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Pay for cover band gigs
- Thread starter ding_man
- Start date
$50 - 150 per member at a Bar
$125 - 300 per member at a lounge on the Strip
$150 - 1000 + per member for a Corporate or private
$125 - 300 per member at a lounge on the Strip
$150 - 1000 + per member for a Corporate or private
Whatever you do..if you are playing covers in the bars..dont do it for free.....it makes it bad for the rest of us.....
I was lucky enough to see BR 549 in Nashville and they played Non Stop....the vocalist took break but the band kept playing ..all night ..and they were great...
I was lucky enough to see BR 549 in Nashville and they played Non Stop....the vocalist took break but the band kept playing ..all night ..and they were great...
$900 - $1400 for a friday/saturday weekend
Start 10:00 PM, end 2:00 PM
3 x 45 or 50 minute sets
Usually Free Pop
PA usually supplied although the smaller PAs we supplement with some of my gear
We use a booking agency and they take a cut off the top. Normal 2 night weekend our 5 piece each put about $160 in our pockets. One nighters we don't do for less than $500 - $100 each.
Start 10:00 PM, end 2:00 PM
3 x 45 or 50 minute sets
Usually Free Pop
PA usually supplied although the smaller PAs we supplement with some of my gear
We use a booking agency and they take a cut off the top. Normal 2 night weekend our 5 piece each put about $160 in our pockets. One nighters we don't do for less than $500 - $100 each.
I play bars in the south chicagoland area, very competitive market. We get from 200-750 a night maybe with free drinks or tab depending on the bar. Your drummer is out of line imo, we make an average of probly 300 at most bars so thats about 70 a man(we are a 4 piece and have a mngr that takes %10), if we cant make more than that at most places in this area, I dont think you can expect to play more than a few places with that attitude. But maybe you can just frequent the same 3 or 4 bars if he just hasta have 100.
Yeah that was kinda my thoughts. Like whats 25 bucks when you are trying to play?
Columbus Ohio, four piece cover band, we get $800 to $1000 per night for bar gigs. Three one hour sets with breaks.
Weddings and corporate events are double that at a minimum.
People are willing to pay it -we're booked up nearly every Friday and Saturday through the end of 2010.
Weddings and corporate events are double that at a minimum.
People are willing to pay it -we're booked up nearly every Friday and Saturday through the end of 2010.
Exactly what I was going to say. We do parties for our own family members for free; and while we've never done a gig for free and chafe at less than $100 bucks a man, we'd do it if the opportunity had potential for future paydays.
Explain this to the drummer: We all understand that driving to, setting up, waiting around, playing for four hours, tearing down, driving home, and then taking all the stuff into the house for free at 3 or 4 in the morning is almost criminal. But sometimes you have to give up a little now to get more in the future.
exactly...
That's what's been happening in Vegas
Not only have mediocre bands been driving the pay down
but the level of entertainment is hideous to say the least...
It seems around here, everyone's trying to jump on another's 'bandwagon'
and they do it half A$$'d; jump on the bar and play 'Sweet Caroline'
On the other hand, i get some top paying privates & Strip gigs
because of long time connections and sheer entertainment prowess
And there are some of the countries best musicians out tearin' things up ie: the Cirque shows, Blue man.. etc.
Minimum wage is now $7.25 in the States. Let's just take a quick look at a hundred per musician for a four-hour set:
Four hours on stage, one hour each end minimum for set-up and tear-down. That's six hours. One way or another, you've got either sound check or schmooze time on either end, which is usually another two hours. That's eight hours.
Okay, so far so good. Eight into a hundy is $12.50 per hour. WAY above minimum wage! But... but... but...
What about those practice sessions? And travel? And the cost of instruments, and strings, and (today I just bought a padded case for my upright) all those other costs that you forget about? And then there's *cough* income taxes!
The fact is that live music just isn't what it was. Bands are giving it away, with promises of future gigs. Or just to get some experience. Or merely because THEY don't even value their own services. I left a six-piece to start a two-piece so we could at least have a shot at breaking even. Sure, we all do it because we love the music and it is a kick in the ass, but don't think that even a grand a night is a princely sum. I don't even want to think about the true "break-even amount" I would have to make to cover all the years of practice, and all the mountains of gear I've bought. But hey! That's just my little world. Your mileage, as the saying goes, may vary.
Four hours on stage, one hour each end minimum for set-up and tear-down. That's six hours. One way or another, you've got either sound check or schmooze time on either end, which is usually another two hours. That's eight hours.
Okay, so far so good. Eight into a hundy is $12.50 per hour. WAY above minimum wage! But... but... but...
What about those practice sessions? And travel? And the cost of instruments, and strings, and (today I just bought a padded case for my upright) all those other costs that you forget about? And then there's *cough* income taxes!
