Juan Miguel Severo reminds mall: ‘Make paying artists your default’

MANILA, Philippines – Juan Miguel Severo continued to stress that artists should be compensated fairly for their services, even as he apologized for how he responded to a mall that asked for him to perform at their event in exchange for meals.

“First of all, I wanna apologize for the way I snapped at you. I know you’re just doing your job and I didn’t realize I was shooting the messenger. I’m sorry,” he said in a message to the mall, which he shared on Twitter on August 4.

“That said – and this goes out to your superiors – I remain firm in my stand. Artists should not be take advantage, exploited, and given less than they’re due, especially by big companies and corporations under which establishments such as yours belong,” he said.

About that mall:

They replied to my messages and this was what I had to say. Posting this here because I know this issue is ever-recurring for artists of every discipline.

I appreciate your sound suggestions on how I could’ve handled the situation better. Thanks! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/zIMmLsqEw4

— Juan Miguel Severo (@TheRainBro) August 4, 2019

Juan Miguel had earlier called out the unnamed establishment for inviting him to perform in exchange for meals.

“My talent is free. My time is not. Yes, I do things for free. A benefit? A fundraiser? Game. But a mall???? Ate. A mall. Artists should value their craft enough and not be sorry,” he said in one of the tweets.

A MALL INVITES ME.

TO PERFORM.

FOR A FREE MEAL.

AND TO “FURTHER PROMOTE” MY CRAFT.

I know I’m poor but bitch???

— Juan Miguel Severo (@TheRainBro) August 2, 2019

Fellow spoken word artists:

If you receive the same message, do everyone else a favor and say no. pic.twitter.com/jirtK6KIPu

— Juan Miguel Severo (@TheRainBro) August 2, 2019

Let me QRT you because I know a lot of people have the same mindset. My talent is free. My time is not. Yes, I do things for free. A benefit? A rally? A fundraiser? Game.

But a mall???? Ate. A mall. Artists should value their craft enough to say no and not be sorry. https://t.co/BtyHbYJjhg

— Juan Miguel Severo (@TheRainBro) August 2, 2019

In his August 4 Twitter post, he acknowledged that he didn’t give the mall an opportunity to negotiate the terms, saying that it would have been the polite thing to do so but insisting that “politeness isn’t owed when asserting how things should be in the first place (i.e. artists are to be compensated for their services).”

He stressed that paying artists should be the default for companies who ask for their services.

“Trust me, if an artist wants to waive their fee, they will offer to do so. But if you truly want to support an art form, support the artists,” he said.

He then declined the invitation to perform, but asked that the opportunity be given to other artists, provided they are properly compensated.

“I know that you invited other members of our small, tightly-knit community as well and I would love it if they are given the chance to promote the art form and the languages we so love, while also earning from it,” he said. – Rappler.com