$75-100 gigs in 2023

[pepj]

Yep, I was in NE Texas recently and tbh , I didn't think the gigs I saw were working.
Bands were ok and not the main issue. They could have had a better edge but mostly I would blame the venue more for the wallpaper element.
There was no 'event' or buzz about the evening though, and after 2 hrs max, you are done and leaving anyway.
I believe that 3 hrs gigs serve nothing but maximise the spend of the venue on music...but after that commitment to have music, the venue offers nothing more.
If the food is good, you'll go there anyway on any day. Basically, the music night was an after thought.
The bar had the sports screens up, kitchens running but all in all, a soulness pastime with no atmosphere.
And the bands were more interested in fulfilling their hrs for the $ and spraying 40 plus songs.
Didnt work, imv, no focus, no excitment. Like throwing too much mud at the wall and hoping some would stick.
I'd be thinking minimum barstaff, kitchen done by 21:00 if you even needed food.
And no TV ...if the sports event was big enough..the music plays around it, not competes with it.

So, yep, on that model, you retain big staff costs and hope the evening pays for it.
But as a gig event..nope, didn't happen.

If I was competing in that market, I'd pay a big draw, $15 cover and make it a proper music event.

 

[Pocket Dave]

Yep, I was in NE Texas recently and tbh , I didn't think the gigs I saw were working.
Bands were ok and not the main issue. They could have had a better edge but mostly I would blame the venue more for the wallpaper element.
There was no 'event' or buzz about the evening though, and after 2 hrs max, you are done and leaving anyway.
I believe that 3 hrs gigs serve nothing but maximise the spend of the venue on music...but after that commitment to have music, the venue offers nothing more.
If the food is good, you'll go there anyway on any day. Basically, the music night was an after thought.
The bar had the sports screens up, kitchens running but all in all, a soulness pastime with no atmosphere.
And the bands were more interested in fulfilling their hrs for the $ and spraying 40 plus songs.
Didnt work, imv, no focus, no excitment. Like throwing too much mud at the wall and hoping some would stick.
I'd be thinking minimum barstaff, kitchen done by 21:00 if you even needed food.
And no TV ...if the sports event was big enough..the music plays around it, not competes with it.

So, yep, on that model, you retain big staff costs and hope the evening pays for it.
But as a gig event..nope, didn't happen.

If I was competing in that market, I'd pay a big draw, $15 cover and make it a proper music event.

NE Texas is a completely different market, and one I'm not that familiar with; When we did the regional thing in the 70's, aside from Tyler and Kilgore, we hopscotched over it.

N Texas has a big talent pool, especially with the UNT music school, and has a large, growing population base extending from DFW to Oklahoma.

 

[Eilif]

I've been away from gigging for over a year, but $100 was my rate with my previous cover band and I was fine with that. Almost all bar gigs, once a week, most weeks.

I wasn't on the hook for much setup or teardown and there were no rehearsals so I viewed it as a reasonable hourly wage for around 3-4 hours of work. No one was doing this full time but I was with them for about 4 years.

I will say that my rate was my minimum. When it was no longer feasible, I amicably parted ways with that group.

That was the arrangement for a semi professional cover group. For my current hobby originals trio I'll play for tips, but that's a whole different incentive structure.

 

[ole Jason]

Two weeks into 2024 and I've already had two $75 gigs lol. I did end up with over $100 after tips and the gigs were around 2 miles from home but still... yeesh.

 

[Five or Six]

I remember back years ago a 4 piece getting $50 a person a night. We always played to good crowds and money wasn't what we were playing for, it was fun!

My Touring years were different. We made damn good money and managers took care of it (money) I didn't have to like now. I will not book for under $100 a night up to a 3 hour gig. 4 hours is $125.00 paid upon nights end always! And we've been getting back doored by beer and burger bands the past couple of years. We are busy anyway.

 

[pepj]

$50 an hour and no 3 pieces is the target.
If I need to make a deal for a favourable venue in the first gig instance, I don't expect the other guys to take that hit.

 

[vokain]

When I started playing professionally back in the late 70s (jazz, primarily), $40-$50 for a four hour bar gig was the norm. Now, fifty years later, I get about $110-$125 for a three hour bar/restaurant gig. Let's just say our profession has not kept up with inflation as well as virtually any other profession.

Money gigs are playing long running shows, backing up or filling in traveling shows/stars, or private/corporate functions. Even so, those don't pay six or seven times what they paid back in the 80s.

Going into jazz for the money is like playing weddings for the art. My favorite gigs are still the bar gigs with great players where we can stretch and explore. Of course, I'm not starving and don't need the money anymore.

