$75-100 gigs in 2023

[Pauler1976]

$100 in 1970 is $793.27 in 2023 dollars...

 

[Egg250]

it is really about respecting the musicians' time and the work they put into their art.

This one, right here. How much do you respect your practice, dedication and work? It may be a labor of love but it is still work.

The real "pay" comes from the attentive, appreciative audience.

It is nice to have that audience appreciation, but an empty band bank account is a stark reminder of how much you really are appreciated.

So 100 for 3 hours work plus set up and tear down. So 5 hours work. So 20 dollars an hour?

Its not great but it's not insulting.

Sure, $20 an hour is better than nothing. After you factor in strings, equipment maintenance/replacement, drum heads, gas (for rehearsals too), and practice/rehearsal time.....is it really $20 per hour?

 

[Jeff Hughes]

If it is close to home, there is no homework, and the bar expects nothing from you other than playing music, then why not. I would gladly do a super easy low stress gig for a c note.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

I see the dilemma with bars, but this project's first year out, we seem to have gotten around that for the most part.

For us it's been American Legion, Moose, Eagles Lodges, Gazebo on the green concerts, nice condo complex swimming pool, a couple car shows, occasional camp grounds...

These places aren't concerned about making enough money that night to pay for the band, it's just something they do for their patrons.

Built-in crowds, middle-age and older folks, very receptive and dancy, and we're well-received.

They still don't pay more than $500, usually $400, but after the gig I feel so good, when I'm handed $100/125, it's like an unexpected bonus.

A couple gigs, one nice bar with younger folks, and one campgrounds gig where I think they wanted ALL Country- we didn't appear to resonate to my satisfaction with the crowd, but hey, ya can't win them all.

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Take the lodges out of the equation and I could have written this. The only part of it I dread and call "work" is gear schlepping. And since we are only 3 pc there isn't as much gear as most other bands. We have our regulars that come to see us and venues that hire us back. The audience connection is the key. It's nothing like my job.

These discussions always come with the dreaded "you're devaluing the market" comments.

 

[groove pump]

Yeah, that's what we made in the 90s. And my rent here in Austin was $300/month. I guess only one of those things has changed?

For a second there I got really excited about moving to Austin...

 

[friskinator]

My first ever gig in 1990 was a Battle Of The Bands type thing. We came in 2nd, and with our "winnings," we went to Burger King afterwards. Seems a lot of musicians never move past that stage and are fine with that.

 

[onda'bass]

I can teach at home and make more $ in less time w/no travel. Also don't have to deal with drunks at 3am.

 

[JazznFunk]

It's completely understandable that bar owners expect the band to bring a crowd. I've always looked at it as a mutually beneficial business relationship – work together and build a strong music scene. Around here, the second question after "what kind of music do you play" is "how many people will you bring?" What drives me crazy is that we'll we promote the heck out of a gig...social medial (including ad buys), design and print posters, email and word-of-mouth...and in return, the venue does absolutely nothing to promote the event. You look at their Facebook page and there are dozens of posts about the weekly food specials, but not a single post promoting their live music calendar.

Boom. The onus is NOT just on the band to bring out all the people. There must also be as much excitement and effort on the part of the venue to get THEIR customer base excited about coming to see a show. It's one of the things I research before I consider approaching a spot about playing. All parties involved must be united in promoting the show and accepting responsibility for stoking interest. If people know that a venue offers a good show and good experience, they'll consider coming out regardless of the band in many cases. The idea is to help the band AND the venue gain support.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Unchanged pay? My band's solution (it really wasn't) was to play more often. And we did. We also did some shows where we were a quartet but got paid for 5. One way to up your payday!

 

[u84six]

I remember watching a youtuber musician who broke down the current hourly salary of a cover band musician working in suburbs at basic venues like restaurants and local bars. After summing the time of practicing (with band and on your own), investment in gear and cost of gear maintenance, travel expenses, etc, it came out to around $2.35US per hour . And they think wait staff are underpaid

 

[Harper]

It is what it is. Everyone has to make money, and as long as there are people willing to do it for $100 a man, that's what bars are going to pay. "My time/talent/respect/craft/blah blah blah" does not matter.......all that matters is if you are going to make more money for the bar. If they can make more money with a jukebox or karaoke, that's what they are going to do.

