets. They make it possible for a handful of artists to have lucrative careers and thereby support themselves entirely through their musical gifts.
You will agree that every jazz idiom from New Orleans up to the present time, has had its trendsetters who point the way to the dominant aesthetic. In every period, following behind them have been many who idolized them and deeply analyzed their styles and recorded performances.
These dedicated individuals are often excellent musicians who just don’t develop large-scale followings and audiences. Such artists often just don’t have people with resources who can promote them. An additional problem is that, for Joan or Joe Q. Public, jazz is something heard but unconsciously, and often scarcely understood. How would they possibly have any notion of the true monetary value of jazz?
Those of us in the majority who play for passion and make our livings elsewhere, including teaching music, are just as valid as the illustrious. Professionalism is an attitude and is not determined solely in terms of revenue. That said, when not playing for charity, we should be willing to respectfully propose a minimum amount based upon the number of sidemen playing at the event in question. ( Yes, I know that can be daunting to do. But if we don’t advocate for ourselves, automatically nothing will happen ).
At least a hearty meal is very often on offer. I am suggesting that we have to show we believe in ourselves by asking for fair remuneration. It is the principle of it. We have spent years learning our instruments and endeavouring to understand music. Where is there anything forbidding us from earning money by playing it.
Ultimately, my point is that we are ALL professionals by reason of our passion and dedication. Monetary recompense and musical worthiness have nothing to do with sheer revenue. Otherwise, the only ”professionals” would be 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Bruno Mars, Pink and a host of other ”pop” figures. These have massive followings and are super-affluent.
Yet as long as I live, I will never allow that any of these are “musicians” remotely comparable to the likes of Dizzy, Sonny Rollins, Bird or Monk, or any of the best of the Swing heroes such as Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter or Teddy Wilson.
In terms of other immediate problems, it would be good if we could promote ourselves more and get ourselves hired in place of the disc jockeys omnipresent at lavish functions. They often know nothing about how music really is. This often becomes glaringly obvious when someone requests a waltz, yet they are helpless to pick an appropriate selection.
Thank you for reading. I am Canadian and I play clarinet and all of the main saxophones, save for the baritone.
Thanks Richard, well said. Mostly this post is not to those of us who perform for the love of music but for the snobs who downgrade us because we don’t make a lot of money. You said it better.