Yes! Always prime the bucket
We use to keep some of those fake $100 bills in the bucket.
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Is it tacky/bad form...
- Thread starter Sixgunn
- Start date
We use to keep some of those fake $100 bills in the bucket.
Sure, mention it is a low-key way. If anyone is offended, tough beans. It's not like those types would tip anyway.
"How dare they ask for the tip I wasn't going to give."
We never put out a jar, because we feel like it makes us look like we're playing for tips. We will take tips if given, and we always split them even (honor system.) Looking like we're not playing for tips allows us to charge more, which makes up for it financially. This may not be practical in major music tourist centers like Nashville or NO where they just stiff bands and expect them to beg for tips.
If folks have no problem starting GoFundMe pages.
I have no problem mentioning a tip jar down in front
I have no problem mentioning a tip jar down in front
I am all for it. Not at a wedding gig, fer chrissakes! But at a bar? Totally OK.
"Feed the Kitty!" [band members all make me-owing sounds]
Hey, I'm not proud. Or tired.
"Feed the Kitty!" [band members all make me-owing sounds]
Hey, I'm not proud. Or tired.
Yep. Those folks aren't shy about mentioning the tip jar, but they're not super high pressure. They're smart and use karaoke/sit-ins as a means of getting tips.
Tip jars are not always appropriate. When they are, money tends to find its way to the jar without instruction.
My following comment assumes that you're not a street busker or something similar and that you're not performing at some sort of registered charity event.
Assuming that, I think the bad form in this situation is a venue that doesn't pay you for your services.
And that is *very* bad form imo. Nothing says your time is worthless like not being paid for it.
Mike
Assuming that, I think the bad form in this situation is a venue that doesn't pay you for your services.
And that is *very* bad form imo. Nothing says your time is worthless like not being paid for it.
Mike
So I am probably in the band that wins the tacky award.
There’s a small cover at the door, we have an elaborate tip jar provided by the club. Then part way through the 2nd set, the singer calls it out. Then we sometimes play our song “When Will I Get Paid.” No joke. The song is not actually about the tip jar, but I’m sure plenty of people assume it is.
Gene would be proud.
Edit: If we were getting rich.
There’s a small cover at the door, we have an elaborate tip jar provided by the club. Then part way through the 2nd set, the singer calls it out. Then we sometimes play our song “When Will I Get Paid.” No joke. The song is not actually about the tip jar, but I’m sure plenty of people assume it is.
Gene would be proud.
Edit: If we were getting rich.
Over the years, I haven’t been in many bands that used tip jars. Historically the pay was fine without it, and there was probably a pride thing, like, we’re doing fine financially, we’re just here to entertain. The band I’m currently in has a tip jar that predates me. Pay scales for live music aren’t what they used to be. We don’t split the tips as earnings but put them in the band fund to help cover printing, t-shirts, etc. i suppose whenever we make any money on merch at some point we’ll do some profit sharing.
If there is no cover, the lead singer mentions the tip jar once or twice during a show if she thinks of it. By the time she does, she has developed a rapport with the audience and it comes across as very natural. If there is a cover charge it doesn’t feel right to ask people to pay twice, but I have no problem having the jar on display. Certainly for private events—corporate, weddings, parties, etc.—it would be tacky to even put out a tip jar out there.
If there is no cover, the lead singer mentions the tip jar once or twice during a show if she thinks of it. By the time she does, she has developed a rapport with the audience and it comes across as very natural. If there is a cover charge it doesn’t feel right to ask people to pay twice, but I have no problem having the jar on display. Certainly for private events—corporate, weddings, parties, etc.—it would be tacky to even put out a tip jar out there.
Just dont take gigs that don't pay.
Where I am ,tip jars don't really happen but to go to work without knowing you'll get paid(or having to beg for it) is counterintuitive to me.
Where I am ,tip jars don't really happen but to go to work without knowing you'll get paid(or having to beg for it) is counterintuitive to me.
It's something you need to discuss with the booker/manager/owner/whoever of the venue beforehand. It's not a question of "tacky" or not. It just depends on what the establishment allows.
Some venues don't like tip jars, because it implies that the venue isn't taking care of the musicians. Others don't give a hoot.
We generally have a [very well promoted] tip jar out at bar gigs, even though we are getting paid...but not at dedicated music venues (which generally pay far less than bars IME).
It also could depend on the norms of ones local or regional music scene. For example, tip jars aren't common here in L.A. But I don't think I've ever been to a non-ticketed gig in New Orleans at which a tip jar was not only present, but passed around and promoted quite loudly.
Some venues don't like tip jars, because it implies that the venue isn't taking care of the musicians. Others don't give a hoot.
We generally have a [very well promoted] tip jar out at bar gigs, even though we are getting paid...but not at dedicated music venues (which generally pay far less than bars IME).
It also could depend on the norms of ones local or regional music scene. For example, tip jars aren't common here in L.A. But I don't think I've ever been to a non-ticketed gig in New Orleans at which a tip jar was not only present, but passed around and promoted quite loudly.
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Tip jar? Not here in Noo Zeelund. Not the done thing.
Half the bars I've played in, if you put a seeded tip jar out at the start of the night, at the end of the first set it'd empty.
Half the bars I've played in, if you put a seeded tip jar out at the start of the night, at the end of the first set it'd empty.
So true about Nashville and the tip jars. Nothing awkward about it for them at all. Confidence is everything!
