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Official TB salary survey thread

#142
The last post to this thread was over 4 years ago...anyone care to update what they are getting paid in their area? $100 a person seemed pretty standard for the period 2010 to 2013 this thread spanned above...not much allowance for inflation is there?

I know rates can be vary regional depending on the economic success of the area. For example, I noticed that when people come to my state from northern states, they are not impressed with the prices they can charge for construction, home renovation and other services. There was a female singer from the north who thought she could get $550 for her vocals alone at New Year's Eve. I quoted it and we didn't get it...

So, I think it's important to know the state, if you want to share that info, as well as the pay rate per person and type of gig, genre, type of gig (wedding, festival, club, corporate) and any other factors that impacted the deal (like hauling equipment).
 
#146
Generally pay is anywhere from $50-200 per man(5 or 6 piece), depending on the type of gig. Restaurants/bars/cafes on the low end, special events on the high end.

Outlier...did 2 short sets at a wine and beer shop recently in a quartet, got paid in two six packs of craft beer. I think i could had taken more beer because they didn't really set any limit or give much instruction. Honestly i think us playing there did not do the shop any favors, they just had the usual walk in traffic for a friday evening.
 
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#147
Currently in a pop/rock cover trio that plays sporadically. Singer owns a small PA for vocals. He does the booking, and makes sure we walk with at least $150/man for a restaurant/bar gig. We did a corporate event last week where we each got $400. That's about average for corporate. Unfortunately, we don't have anything on the books at all right now.
 
#148
Syracuse and Northern NY - Power trio + female vocalist. Classic and Modern Rock, Country, Pop. $500 minimum to play. We hire out sound at $175 - $200 a pop. So it's generally around $75. It's worth it not to have to lug around and maintain a sound system. Bars usually pony up the $500 without a problem as we have a loyal, heavy drinking following. Private events, field days, and such up to $1000. NYE is $1200.
 
#149
Eastern Ontario/Western Quebec. 5 piece classic and new country band with a bit of classic rock. We supply full PA or partial PA most of the time. $400-500 for bar gigs - 3x 45 minute sets; $700-800 for fairs, festivals, private parties. We play about 25-30 gigs a year.
 
#150
Central Massachusetts here. We're a six-piece Tom Petty tribute, playing out since 2012. We generally get about $500 for a three-set gig, and we try to play out twice a month. Lately we've been using a soundman at $100 a gig (we have two we can choose from) so we don't have to use our own PA, but sometimes we have to due to our soundmen's previous commitments. Us musicians will get $120 a month. Our eventual goal is to play some of the casinos in Connecticut for really good money, maybe next year at the earliest.
 
#151
PauFerro said:
The last post to this thread was over 4 years ago...anyone care to update what they are getting paid in their area? $100 a person seemed pretty standard for the period 2010 to 2013 this thread spanned above...not much allowance for inflation is there?

I know rates can be vary regional depending on the economic success of the area. For example, I noticed that when people come to my state from northern states, they are not impressed with the prices they can charge for construction, home renovation and other services. There was a female singer from the north who thought she could get $550 for her vocals alone at New Year's Eve. I quoted it and we didn't get it...

So, I think it's important to know the state, if you want to share that info, as well as the pay rate per person and type of gig, genre, type of gig (wedding, festival, club, corporate) and any other factors that impacted the deal (like hauling equipment).
Click to expand...

It's always seemed like a certain echelon of legitimate working bands that are not handled by premier booking agents for the plum gigs, not playing at casinos, that don't know the right people still make the same $75-100 a night per man they did decades ago. Maybe less if they hire a soundman and that invariably ends up with more than a bandmember's share. This is a figure that hasn't changed, regardless of inflation, location, or the condition of the live music scene.

As you noted, weddings taking place in major metropolitan areas, especially NYC, can pay astronomical figures, but the people with the finances to oil that machine live in these areas.
 
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#152
Four piece vox bass/vox guitar/vox drums. Play clubs and the occasional private party/event. Most places we take PA and sound man, who gets even cut. Make $450-500 per gig. One of the sound men we use will bring his PA for that even cut, so he gets the most work. One of the regular places has PA and sound man. We might bring a monitor to that one just to have it. We will play there a little cheaper since they provide everything but personal gear.

The best playing show we had was a birthday party for a realtor. The guy who got us the gig asked us what we would have to get to play it. Banquet room in a hotel, fairly large room on the second floor with elevator for load in but we had to push stuff a fair bit. Just off the top of my head I threw out "Oh, $1,000 bucks sounds good." He called about a week later and said it was a go. WOOHOO! Those dont come around here very often tho.

BnB
 
#154
Grylls said:
It's always seemed like a certain echelon of legitimate working bands that are not handled by premier booking agents for the plum gigs, not playing at casinos, that don't know the right people still make the same $75-100 a night per man they did decades ago. Maybe less if they hire a soundman and that invariably ends up with more than a bandmember's share. This is a figure that hasn't changed, regardless of inflation, location, or the condition of the live music scene.

