We just got a $1500 party gig to play for 2 hours!!

lamonica78 · #1 09-10-2008, 10:31 AM

Yeah, so our booking agent got a random call from someone who is having a 40th birthday party in two weeks. She has heard us through local radio stations and papers and what not and said she wants us to play her party! She's going to pay us $1500 (plus meal and drinks) to play 2 hours of our ORIGINAL music (with a few classic rock covers thrown in). Anything like this ever happen to you guys?

stflbn · #2 09-10-2008, 10:39 AM

I'd get at least a good chunk of it upfront and make plans to insure the other part doesn't get withheld due to some petty reason after the gig.

LowDown Hal · #3 09-10-2008, 10:50 AM

hhmmmm, I'm thinking -

50% down payment to load the gear and drive there.
The rest to unload, setup and play.

No payment in full - no playing.....

pointbass · #4 09-10-2008, 10:53 AM

Cool ... congrats on that ....

We do a fair amount of private work and the pay is always on a much higher scale than club work. Very good for you that you can do mostly originals .... those dates are usually covers.

Kick some private party *ss!!!

JmJ · #5 09-10-2008, 10:54 AM

Umm...... no! Nice gig.

pointbass · #6 09-10-2008, 11:00 AM

And before the TB buzz-killers start posting about not getting paid and having 30 posts about how they got ripped off by a private gig, I noticed that you have an agent .... I would assume that they handle your financial/contract stuff, as well?

biohazed · #7 09-10-2008, 11:02 AM

hell most I ever made on a 2 hour gig was $35 per person and after we settle the bar tab we owed $17 .... but very nice .. congrats

buffordbass · #8 09-10-2008, 11:03 AM

Those are always fun. We got a similar one where a couple heard us at a club gig, got in touch through the web-site and asked us to play at the local country club for their daughters wedding reception about a month out... reall good pay, great food, super nice people!!

**baba** · #9 09-10-2008, 11:05 AM

We play private parties and weddings by word of mouth. Just hooked into 2 more last gig. I love them because they pay extremely well, you get fed, it's casual, and EVERYONE is intent on having fun.

CONGRATS!

Nairb · #10 09-10-2008, 11:16 AM

you have a agent right? Be sure to call the owner themselves and makes sure that they are paying you $1500. It could be more if the agent is skimming it. (example: He hears a gig for $3000, tells you its $1500.... ect ect).

jaywa · #11 09-10-2008, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baba

We play private parties and weddings by word of mouth. Just hooked into 2 more last gig. I love them because they pay extremely well, you get fed, it's casual, and EVERYONE is intent on having fun.

+1. The negotiations tend to go much more smoothly compared to dealing with tightwad bar owners or a**hole festival promoters. Also more often than not those parties are held in non-smoking venues. No offense to smokers on this board but that's a real bonus for some of us and especially singers.

Lazylion · #12 09-10-2008, 12:51 PM

Gotta love rich folks, especially when they hire you!

lamonica78 · #13 09-10-2008, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nairb

you have a agent right? Be sure to call the owner themselves and makes sure that they are paying you $1500. It could be more if the agent is skimming it. (example: He hears a gig for $3000, tells you its $1500.... ect ect).

We have a bit of a different situtation. He's a student at a local university that has a music industry major (Drexel U.). The school has their own record label with national distro (yeah....trying to get something going with that!) and a booking agency. So we basically get a student who is doing this as part of a class for school credits. So, no money actually goes through his hands (although we're definitely going to give him a cut for doing such a good job over the last few months).