Rates question....

[Shaun_Bass0]

Ok, I know this question has been posted many times before, but as situations differ between artists/managers/whatever and i'm pretty clueless i'm gonna ask again anyway!

I just landed a paid gig backing a singer/songwriter, who's asked me what my rates are, for rehearsal, travel and gigs. Sounds pretty sweet right?. Trouble is, i've never been in a position like this before, i've been very well paid before but that was as a sub who turned up, played and got a cut but no say in the actual finance side of the band.

So I just wanted to get an idea, what do you guys charge?. Whats reasonable? I mean, I don't want to go in as an unknown and just start demanding money but I also don't want to sell myself short and get underpaid because i'm not as clued up as I perhaps should be!. I also don't want to undercut anyone as I can understand how annoying it must be to lose a gig you need the money for because some other guy will do it for less/free ya know?. On top of not wanting to be that guy, I now need the money too because I finally decided to grow up and buy a house!!!

Thanks in advance....

[bertbassplayer]

Though question, that will prob vary a lot depending on where everyone is. I've never gotten paid steady salary to be in a band (I've always gotten %, even when backing singer songwriters), so I can't really comment.

Now as for reasonable, I think you can start by thinking about what your expenses are. Then figure out how much money you could be making doing something else... then add a bit for profit. You also might want to ask the other guys in the band... though they might not want to tell you.

[Jeb]

Shaun, you've got to provide more details as to this particular project. Rates are SO subjective. It depends on the project, yourself and other stuff as well. Your question can't be answered objectively without more info.

Where would you rehearse and how long? Where would you travel to? What kinds of gigs?

What are you used to being paid as sub in the past?

[PlanetEarth]

Originally Posted by Shaun_Bass0

Ok, I know this question has been posted many times before, but as situations differ between artists/managers/whatever and i'm pretty clueless i'm gonna ask again anyway!

I just landed a paid gig backing a singer/songwriter, who's asked me what my rates are, for rehearsal, travel and gigs. Sounds pretty sweet right?. Trouble is, i've never been in a position like this before, i've been very well paid before but that was as a sub who turned up, played and got a cut but no say in the actual finance side of the band.

So I just wanted to get an idea, what do you guys charge?. Whats reasonable? I mean, I don't want to go in as an unknown and just start demanding money but I also don't want to sell myself short and get underpaid because i'm not as clued up as I perhaps should be!. I also don't want to undercut anyone as I can understand how annoying it must be to lose a gig you need the money for because some other guy will do it for less/free ya know?. On top of not wanting to be that guy, I now need the money too because I finally decided to grow up and buy a house!!!

Thanks in advance....

Hrmmm, I've never run into that - typically for a touring band there is a budget that has costs already allocated for pre-production rehearsals, gigs, etc. What I typically get is an offer with $'s already outlined then accept or reject it. I can share with you my experience which is that it typically breaks down into an hourly rate for rehearsals, per/gig rate, all expenses paid on the travel & food, and a fixed daily per diem.

What those rates are is totally a supply/demand issue... Obviously Victah makes more then Joe Q. Bassplayer. Sounds like you need to just ask yourself what you need to get to be happy with your contribution and time that you'll be devoting to the project. If you get it then your all set, if you do it for less then that it will inevitably bite ya in the ass.