Inflation is the biggest stealer of our wealth and is what holds back society more than anything else, IMHO

 

[el murdoque]

Three one hour sets equals to (in my book):
One hour for meeting, load in, preparation.
One to two hours to get from here to there and back.
One and a half hours for load out, set up, tear down load in.
One hour putting everything back and getting home.

That is around five hours' work off stage just to play a gig. You can shave off about 1,5 - 2 hours if the venue has proper FOH. And another half hour if your band mates are really efficient, though.
Half of that work is done at night.

So with three one hour sets added, we're looking at five to eight hours of work.

To be in a pro level band, you need pro level skills, something equal to a very experienced journeyman or a master in the trade.
If you go to your local garage and ask how much it would be to replace your timing belt, if it is done by a master, starting Saturday at 8 PM .... you will get a funny look (but I hope you get what I mean).

 

[MuseChaser]

Three one hour sets equals to (in my book):
One hour for meeting, load in, preparation.
One to two hours to get from here to there and back.
One and a half hours for load out, set up, tear down load in.
One hour putting everything back and getting home.

That is around five hours' work off stage just to play a gig. You can shave off about 1,5 - 2 hours if the venue has proper FOH. And another half hour if your band mates are really efficient, though.
Half of that work is done at night.

So with three one hour sets added, we're looking at five to eight hours of work.

To be in a pro level band, you need pro level skills, something equal to a very experienced journeyman or a master in the trade.
If you go to your local garage and ask how much it would be to replace your timing belt, if it is done by a master, starting Saturday at 8 PM .... you will get a funny look (but I hope you get what I mean).

I definitely get what you mean. Additionally, I'm a pretty decent "backyard" mechanic with a fairly well-equipped garage who can do most typical maintenance-related jobs and "part-swap" repairs .. including timing belts. Those skills didn't take ten to fifteen years to acquire (the absolute bare minimum amount of time it takes to become a barely employable violinist, for instance), nor did the cost of equipping my garage approach the amount I have invested in my instruments and studio gear.

I have the utmost respect for true master mechanics; I am by NO means in that echelon, and I appreciate the time, experience, and huge expense incurred in being able to repair, renovate, restore, and correctly diagnose any problem.

As a "trade," compared to plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, automotive repair, HVAC, etc., "musician" ranks at the bottom of the heap in terms of the time-spent-acquiring-skills vs hourly-compensation ratio. I'd hire a plumber (again, something I'm completely comfortable doing myself.. but let's say I needed to hire one anyway) with two years' experience without reservation. No way could I work with a musician who started playing two years ago.

Of course, no one really NEEDS musicians. SOME musical genres/instruments DON'T take as long to get to point where folks enjoy listening to you. SOME of the work we do (driving, loading in/out) isn't exactly skilled labor. My comments about the pay folks make in other trades aren't complaints about that; those folks provide services that many find necessary and ate willing to pay for. Great. Folks are willing to pay us what they're willing to pay. Nobody ever said, "Honey, a tree fell on the house, there's water pouring out of a broken pipe, I smell gas, and the power line outside is down and sparking. Quick... CALL A TROMBONIST!! "

 

[el murdoque]

As a "trade," compared to plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, automotive repair, HVAC, etc., "musician" ranks at the bottom of the heap in terms of the time-spent-acquiring-skills vs hourly-compensation ratio. I'd hire a plumber (again, something I'm completely comfortable doing myself.. but let's say I needed to hire one anyway) with two years' experience without reservation. No way could I work with a musician who started playing two years ago.

I would be well reserved playing with someone who started playing music two years ago as their hobby besides a day job.

I would, however, not hesitate to play with a musician that started two years ago, provided they nine to five'd those two years through steady forty hour weeks of practicing/playing. That's like four thousand hours of practice.

 

[MuseChaser]

I would be well reserved playing with someone who started playing music two years ago as their hobby besides a day job.

I would, however, not hesitate to play with a musician that started two years ago, provided they nine to five'd those two years through steady forty hour weeks of practicing/playing. That's like four thousand hours of practice.

Understood, except for many instruments there's really no physical way to play that much as a beginner, at least without serious physical damage.

 

[Marko 1]

I would be well reserved playing with someone who started playing music two years ago as their hobby...

Yes, two years (or less) is strictly for bass players.

 

[Marko 1]

Yes, two years (or less) is strictly for bass players.

Hell, my experience learning to play bass was literally gigging in bars (my knowledge of guitar chords was just the finger patterns, and I didn't even know what the root notes were yet)

I brought other things to the band table that were needed, so I got dragged into it.

One hell of a way to learn, eh!?