The fact is that live music just isn't what it was. Bands are giving it away, with promises of future gigs. Or just to get some experience. Or merely because THEY don't even value their own services. I left a six-piece to start a two-piece so we could at least have a shot at breaking even. Sure, we all do it because we love the music and it is a kick in the ass, but don't think that even a grand a night is a princely sum. I don't even want to think about the true "break-even amount" I would have to make to cover all the years of practice, and all the mountains of gear I've bought. But hey! That's just my little world. Your mileage, as the saying goes, may vary.
I've been researching this very topic of musician pay for several weeks now. I'm a old guy who used to gig a lot - I always felt the bands I played in NEVER.... EVER... got anything close to reasonable pay.
Recently I created a calculator to help some friends determine a reasonable BID for their gigs. I'll share with you - there's no registration involved, I'm not collecting your personal information behind the scenes or anything (if that changes I'll make an announcement or something). It's just a tool for estimating a gig. I *do* make money if you click on the supporting ads, but other than that I'm trying to be altruistic here:
gigcalc.gehwokka.com
I believe it really could help your band get a better price at the next club, party, etc. Do let me know if it isn't helpful, etc. I'd really like to make a tool that smart musicians use.
Recently I created a calculator to help some friends determine a reasonable BID for their gigs. I'll share with you - there's no registration involved, I'm not collecting your personal information behind the scenes or anything (if that changes I'll make an announcement or something). It's just a tool for estimating a gig. I *do* make money if you click on the supporting ads, but other than that I'm trying to be altruistic here:
gigcalc.gehwokka.com
I believe it really could help your band get a better price at the next club, party, etc. Do let me know if it isn't helpful, etc. I'd really like to make a tool that smart musicians use.
The bottom line is that it varies depending on where you are and how much competition for gigs there is. You can ask for whatever you want but the bar owner or whoever can also tell you to get lost. The market determines the value of live music. If you're playing in an area that pays $400 per night for their live music and you come in and ask for $1000, you'll be sitting at home on the weekends. Honestly, unless you're trying to play professionally, trying to get reimbursed for the cost of everything music related in your life is going to be impossible in many situations, once again, depending on where you are. I buy my gear because it's my hobby, making money is secondary. If I make a hundred bucks a night, staying within thirty miles of home, I can live with that.
You said it man, the guy from Columbus makes me wana move there cuz here, its super tough to get 800 at a bar, simply cuz of the sheer number of crappy bands around here(chicagoland) that will play for free, for beer, or for next to nothing, pisses me off.
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,069
- 46,012
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- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
Don't blame the crappy bands, blame the people who go out and see 'em over and over again. Supply and demand ...
Don't blame the crappy bands, blame the people who go out and see 'em over and over again. Supply and demand ...
+!
Bar gigs $100-$200 per band member.
four-45-50 minute sets per night.
Private, Weddings. gigs $300-$500 per band member.
This includes a 4 hour time frame.
Anything over 4 hours, is $100 per member, an hour.
In Denver, unproven cover bands generally get a $300 to $400 guarantee and maybe a discretionary bonus on a really good night. Once a band has been around a while and the venue manager is confident of the draw, the guarantee goes up to double that or more, so that the band will choose that venue to play in versus another. That's not a position very many acts find themselves in, though, to be honest.
Original bands rarely take a guarantee unless they have well established draws, like Opie Gone Bad, who just pulled in 10,000 people to their CD release party at Red Rocks but has somehow not been signed. It's all about the attendance, and even then somewhat about how much the attendees drink when they are there. I am unfortunately seeing way more control by the venue management over the pay on those situations than I am comfortable with.
I imagine each band has their own pay policy. We split our pay evenly after deducting expenses, most of which are generally sub fees. The sub market here does seem to be right at $100 a night. It's always a joy to take home $20 or even nothing after you paid $100 to a dude who never came to a rehearsal.
Original bands rarely take a guarantee unless they have well established draws, like Opie Gone Bad, who just pulled in 10,000 people to their CD release party at Red Rocks but has somehow not been signed. It's all about the attendance, and even then somewhat about how much the attendees drink when they are there. I am unfortunately seeing way more control by the venue management over the pay on those situations than I am comfortable with.
I imagine each band has their own pay policy. We split our pay evenly after deducting expenses, most of which are generally sub fees. The sub market here does seem to be right at $100 a night. It's always a joy to take home $20 or even nothing after you paid $100 to a dude who never came to a rehearsal.
I'm in a band that does corporate and wedding gigs, sometimes on the bill with, for example most recently, The Spinners and Foriegner, I don't know what anyone else in the band makes but I make at least $700 per gig.
