To the musician who thinks you automatically deserve a tip for playing in the same bar I’m in: NO. Just because you’re strumming away indoors where my friends and I are having a good time doesn’t entitle you to anything out of my wallet.
Seriously, what makes you more deserving of a tip than the guys playing in Pioneer Square? Because you’re surrounded by four walls? And you’re not even happy with people who DO tip you! Because apparently $1 just isn’t enough to satisfy you and your talent (we’ll leave out the possibility that maybe that’s all the tipper could afford to give you). At least the guys in Pioneer Square are grateful for the tips they get for playing their music for the passers-by.
Look, I tip musicians when I’m out if I like their music, their skills, their attitude, or I think they genuinely deserve it. But it’s not a given. And – surprise! – there’s the chance that I’m just down to my last dollar and can’t afford it (and besides, you think $1 isn’t enough, remember?). But you being where I’m trying to eat/drink doesn’t mean I owe you anything.
A tip, really, is gratuity, which means a favor or A GIFT. So how about showing some gratitude and being thankful for what people do give you and not demanding anything from them. When you demand people who come to a bar for reasons other than to hear you start paying you, then what you’re really demanding is a cover. In that case, you’re beef’s with the bar to charge at the door, and not with me.