 

[Marko 1]

The only part of it I dread and call "work" is gear schlepping. And since we are only 3 pc there isn't as much gear as most other bands.

I just realized lots of these folks complaining about the pay don't even schlep gear other than their rigs, if that.

What a buncha whiny brats.

 

[Jefenator]

$75 is the new $50 and $50 is the new "free".

 

[Marko 1]

I remember watching a youtuber musician who broke down the current hourly salary of a cover band musician working in suburbs at basic venues like restaurants and local bars. After summing the time of practicing (with band and on your own), investment in gear and cost of gear maintenance, travel expenses, etc, it came out to around $2.35US per hour . And they think wait staff are underpaid

Now consider other hobbies, where they spend waaaay more than $2.35 per hour, and put tons more hours into it, and literally pay to participate in the activities.

Try anything having to do with custom or race cars for instance...

For those who see playing/gigging as a job, just stay home and leave the gigs to those of us who know it's a hobby and enjoy it.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

As a bar owner I have one comment... bring at least 90% of the patrons to watch your band, eat, and drink, and then you'll find that bars can pay more. I often get bands to play at what you've mentioned for dollars, and I have mostly my regulars. If you're a five piece band, and can't have at least 10 people each show to support your band, it sometimes becomes just another expense. I really support local music and remember what it was like playing out. In saying this, on Saturday I had a 4 piece band that had at least 100 of their own, and they received more.

As they say, from a bar owner's perspective, a bar band's raison d'etre is to sell booze. Little-to-no margin in bar food. Bands that fuel sales of alcohol = "better" while lower booze sales = "worse." I doubt the quality of the music has much to do with it. Booze sales accelerate the more a guy thinks he's going to get laid. And maybe juiced a bit when the bandleader endlessly reminds patrons tip your wait staff and buy more booze.

 

[MrLenny1]

My minimum was $100 for a gig. That was 30 years ago.
Now it's the same or less for bars.
Local agent use to get $400 bar gigs, took 10% with $360 left for the band.
Since Covid bands are not in demand so he only books solo, duo or maybe trio acoustic gigs.

 

[u84six]

Now consider other hobbies, where they spend waaaay more than $2.35 per hour, and put tons more hours into it, and literally pay to participate in the activities.

Try anything having to do with custom or race cars for instance...

For those who see playing/gigging as a job, just stay home and leave the gigs to those of us who know it's a hobby and enjoy it.

Oh I agree. It's definitely a hobby, otherwise we'd be making nothing (new original band) or millions (an established name). So I guess we should all be happy with the $2.35 per hour that the club owner thinks we're worth based on how good we are at our hobby

 

[ChrisB2]

lol... $100 per gig, but my past hobbies didn't pay me anything.

Yep. I used to golf. Money only went one way.

 

[frankie5string]

Boom. The onus is NOT just on the band to bring out all the people. There must also be as much excitement and effort on the part of the venue to get THEIR customer base excited about coming to see a show.

Where are you going to pull these people from? Bar attendance has been plummeting in many markets for years. Some blame the craft-beer industry for that, others believe that younger people just don't see the value in dropping money on suds in bars that still have the same decor they put up in 1979, lately.

Most of the newer drinking establishments I see don't have bands at all. They curate their music carefully, the beers and food are all upscale and they have no desire to cater to a crowd that could potentially stumble out drunk at 2am yelling lyrics to a GnR song...

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, I usually get +$100 a gig. I figured out early on that I usually play for free and get paid to move equipment. I couldn't hire someone to move my gear to and from a gig for that $100. I know of very few bands in my area that operate on that level.

One thing I would refuse to do is to undercut another BP or band, sell tickets or play 'for exposure'. I also don't cancel on a BL to take a higher paying gig.

When I was much younger the gig money helped with a house/car/insurance payment. I'm lucky that I don't have to worry about those expenses anymore. I'm also very fortunate that I'm still interested in music and continue to play in my Golden Years.