Think about the amount of money you spent on your last concert ticket. For me, it was $80 for a concert at Fenway Park. Now multiply that number by the amount of total tickets sold for that concert. At Fenway, it was nearly 50,000. That adds up to $4 MILLION in ticket sales if everyone paid $80. $4 million, and that was just one night of the dozens on the tour. I think about this frequently, and how much money the artists must pull in from these types of large scale tours…must be nice!
But even these millionaire musicians had humble beginnings. Think now about what it must have been like for them starting out – doing anything and everything they can to get noticed, while still having to maintain some sort of income. It’s really unfortunate when you think about it…some of these new musicians are so extremely talented and just want to provide the world with music and meanwhile, there are plenty of people out there rolling in money for having reality TV shows or working at a job their daddy got them. When they’re first starting out, young musicians are just looking for the money they need to get going.
Well, my dear friends are flipping the script. I introduce to you – Copilot.
Copilot is a dream turned reality by my friend Ry McDonald. The name hails from the first place Ry was when he set his mind to giving music to the world – riding copilot in his dad’s car, listening to The Beatles. Ry and his angelic co-voice, Maggie, are in that beginning phase right now. They play anywhere they can, and they’ve recently started traveling to popular areas of Boston to sing for passers-by. They’ve been collecting tips, but the other day they decided to give the money back. Yes, they decided to give back some of the money that they have been working so hard to earn.
The duo took on Quincy Market, with a guitar case full of $1 bills. They had signs that read “if you like our music, please take a dollar.” They quite literally PAID PEOPLE to listen to them. Kind of backwards, right? But backwards isn’t always bad. If you think about it, what better way to get people’s attention than physically giving them money? Their goal was to give back to the community, as if their music isn’t already enough! This philanthropic outlook is exactly what is going to land them on these massive tours, and land my butt in an $80 seat to listen.
Here’s the video recap of their day. You’ve GOT to check these two out. If you do nothing else with your night, check.these.two.out.
Facebook: Copilot
Twitter & Insta: @CopilotMusic17
First World Thoughts 