daddyelmis Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 I've read Gig Magazine since its inception (although I recently abandoned it due to its format change) and found it to be the most useful performing musician's mag ever. One area they never tackled, though (aside from cursing "pay to play"), was a survey of what bands are able to charge for typical gigs. I thought it would be interesting to hear what your typical, collectible rate is for a gig. This might prove useful and enlightening for everyone. So, how about you. What kind of band (cover, original), how many musicians, gig rate, number of sets, type of gig (club, festival, corporate), and where are you generally (state)? In NC, My 2 piece (guitar & keys, with vocals) cover band (we use midi for some backing, and have good lighting) gets from $400 to $750 for a typical 3-4 set gig ($100 extra for outside gigs). We target corporate, private and special event gigs (clubs would typically pay us around $150-$250). We are "weekend warriors" and do not gig often (4-12 per year) as we have serious day jobs that get in the way too often. Let's hear about you. www.ruleradio.com "Fame is like death: We will never know what it looks like until we've reached the other side. Then it will be impossible to describe and no one will believe you if you try." - Sloane Crosley, Village Voice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Probably about the same here for a standard club, about 4 per night. Some clubs only wanna give ya 3 when you first come in. Doesn't bother me, I'm not doing it for money anyway. And I travel light...no soundman or huge system. I'd rather play at a little cheap club where the people were cool than a bigger club where the people have tent stakes shoved up their asses. Clubs here in KC don't pay a lot...we do more clubs than private parties, but not a lot. I think we've gigged about three times in the last year. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPaul Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 We are a 6 piece retrorock group doing some originals. Moving our own gear, no soundman, minimal lights, and definiteley not in it for the $$$! Usually we do 3 sets of 12 -14 pieces each which makes about a 6 hour night, studio to gig & back to studio. For a bar gig, we are VERY happy to get 75 each. Usually less, for parties (especially if they feed us!) or events. Last Sat nite we filled a place that had sent the previous week's band home early because the joint was empty. WWW.rovatune.com/tirediron PPaul [url=http://www.TiredIronBand.com Fender Strat Hamer Sunburst Guild D-25 DeArmond Jetstar (Spel!) Washburn HB-15C Peavey C-30 blah blah ho hum etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Originally posted by daddyelmis: ... and have good lighting) ...What does that mean? What of light setup for a duo? > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matteo Blues Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 South Jersey Not the greatest money........Bluesband $350-$500 for 4 to 5 piece band. Good Rock (need to have good draw) makes considerably more!!! http://www.allthingsstrat.com Rock and roll is the hamburger that ate the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddyelmis Posted June 5, 2003 Author Share Posted June 5, 2003 Originally posted by LiveMusic: Originally posted by daddyelmis: ... and have good lighting) ...What does that mean? What of light setup for a duo?2 lighting trees (8 par 38 cans each, 4 channels each), midi controlled using a DMX Operator into which we program the scenes for each song . . . cakewalk/sonar drives the system (we were already using cakewalk to drive sequencing and midi controlled signal processing/delays, so adding lights was no biggie). We're playing Steely Dan, Stones, Mellencamp, etc., so it's a rock n' roll show. The lights add stage presence and make people feel more like dancing. www.ruleradio.com "Fame is like death: We will never know what it looks like until we've reached the other side. Then it will be impossible to describe and no one will believe you if you try." - Sloane Crosley, Village Voice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 wow. you guys are all rich. the blues place i played tonight pays 220 bucks (total!) for the band. when i play there, the whole 5 member band gets a total of 220 dollars before tips. when richie haven's band plays there...220 clams. conan o'brian's jimmy vivino? 220 smackers. thank god there's a p.a. there as well as amps and free drinks ...and a big tip bucket. i think i came home with a whopping 63 dollars. i guess the pay is so much lower here in new york city, because the apartment rents are so much cheaper here... -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwband276911111 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 we ask $100 per man minimum...more is always appreciated (tips or cover charge earns extra if the money man is cheap) lowest-$300 highest-$1600 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoh Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Our 4-piece cover band (playing mostly alternative rock) has been getting around $400 per gig. Some bars won't pay above $300, others will pay you more each time you play (if you keep bringing people in ) BTW, we don't gig anywhere near as often as we'd like due to "serious jobs" as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boggs Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 We don't make a dime. It all goes to our music ministries through our church... Same for our CD sales. Boggs Check out my Rock Beach Guitars page showing guitars I have built and repaired... http://www.rockbeachguitars.