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Fill In Gig: Charge More or Equal Cut?

#21
to me it's equal cut..... I'd hate to be doing a gig knowing that a fill in Drummer or singer is going to get paid more than me for the same gig.... regardless of how many songs they have to learn

if you think the fill in gig is going to cost you money and time then you should turn it down or ask for more money before you accept it, but to me asking for more money than the other band members who are going to turn up, set up, sound check and play the exact same set list is wrong...
 
#22
If you already agreed to an even cut, don't try to weasel more out of them at the last minute. That's bush league. Now if they offer you ANOTHER gig...

BTW, I have made more as a fill in on some gigs than the band, and I do not care. The band's price doesn't even enter into it. Someone wants me for a fill-in, they either quote me a price or I quote them one, and each of us can turn it down if we want. So I really don't care if I make more or less than someone else as long as I get what we agreed upon. And honestly, there are plenty of times I've made less because they were prepared to pay me more than I asked for, or the fill-in price they were willing to go for met my minimum and I agreed.
 
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#24
JimmyM said:
If you already agreed to an even cut, don't try to weasel more out of them at the last minute. That's bush league. Now if they offer you ANOTHER gig...

BTW, I have made more as a fill in on some gigs than the band, and I do not care. The band's price doesn't even enter into it. Someone wants me for a fill-in, they either quote me a price or I quote them one, and each of us can turn it down if we want. So I really don't care if I make more or less than someone else as long as I get what we agreed upon. And honestly, there are plenty of times I've made less because they were prepared to pay me more than I asked for, or the fill-in price they were willing to go for met my minimum and I agreed.
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Im not going to go back and ask for more money at this point, but I think going forward I will be asking for a set price fee (if they dont quote me a price that I agree to ahead of time that is)
 
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#25
JimmyM said:
If you already agreed to an even cut, don't try to weasel more out of them at the last minute. That's bush league. Now if they offer you ANOTHER gig...

BTW, I have made more as a fill in on some gigs than the band, and I do not care. The band's price doesn't even enter into it. Someone wants me for a fill-in, they either quote me a price or I quote them one, and each of us can turn it down if we want. So I really don't care if I make more or less than someone else as long as I get what we agreed upon. And honestly, there are plenty of times I've made less because they were prepared to pay me more than I asked for, or the fill-in price they were willing to go for met my minimum and I agreed.
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This is a good approach. You don't have to poke your nose into that band's business. Doesn't matter what they're making for the gig, whether everyone gets the same cut or if the BL normally takes bigger cut or money goes to a sound guy or any of that stuff. Offer up a price and they can take it or leave it. In any event, just make sure you do a solid professional job that's worth what they're paying.
 
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#28
You're having this conversation in the wrong order.

I do fill in gigs all the time.

You never EVER take the gig before finding out three things.

1) The set list. (As you have just learned, that will tell you how much work you have to do).
2) Gig details. How far? What time? Anyone I can ride with?
3) The pay.

Once you already know all three things, THEN you can negotiate. If it's not enough money for the amount of work/travel/expenses then you negotiate up BEFORE accepting or declining the gig.

Too late for you now. You've already agreed to their terms. If you're a man of your word, you play the gig.

Next time, negotiate after you find out all of the particulars. ;)
 
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#30
BL: Can you sub for us 3 weeks from this weekend?
you: How much?
BL: Fifty bucks.
You: I’m sorry, but I can’t.

BL: Can you sub for us 3 weeks from this weekend?
you: How much?
BL: A hundred and fifty.
You: Yes, I’d be happy to.

BL: Can you sub for us 3 weeks from this weekend?
you: How much?
BL: Fifty bucks.
You: I’m sorry, I can’t.
BL: I can kick in another fifty bucks from petty cash, if that would help.
You: ____________________ .

MORAL: Don’t accept a gig until you know when, where, and how much.
 
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#31
two fingers said:
You're having this conversation in the wrong order.

I do fill in gigs all the time.

You never EVER take the gig before finding out three things.

1) The set list. (As you have just learned, that will tell you how much work you jave to do.
2) Gig details. How far? What time? Anyone I can ride with?
3) The pay.