As you noted, weddings taking place in major metropolitan areas, especially NYC, can pay astronomical figures, but the people with the finances to oil that machine live in these areas.
Click to expand...

In Nashville, money is wayyyy down - most bands gig outside of town if they can. We've always had somewhat of a separation between what we refer to as 'Broadway' and everything else -- 'Broadway gigs' are the very steady shows that a small group of players depend on for their bread and butter. They're down on Broadway and 2nd Avenue and a couple of other very close, small venues - it's a very self-contained community. In years past, Broadway gigs were considered stepping stones to tour/artist work, because everyone came down there to hang out and see bands, including tour players, and for those next level gigs, there are *very* few auditions - it's all about networking and who you know. These days, that's all done, and basically nobody gets a tour gig out of Broadway anymore (well, almost nobody). A lot of these cats locally are locked into that world, now, though, and it's hard for them to get out, and the money is coming down. A long winded story just to get to the important part, but I think it's important to provide the context so people can see where the money is going here. Because everyone is so locked into their gigs down there, and because there are still thousands and thousands of people who want to move to Nashville and be a musician, it's *abysmal*. Players will play for tips only, or a small base +tips - most players will count it a good set if they make $100.00. "Hey, $100 per set isn't so bad!" -- except sets on Broadway are now *4 hours long*. Bands play for 4 hours. No breaks. If you need to hit the facilities, you better hope someone can play an acoustic tune. Many of the guys I know working in that world will play doubles and triples several days a week - 2 to 6, 6 to 10, 10 to 2 - just to make a living. Many of them know each other, and they leave their rigs at the venues, use each other's gear, etc.

For tours and tribute acts, the money is better, but they don't play Nashville. The tributes I work in (a Heart tribute and a Garth Brooks tribute) pay $300 and $350 per man per show, and shows are basically 22-25 tunes in a concert format. Obviously better $$, but these gigs are fewer and farther between. Artist showpay is similar - $200-$350 or more, depending on how far you're going, how many days you're out, per-diem, etc. Wedding bands, of course, are the Next Level Up™ as far as pay goes -- I've subbed (rarely) with a popular wedding band out of Nashville, but it's very much a business - it's still show pay to me ($300-ish for 3 sets or so), but I know the contracts are for $4K and up. If it's your band, a wedding band can make some great money in the south!
 
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#155
NW Arkansas is very venue dependant, but the average venue is $300-350 for a band to do four-hour gig. Some venues are door-only, and are small places, so not much money. A few pay so low, I'm not sure how they actually book the quality of musicians who play there. A couple pay up to $1600-$2800 for local acts with a proven draw that don't gig at other nearby venues besideds the casino or corporate circuit. These bands also treat these gigs as adverts for getting corporate clinets. The market is not large enough to expect more than a one casino/corporate/big venue gig a month.

NYE prices are considered trade-secrets by the bands who get the choice gigs, and they are tight lipped about them. I can't blame them not wanting someone else to under-bid them for a very similar act.
A few gigs also have NDAs regarding pricing as part of the contract.
There are also a couple of small venues where a band playing crowd pleasers can almost double their $350 with tips. We pulled two Benjamin's out of the tip jar at a recent one. These places also have high crowd turnover and no cover, and that's the only hint you're going to get ;). One of those $100 bills was for repeating a song we did earlier. I haven't done the wedding circuit here, but I've heard $1600 to start.
 
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#157
Here is our general take on gigs.
I play in a 4 piece Grateful Dead Cover band. Pay is on average $500 per night for 1 hour to 4 hours.
I play in a 4 piece Roots Rock original band. Pay on average is $400 per night. Never more than 2 hours.
I play in a 6 piece Grateful Dead style original band. Pay on average is $1000 per show. 1 hour minimum. 5 to 6 hour shows are not uncommon.
We do not provide PA for any of the 3 bands. We do bring our own monitors since most suck out there.
We are located in SE Wisconsin between Chicago and Milwaukee. I play on average of 100 shows a year between the 3 bands.
 
#159
bwest9 said:
Band # 1:

7 piece dance band w/agency support in the Boston MA and Providence RI area for weddings, casinos, and corporate events. We play Motown, to disco, to current day R&B. We will play upscale bar/restaurants as a means of showcasing the band to potential clients or wedding couples. These gigs don't really pay, but that's not why we do it. Band is usually booked for somewhere between $3,500 and $5,000 for two to three hours of playtime, using our own PA. Food included. After paying agency cut and roadies/soundman, individual take home per gig is usually between $350 and $500.

Band #2:

Original latin-pop artist. Plays mostly outdoor festivals or upscale nightclubs in New England area, draw is in the hundreds to thousands depending on venue and event. Individual pay = $250 per 2 hour gig.
Click to expand...
i'm in the wrong band!!
 

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