Stephen Maybury, President and CEO of the Saskatoon Airport Authority.
An idea to have local musicians perform at the airport has fallen on deaf ears.
“It’s the quote-unquote race to the bottom personified, that’s what it is,” says Warren Rutherford, Secretary Treasurer of the Saskatoon Musicians’ Association, AFM Local 553.
He’s offended that it was assumed the musicians would play for free. In his conversation with Saskatoon Airport Authority CEO Stephen Maybury, Rutherford says he suggested they might want to have a volunteer fire department at the airport as well.
However, these were just preliminary inquiries, according to the airport authority.
“We just wanted to know who’s playing music in Saskatoon and if they want to come out and play their music,” said Chad Munchinsky, manager of customer and terminal services.
The musician’s association was one of several groups approached by the Saskatoon Airport Authority after a local musician approached them about playing there.
“We were just trying to feel out and see what the feedback is. Basically, we just wanted feedback. Obviously, we’re finding out, you know, it’s something that you pay for. I mean, it’s something that we’d be interested in looking at down the road.”
Rutherford takes strong exception to the idea of professional musicians playing simply for the exposure.
“We’re not more than one generation away from having no musicians here.
“If you want to play for free, you’re guaranteeing yourself a brand new shipping box to live under the bridge,” Rutherford said.
