Cover charge dilemma

[Low End Scum]

I wish beers were only $3-$5. In my area, it's $7.50 for a Coors Light, and goes up from there.

Yikes, yeah some of the bougie bars out here pull that. Good thing is I prefer hole in the wall dives that are 1 step above people getting stabbed in the parking lot. Beers cheaper, pool sometimes free. My local place walking distance from home is close to that. Wish I couldn't hear parking lot fist fights from the back yard though lol.

After seeing what other people have said about the going rate at the bar, I'd also hazard for consistency. Cover charge means nothing to most people when it comes to the band, it's the venue and how they run things. There's the idea of not leaving the other nights out to hang on "last week it was $5. That said, there's also the idea of "Hey guys, this is the week that that hip club is half price cover!" so you have to make that assessment yourself.

 

[pepj]

If you are charging thd difference, you better be worth it. No point falling to get a repeat booking.

Since the venue has its own clientele, you've done well to get the gig so I'd be clear that any lower fee is only an introductory fee this time round.

I'm more likely to negotiate if the other party is open too.

 

[Bass Viking]

It’s funny that people flinch at the idea of a $10 cover but they will throw a $20 bill in a tip jar.

Because one is mandatory and the other isn't?

Then again, not everyone objects to a cover charge and not everyone gives a $20 tip.

 

[51PRI]

And they certainly aren't the patrons who will fill your tip jar either!

No, I think they would. I just think people don't want to pay $10, or even $5, to patronize an establishment but they're perfectly willing to throw a dollar in the tip jar.

 

[groovepump]

No, I think they would. I just think people don't want to pay $10, or even $5, to patronize an establishment but they're perfectly willing to throw a dollar in the tip jar.

Fortunately, the venues we play get tips with larger denominations than $1. We often have Grants and Benjamins in the tip jar, but we don't play in bars. Our cover at the bigger venues is usually circa $20.

 

[groovepump]

Yikes, yeah some of the bougie bars out here pull that. Good thing is I prefer hole in the wall dives that are 1 step above people getting stabbed in the parking lot. Beers cheaper, pool sometimes free. My local place walking distance from home is close to that. Wish I couldn't hear parking lot fist fights from the back yard though lol.

After seeing what other people have said about the going rate at the bar, I'd also hazard for consistency. Cover charge means nothing to most people when it comes to the band, it's the venue and how they run things. There's the idea of not leaving the other nights out to hang on "last week it was $5. That said, there's also the idea of "Hey guys, this is the week that that hip club is half price cover!" so you have to make that assessment yourself.

HA! funny, but I have "been there" too! Where you are afraid that your gear might disappear while you make trips to the car.

 

[Low End Scum]

HA! funny, but I have "been there" too! Where you are afraid that your gear might disappear while you make trips to the car.

In younger more reckless days I was experiencing that at a rough spot in Fort Worth. I was........too far in the sauce from over imbibing. Had just seen a prog group that I would share shows with for years to come and they were amazing so we were partying a little bit. The opposite of what I expected happened. I loaded everything out and slipped it into my ford focus but forgot my bass case with instrument in it next to my car and didn't load it in. Like 30 minutes later this older fella grabs me by the arm and goes "Son, isn't this your bass? I found it in the parking lot. Hate to see you lose that one". Absolute hero, that guy.

 

[IanStephenson]

Don't be the small americano...

You walk into a coffee shop and they offer small for $4, medium for $5 and large for $6. But you have NO IDEA how big they are, or if they're any good. In fact a small is already a good size, and and even the medium is twice as big as the cup you'd make at home, but you don't want to look like a fool/nerd by asking the sizes, or a cheapskate by picking the cheapest, so everyone goes with the medium. NOBODY buys the small. The small isn't on the menu so people will buy it, it's on the menu so people will buy the medium.

Three bands: $5, $8, $12... which do you go and see? The only info you have is that the $5 band are less than half the price of the $12 band, so they can't be any good right?

We once auditioned a new singer who was in a band that was breaking up. We looked him up before hand and they were getting loads of great gigs for about twice what we were charging. He sucked. They got booked because they were expensive, and people thought they were getting a quality product. We were missing gigs because people assumed we sucked because we were cheaper.