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 We're about in line with the rest of you, typically $300-600 for a 4-set night. Sometimes less if it's a REALLY cool place, we don't have to bring a PA, they feed us, etc. Of course at the intown "showcase" clubs that feature original music, we don't expect to get paid much, which is why we do cover gigs (with some originals thrown in) to do things like finance our CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bear Jew Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Depends on where we're playing and what the situation is. Take into consideration: We're all-original, and we play one 1-hour set. We don't bring a PA. In a wonderful, ideal situation (which does happen on occasion) we make $500 for the gig, get free food and a free place to stay. We LOVE when this happens. Of course, this doesn't happen too often... only when we play really nice rooms where we can score a good guarantee. These shows are cool, but very often there is some kind of hassle... the big rooms tend to attract problems for us... Our second-best? We make $200 for the show, get free food and a free crash pad. This happens a little more often. The venues aren't as nice, but these are usually the best shows all-round. Cool venues, cool people, cool crowds. We're not greedy. I'd take one of these shows over a lousy one for $500 any day. Third best? $125 for the show, free food and a place to stay. This happens most often. It's cool. $125. is plenty to pay for gas and the next day's meals. Sometimes these places are slightly better than dumps... or they ARE dumps. Still.. they're usually really fun and filthy. Just don't try to use the bathrooms. We try not to take shows that won't pay at least this much, because if we make less than $100 we are almost definitely going to lose money. In spite of this, we've played basement/squat shows for nothing but $25, food and a place to crash simply because a night of playing on tour is always better than a night of staring at each other in the van for hours. At the very least, we're playing and we get to eat. The $25 is also appreciated. Now... on top of the gig money, we almost always pull in at least another $75-$200 in merchandise sales when we play actual venues, which definitely helps smooth things out a little. We even manage to sell stuff at basement/squat shows sometimes. This way, even if we're kinda taking a hit on the door money, at least we can bust our asses and make some cash from selling our CDs, necklaces and t-shirts. \m/ Erik "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." --Sun Tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Originally posted by Lee Flier: typically $300-600 for a 4-set night. .4 sets?! gawd, i'm glad i don't live in georgia anymore! for me it's 3 sets max. usually 2. with a 4 set night, it's no wonder those southern bands wrote songs like "freebird", "whipping post", and "green grass and high tides"..... -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 LOL! Well, actually we usually make it 3, and take longer breaks. It seems like in the 70's and 80's if you played from 9 to 1 or 10 to 2, you did it in 4 sets 40-45 minutes long and took 15-20 minute breaks. Now we tend to do 3 one-hour sets with half-hour breaks, and a lot of bands seem to do the same, but I still think of it as a "4 set night." cuz I did way too many of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 ouch! that's still too long. a really long night for us is 10:30 to 1:30, or 9:30 to 12:30 on a weeknight. either way, it's 3 hours total- including breaks to smoke crack and contract social diseases. -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Wimp. That's weird, I've always been used to 4 hour gigs... that's the way they did it on the west coast too... I guess you NY types do everything faster than the rest of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Originally posted by Lee Flier: Wimp. That's weird, I've always been used to 4 hour gigs... that's the way they did it on the west coast too... hey, i just wanna do the early beatles/stones thing and do 20 minutes! hello cleveland.... -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 beter yet, whats the best way to get a gig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Whew, I thought for a minute that you meant the early Beatles in Hamburg - 8 hour nights! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddyelmis Posted June 6, 2003 Author Share Posted June 6, 2003 Originally posted by Lee Flier: Wimp. That's weird, I've always been used to 4 hour gigs... that's the way they did it on the west coast too... I guess you NY types do everything faster than the rest of us. I'm with Lee . . . all our gigs are thought of as 4 set nights. Usually, we actually do 3, with the 2nd being a long set because that's when the room is jumpin' and folks start dancing. After we load-in all the crap (pa, amps, lights), I don't want to be done in 2 hours (delay that load-out as long as possible ). We do the set list based on 4-45min sets roughly, but then switch on the fly as the crowd and room dictate. Longest gig? There was a joint in Colorado that had a 7-2 gig. www.ruleradio.com "Fame is like death: We will never know what it looks like until we've reached the other side. Then it will be impossible to describe and no one will believe you if you try." - Sloane Crosley, Village Voice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave da Dude Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 What's a gig? Seriously though , does anyone know how the term "gig" came into being? BTW Boggs, a great big . I think church gigs can be (should be) fun. My post many months ago about rewriting the lyrics of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" to "Feel Like Sharin' (God's) Love" met with much flak ( INCOMING! Flak jacket back on, takin' cover ). Dave Gotta' geetar... got the amp. There must be SOMEthing else I... "need". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fendercaster Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 Here in central Maryland, pay is pretty much the same as it was 20 years ago for us in country bands, usually $300-$400 per night for a 4 hour job. So for our five piece group, we usually go home with $60-$80. The top groups make more, naturally, and there are bands who will play for less. The best paying job I had was in a two piece thing with a keyboard player who played hand or foot bass, and a drum machine. We could play the smallest rooms, and go home with $100-$125 apiece. These days, it's hard to find steady jobs, since the advent of DJ's and karaoke! My gear: http://fendercaster.freeservers.com/guit3.html If you own two Lexus cars, do you have Lexi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Downchild Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 Originally posted by Dave th Dude: [QB]What's a gig? Seriously though , does anyone know how the term "gig" came into being? The term "Gig" actually started with tenor sax player Lester Young. (The Prez) Aside from his highly original tone and style, he was also known for speaking in his own unique dialect. He was the one who started reffering to concert engagements as "gigs". He was also the one who coined the phrase for a musician's technique as their "chops". Prez was one of a kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cootersnack Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Better: Come on at 11 and play till 1, keeps the crowd, and you get to play like you mean it! Average established working band fees up and down the east coast around 5 bills and up. Less than that its hard to justify the job. I don't give a........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted June 10, 2003 Share Posted June 10, 2003 Originally posted by Fendercaster : Here in central Maryland, pay is pretty much the same as it was 20 years ago for us in country bands, usually $300-$400 per night for a 4 hour job. Sounds about right. It's been a couple of years since I was gigging regularly (blues/r&b/classic rock band), but we usually got around $400 for a 4-hour night. Playing mostly in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. P.S. Welcome aboard Fendercaster ! May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Barnes Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Man, clubs don't pay any more than they did when I was out gigging. Drink prices go up, food prices go up, but screw the musician, I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Gug Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 BTW Boggs, a great big . I think church gigs can be (should be) fun. ]I just did my first "gig" in 20 years (I'm 36) and I did it for my church's Sports Camp for inner city Kids. I re-wrote the words to "She Really Hates Me", PUDDLE OF MUD. Changed it to "Jesus Loves Me". Our second show is tomorrow. Based on the reception tonight, the place should be rockin'! I got stuck on the bass guitar. ARGH! Jack-of-All-Trades, master of nothing. I'd rather play drums. Mikegug www.facebook.com/theresistancemusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Welcome to the forum Mike. And "really" isn't what they're saying there. YIKES. Whoda thunk they could turn that song around and play it for a Church youth group. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gighand Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 In NJ and PA it's $250 -$400 for a 4 pc modern/classic rock band. Free drinks helps... We do this for fun ~ about 45 shows year ~ we have a lot of fun ~ And the small dives with less $$$ are always a better time than the bg Ass Clbs with the satge etc. We lug all of our own shit, and use no lights.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anodos Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 You aren't gonna believe this but there's a country band in the little town of Millstadt, Illinois called Dixie Express that actually got a deal with Budwiser. They're just a cover band but they're extremely popular there and have been together a long time. I've met the leader (Randy something?) a few times and he told me he's got them booked every weekend somewhere almost 2-years in advance. He said that they didn't go looking for Budwiser either. A guy from the company just showed up at some fair/home-coming they were playing and said he'd like to talk to them about displaying a Budwiser banner on stage behind them wherever they went. They've been doing that for several years now. I've never heard of a band just doing cover tunes before that was so popular they had a beer sponsership. I didn't ask him how much they get for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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