The reason bar gig pay has gone down over the past several years is because live music is just about dead.
I made more in the late sixties through the end of the seventies than I do now.
But at that time, there were fewer competitions for entertainment dollars. Disco started in the early 70s is some places, but didn't really branch out nation wide until the late eighties.
With early Discos, it was just music pumping with not breaks. Now, DJs are stars and we've added Karaoke.
Another factor we don't think about much is the people who go to live music venues. The crowds were more upscale back then. Today, people don't go to bars as much as they used to and because they've never really listened to much live music, they'd rather go see their favorite DJ play the recordings they like.
Then, there are the bar owners. Somewhere along the way the forgot advertising would actually bring people to their venues They also have adopted the concept that the band should bring the crowd. They don't consider people will not travel very far to go see a band they like. They really don't know how to market themselves
And, there is Us. We show up late, get drunk and behave inappropriately, we think that what the crowd wants to here is irrelevant and should be happy listening to what we want to play or we just aren't all that good, and don't know how to put on a show.(putting on a show is not the same as playing songs). We are also more expensive than a DJ or KJ or whatever the karaoke guys are called.
So, there is a lot working against us, much of which we can't control. All we can do is market ourselves, learn how to put on a good show, and behave as it is a professional service. So if you can do all that, then you can get into the upper tiers where the money is better, but it takes time and work.
If you're not happy with the money, there are only two things you can do, quit playing live gigs or get more professional.
I made more in the late sixties through the end of the seventies than I do now.
But at that time, there were fewer competitions for entertainment dollars. Disco started in the early 70s is some places, but didn't really branch out nation wide until the late eighties.
With early Discos, it was just music pumping with not breaks. Now, DJs are stars and we've added Karaoke.
Another factor we don't think about much is the people who go to live music venues. The crowds were more upscale back then. Today, people don't go to bars as much as they used to and because they've never really listened to much live music, they'd rather go see their favorite DJ play the recordings they like.
Then, there are the bar owners. Somewhere along the way the forgot advertising would actually bring people to their venues They also have adopted the concept that the band should bring the crowd. They don't consider people will not travel very far to go see a band they like. They really don't know how to market themselves
And, there is Us. We show up late, get drunk and behave inappropriately, we think that what the crowd wants to here is irrelevant and should be happy listening to what we want to play or we just aren't all that good, and don't know how to put on a show.(putting on a show is not the same as playing songs). We are also more expensive than a DJ or KJ or whatever the karaoke guys are called.
So, there is a lot working against us, much of which we can't control. All we can do is market ourselves, learn how to put on a good show, and behave as it is a professional service. So if you can do all that, then you can get into the upper tiers where the money is better, but it takes time and work.
If you're not happy with the money, there are only two things you can do, quit playing live gigs or get more professional.
