Had to quit band because of low pay

[uprightearl]

I recently had to quit the b.g. band i was playing in as i could no longer afford the gas n expenses involved with gigs. Now it may be fine for those who can afford it to basically perform for free but do they not realize that those who persist on this are wrecking the scene for the rest of us. I never expected to get rich playing bluegrass but to drive an hour each way to perform for 25 bucks is an insult. My main income is a disabiity pension, stroke 1999, before this happened my main income was gigs n i did o.k. 75 an hour to repair van to transport bass to play a gig for 25 bucks. I do enjoy playing bluegrass but not enough to continue subsidizing businesses that want live music. What really bothered me was that the other members of band would not ask for decent money. The band was o.k. for a local act n deserved decent pay. Is this the story everywhere? Will bluegrass become an elitist music that only those with motor homes can afford to perform?

[bass_snake]

I hear ya. Where I live. Most folks who plays bluegrass is an hour to 45 minutes away. I got laid off few months ago so it' s hard to pay for gas.

Richie

[Don C]

Unfortunately this is becoming commonplace in most forms of music, not just Bluegrass. The local Jazz scene has been at this point for years. Hopefully the economy will turn around some day, but I fear that by then, the damage will have been done.
Keep playing and hope for the best !!

[uprightearl]

I will never quit playing as i have had to work so hard to re-hab my left side n ear enough to have music in my life again. I can make more busking than i can performing b.g. gigs without the stress of o.m.g what if my van breaks down n i could loose my van n my bass. Most gigs here pay 50-100 per person for local acts. I will not undercut the already low wages because i perform bluegrass as i might b going back to the same gig with a blues or swing combo and i feel it contributes to the race to the bottom.

[N.F.A.]

I have played in an old time duo here, and the scene here is the same. Cheap or free gigs are the norm. A zillion bluegrass/old time players here. Most of them will play for free. It's the same with the local Celtic scene here.

[roadkill2309]

Originally Posted by N.F.A.

I have played in an old time duo here, and the scene here is the same. Cheap or free gigs are the norm. A zillion bluegrass/old time players here. Most of them will play for free. It's the same with the local Celtic scene here.

Wow. Not the same around here. My main gig is a Celtic trio. We don't show up for less than $150 per man, which is the going rate for a midrange band on our circuit.

[uprightearl]

Right on, maybe i should learn French. That sounds like a reasonable amount.

[randysmojo]

That sounds like the entire live music scene around Austin. Most of the bands I ever gig with pay $100+ per man, but play out of town to get that. I've gigged with a couple of bands that won't play for less than $150 for a 5 piece and that's local gigs. Out of town is more. Unfortunately they don't play that often and I was out of that scene for a while so i only get calls when they need a fill in. They've had regular full time guys for a while now.

[uprightearl]

Maybe we should start a thread n ask people to post the going rates for gigs in their locations be it bluegrass, blues, swing or any gig that an upright player might be employed at. Be interesting to see the range n locations.

[Paddy109]

Hi guys - the band i'm in plays a mixture, guns and roses, bob d, old crow, bluegrass etc and a healthy amount of originals all in a country'ish style. I reckon an average pay would be £50 a gig (you do the conversion rate). I always put my "earnings" in a pot and we use this for spending money on holidays (keeps the wife happy).
Paddy UK.

[uprightearl]

I will do a local non-alcohol show like a coffee-shop type of gig for less than out of town n also relocated to a bigger city to enable me to do more of these without driving any real distance. These are the show`s i enjoy the most anyways. Its just too bad that some owners expect us to spend more on gas then ends up in our pocket. If establishments don`t have the business to pay for time n travel well thats their problem not mine.

[AntonLargiader]

I see the same thing in other hobbies. Especially in the photography scene, there's a constant wail about how the amateurs are ruining the economics of professional photography. But also in mine (motorcycle repair) there are hobbyists who enjoy the work enough to dabble in it for little to no pay, theoretically coming out of my pocket. I'm sure there are dozens of similar examples.

On the one hand I agree about the race to the bottom. But at the same time I acknowledge the economics: if you have a good business, people will want to pay what you charge. If they can what they need for free, they won't pay. The professionals have to offer a better service overall, which not only involves skill but also availability (hobbyists are more likely to decide to not 'work' this week because it's not their real job and they want to go rock climbing), liability (photographers and mechanics generally have insurance for their businesses), and above all customer relationships that give the confidence that you are their long-term solution.

It's probably easy to say, "Well music isn't quite like those things because it's something people want to do for fun, and the bar doesn't have to be set really high", but it's probably exactly the same.

Our trio has played for free, and will do so again next month at our local 10-miler. I doubt any business who wanted music as a real attraction would want us there, though, and we won't commit to any kind of a schedule. Amateurs!

FWIW we paid $100 x 5 for our wedding music, which was a local bluegrass/folk band that we'd been going to see at different venues.

[uprightearl]

The festival gigs pay alright up here though the season is only a few months long. Its the other 8 or 9 months a year thats the problem.