I am a retired commercial fisherman. What I learned a long time ago is that you can die of exposure.
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Free gigs
- Thread starter Kleebs
- Start date
No pay? No play. Exposure? There's more exposure by dropping trou.
devnulljp
Supporting Member
No!! I will never play for free. Nor will any band I play with, play for the door. We have a set fee. We're a good band and deserve what we ask for. Or....we don't play.
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Personally, no.
If a venue stands to profit from hosting live music, I expect to be paid.
Plus, I believe in asking what you think you're worth; Invariably, that customer/venue will always remember you as the band who assigned low value to themselves.
And I don't do cover-pay gigs, set-pay amounts only.
If a venue stands to profit from hosting live music, I expect to be paid.
Plus, I believe in asking what you think you're worth; Invariably, that customer/venue will always remember you as the band who assigned low value to themselves.
And I don't do cover-pay gigs, set-pay amounts only.
Our first gig at a local brewery, the owners said that if they liked us and we got a good crowd, they would make it worth our while. They did. And they told us we were welcome there anytime. So it worked out for us, but I don’t recommend it.
My band gets paid sometimes. We're not in it for money and have our own incomes outside music.
As I've said before, the only time I expect exposure from a gig is when I play outside in the cold. I still get paid, though. And these days I wear Scott Devine-ish cotton gloves to keep my delicate digits from freezing up. I don't even care to do gigs for the door. Guarantee plus tips is good.
The Bar Band Bassman
The Bar Band Bassman
Unless it’s a benefit or something similar, NEVER work for free.
“If you’re good at something, never do it for free” predicates that the other person knows you or your reputation. Many times they don’t, and to them there’s no difference between you and someone who will mislead and deceive them into a bad experience.
The only right way to do this is to discuss the whole package with the venue/manager/employer up front. You discuss a package of, say, 3 gigs with the first one at a promotional rate and the other two at your normal rate. You want the other person to say yes to the entire package, which inoculates you from the effect of training them to expect you to play for free.
In my day job I coach to the difference between:
“If I do something for you, will you do something for me”
…and
“Since I did something for you, will you do something for me”
The former works because it feels like you are setting up a single deal, one agreement that includes benefit for both sides. The latter doesn’t work because it feels like you are unfairly trying to guilt the other person into a concession where they didn’t realize what you did for them previously came with a cost.
The only right way to do this is to discuss the whole package with the venue/manager/employer up front. You discuss a package of, say, 3 gigs with the first one at a promotional rate and the other two at your normal rate. You want the other person to say yes to the entire package, which inoculates you from the effect of training them to expect you to play for free.
In my day job I coach to the difference between:
“If I do something for you, will you do something for me”
…and
“Since I did something for you, will you do something for me”
The former works because it feels like you are setting up a single deal, one agreement that includes benefit for both sides. The latter doesn’t work because it feels like you are unfairly trying to guilt the other person into a concession where they didn’t realize what you did for them previously came with a cost.
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For cover bands, no. I've played for somewhat reduced rates so bars could check out the band. For original bands? I can't count the times I've played for 0 - $4 to "make it." Bleh.
I was in a band that decided to nearly double what we charged. Establishments assumed because we charged more, we were better than other bands. (We were good, not phenomanal).We ended out getting more bookings.
On the flip side, the other band I was in played dirt cheap, and was a better band with a following. We actually had a harder time getting bookings.
Playing for free could actually come at a cost.
On the flip side, the other band I was in played dirt cheap, and was a better band with a following. We actually had a harder time getting bookings.
Playing for free could actually come at a cost.
Impressive that you still have the hands to play. You really use them up in that profession.
seems like a logical approach - out of curiosity, would you typically do this under contract so the club can't back out of the other 2 dates if the band had a underwhelming first gig? Thanks.
Played for free or next to nothing many times just to get the gig. Over the years we have established ourselves. Now we can command very good compensation and we can afford to turn down offers that in the past we would've gladly done. You'll play more gigs for free or cheap, or play fewer gigs and get paid better, but it takes time to get a name for yourself and there are always bands that are coming into the scene trying to make a name for themselves. So yeah, do what you gotta do to get where you want to be.
Optimally, but the reality seems to be a lot of handshake undocumented deals in this particular business. I think we accept a certain amount of flake risk, and so do the venues. Shame it’s like that.
Nope. Not playing for free or for peanuts, except for a small number of benefit events.
