Musician Archive
Thread: What's happened to tipping?
I walk into a cantina with a fresh new char. and my trusty slitherhorn. Already tipped 2000 creds. Play four measures...5000 more. Say hi to a wookiee...3000 more. And the tipping goes on and on.
I know people have more money now than they did a month or two ago when I had my first entertainer, but what has happened to the stingyness in the Bothans and Trandoshans now a days? Every time I walk into a cantina I'm paid like I just killed Jar-Jar or something. I want it to be a challenge to get more than a 5 cred tip again without having to go to Bestine or Theed...
I used to have to socialize and entertain my audience in order to get paid...now I just have to show up with any instrument. What's happened to the challenge of this class?
I notice just the opposite but maybe that could have something to do with me doing more to help my fellow entertainers then focus on the clientele that started to treat me like the afk bots that were in Mos Eisley past week.
Maybe I just don't notice the bigger tips anymore, I know I refused a 10k tip because the idiot was so busy with his own bragging about tipping people 15k that I gave him the wind from front when he had the nerve to tip me 38 credits, hey why don't you insult me some more ? It's not like I wasn't spamming spacial chat talking to the other entertainers and customers. He said he tipped one of the others and he did, he got cheap too doing that.
People keep asking what they should tip me, so I say tip what you think my entertaining is worth to you and if my live show still gets 38 credit tips then I don't want the 10k that might follow it when I say thanks, you allready tipped me what you thought I was worth. 38 credits, heh, please go away with your insults. If you need to do things like that then I'm not doing my best anyway because you still have to test if I'm not AFK before you tip me, so I feel like I'm doing it all for nothing, might as well startup a macro and only respond to heals and tips instead of trying to make the place alive.
I know entertainers can have it bad so I gave away to the entertainers in my group 1 Kloo horn, 2 Fizzz's, 1 Fanfare and about 30k in clothes money spread out among a few dancers.
Some folks tip well others don't , but to be honest as a musician I feel pretty silly greating everyone that comes in and talking it up. I mean, I'm a musician, I should be playing songs and putting on a show, not talking. I think it is really silly to see someone playing a woodwind instrument and talking at the same time lol. But that is just me.
I usually play for 5 - 10 minutes then take a short break, at that point I talk, then go back to playing with a different song. I get nice tips.
They respond well to the new folks ignore the masters unless they are dancers dressed weird
After reading swg fourm and misson payouts per hour i got very depressed with the entire profession and there perception of us
i dislike combat here due to the no loot no rewards so i think its time to sit back for a while and do something different
lots of luck all......................
me mm starsider
me briar
wow u are lucky i only get 100 creds max on a tip IF i get one which happens like once every 2 weeks
I'm not sure what town you are playingin but I could offer a few suggestions.
Avoid large groups unless you just want experience.
Be sure to change songs every 10 minutes or so if possible.
Nod instead of greeting everyone that walks in.
Make sure that you are flourishing alot.
Never ever ask or imply that you want a tip!
Play your heart out!
Hope that helps some.
I like all of Ilscander's suggestions but one:
"Nod instead of greeting everyone that walks in. "
I use /smile, /greet, a "waves hello to" alias and /welcome, mix them up so people aren't seeing the same one over and over,and it works well for me. /Nod-ding to someone feels cold. You /nod to someone when you can't be bothered to waste air opening your mouth and speaking to them, or when they are beneath your station, in my book.
I understand your feelings on the matter of Nodding. For me it is like this, I imagine myself as a musician playing an instrument. Now, if I'm in the middle of playing, unless it is a Omnibox or Narg where I'm not using my mouth, I'm not going to stop the song to greet everyone who comes in. So I have to break character and somehow manage to speak and play a woodwind or horn at the same time. It just doesn't work for me. So I wait until I stop for a rest or something. Now a dancer would not have that issue so if you are a that kind of entertainer, then by all means hoot and holler, greet and welcome.
Smiles and such work too even as a musician. When nodding I picture the ultra cool nod that Boba Fett gave Leia in Jabba's Palace when she came in dressed as a bounty hunter with Chewy by her side. Sort of that respectfull greeting type of nod, not just a "I don't have time to talk to you" kind.
this is what happens to your tips:
a wounded char comes into the cantina, finds the highest level musician he can find and watches/listens to that person. if there are 15 entertainers in the room, he's not going to tip every one of you, just the one he targeted and listened on. That is what happened to all of your tips 
toobin wrote:this is what happens to your tips:
a wounded char comes into the cantina, finds the highest level musician he can find and watches/listens to that person. if there are 15 entertainers in the room, he's not going to tip every one of you, just the one he targeted and listened on. That is what happened to all of your tips
This is simply not true.
Last night I got alittle bored so I decided to shoot of the 3 types of fireworks I bought some weeks ago, so I shouted "Fireworks display outside the cantina", some people watched, one person said that it looked nice...
When I was done I walked back into the cantina, 3 people waiting and as I walked in, with my Master Entertainer title up which I turned on for the fireworks show, they went "Where are all the entertainers ?". So I explained I was outside doing the fireworks thing and they told me to entertain them, I did, I played them a soothing waltz on the Mandoviol, I believe one of the 3 said thank you when they were healed after 2-3 minutes and ran out...
The rest of the evening I had other entertainers around, some newbie dancers, some newbie musicians, sure they listen to me but they either don't tip at all or they tip the newbies but certainly not the highest musician as you so boldly claim that everyone does...
Every profession has it's downside. I am a Novice Doctor andI don't sell Stim packs anylonger, and I don't make them. I usually buy them from some really good doctors who know how to make them well. I can't remember the last time I got a tip for healing someone or their pet.
I for one tip the musician and the dancer that I am watching. I try to pick one of each. I completely appreciate what you guys do and I am considering becoming a musician myself. Without you guys there would be no mind heals.
Having said that, I used to only come in the cantina just for the mind healsuntil my buddy starting playing in a band one night. He told me to come in and watch him, and I reluctantly did so. I'm not big into the social aspect of the scene because I hate all the typing involved. But I digress. I went in and watched the six man band play together and it was the best thing I have yet to witness in this game. I watched for a good 20-30 minutes. That's when I realized how much this profession relies on the other professions to keep them going. So I tip big when I can, but I will always tip.
Thanks again for all that you do, this Doctor appreciates it.
Denisa,
I'm speaking from both sides, as a combat oriented character, and an entertainer myself. While that was one instance of that happening, and I'm sure a lot of people just dont care to tip, i guarantee you that most of the loss in tips when you're in a group is because people focus on the highest title (they think they will be healed fastest that way) in each profession. Therefore they decide to tip (if at all) the person they were watching.
Once again this isn't 100% of the time, but it's my belief that it's a vast majority. So need to be snippy about making "bold claims" 
-toobin