Once you already know all three things, THEN you can negotiate. If it's not enough money for the amount of work/travel/expenses then you negotiate up BEFORE accepting or declining the gig.

Too late for you now. You've already agreed to their terms. If you're a man of your word, you play the gig.

Next time, negotiate after you find out all of the particulars. ;)
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Next time I will. This time is more of a favor for a bandmate so I didnt get all business like =)
 
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#32
I'm in the same boat. Learning a whole night for a gig in 2 weeks, doing it for an equal cut that will maybe come out to a hundred bucks. Not worth the money, but since I'm not a real well known musician its good to get your name out there. I've always thought that sub gigs are how you meet good people that you might get to work with in the future. It's also a great way to meet the people that you'll want to avoid.
 
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#33
john_g said:
So the guitarist in my cover band also plays in another cover band. He asked me if I could fill in for a gig in just over a month as their bass player cant make it. I filled in for a fundraiser gig a couple months ago for them, but that was only one set because it was a multi-band event. I only had to learn a handful of songs for that so no big deal, but this upcoming gig I will have to learn at least half of their 3 set setlist. The songs arent really hard, but I just got the full setlist and it hit me that its going to be a fair amount of work.

They said pay would be an even cut, just like any other gig, but Im the one cramming to save the gig. I told him I would do it (before getting the setlist), so I dont want to back out now, but would it be wrong to ask for a few more bucks? I dont want to be petty but in other bands I have been in, when we had to get a sub, we payed them more.
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I guess it depends on how much $ we're talking about. Besides that, once you have songs down, now you got this gigin your back pocket when they come calling again when the regular guy flakes out- now you got more work.
 
#34
TheReceder said:
I'm in the same boat. Learning a whole night for a gig in 2 weeks, doing it for an equal cut that will maybe come out to a hundred bucks. Not worth the money, but since I'm not a real well known musician its good to get your name out there. I've always thought that sub gigs are how you meet good people that you might get to work with in the future. It's also a great way to meet the people that you'll want to avoid.
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At one point before I found my current band, I thought about trying to get a bunch of fill in gigs instead of joining a band, and taking anything that I could get. Now after doing a few, Im not sure its what I would do. Of course, its a double edge sword, the more you do the more songs you know and the less likely you will have to learn a ton in a short amount of time. But for this gig, that is not my focus and since I dont think I want to go that route in the future, I would probably set a fee.
 
#37
I’d sub and learn new songs for an equal cut if they are covers - songs i can use later elsewhere. But I’ve also developed a system for making charts and I have a stash of about 1500 (and growing) cover charts. Short notice - don’t expect note for note, and I get veto powers if a song is just too complicated for me to cram a ton of hours for a few minutes in a set. And I’m not going to memorize - I’m subbing. Basically, don’t expect me to put in fifty hours of prep work for a gig two weeks from now for $50. That said, I sub for some friends for free, but they’re friends and nobody is getting rich off this. They do the band fund for gear purchases thing.
 
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#39
I did one fill in gig about 2-3 years ago.... singer sent me a message on a Tuesday through Facebook saying their bass players mother had just died and he was unable to do the gig on Saturday (needed some time off which was understandable)
He sent me a set list and I knew 50% of the set really well and 20% sort of and had to learn 30% from scratch. luckily we had a hastily arranged practice on the Thursday and I did the gig ok
 
#40
MultiScaleMale said:
I’d sub and learn new songs for an equal cut if they are covers - songs i can use later elsewhere. But I’ve also developed a system for making charts and I have a stash of about 1500 (and growing) cover charts. Short notice - don’t expect note for note, and I get veto powers if a song is just too complicated for me to cram a ton of hours for a few minutes in a set. And I’m not going to memorize - I’m subbing. Basically, don’t expect me to put in fifty hours of prep work for a gig two weeks from now for $50. That said, I sub for some friends for free, but they’re friends and nobody is getting rich off this. They do the band fund for gear purchases thing.
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Yeah I thought about creating some cheat sheet charts. I think I will go ahead and do that =)
 
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