Tip jar. First time for me.

[MrLenny1]

Last night's gig was at a local joint, holds approx. 45 people. Pay $80 per man.
We had a good turn out and patrons stayed with compliments about
the band. So we remind them that tips are very much appreciated.
I have never worked with a band that puts out a tip jar.
A happy... patron grabs the jar and walks the crowd.
We totaled it out at the end and had $172 to split 4 ways. At $43 each that was
more than half our pay. Some nights we make $2.00 each but at the end of a year
it does add up. Don't overlook putting one up. We work the service industry just like the others.

 

[dbase]

Last nights gig was 3 sets, 40/80/45 mins. 6 band members got $83 each .. we do it for fun. The $83 doesn't even cover the bar/food tab

 

[Pilgrim]

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

Nothing wrong with having a tip jar out. If someone wants to walk it around, I'm happy, as long as we get it back.

 

[Mike N]

The $83 doesn't even cover the bar/food tab

Pics or it didn't happen.

 

[LuckyScott]

It always gets more tips if someone walks it thru the crowd. Put a cute girl with it and watch it grow

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Last nights gig was 3 sets, 40/80/45 mins. 6 band members got $83 each .. we do it for fun. The $83 doesn't even cover the bar/food tab

I/we do it for fun too. But did I miss the sarcasm on this or are you serious that at $83 you can't cover your bar/food tab?

Sorry, small time amateur musician in Central WI and $83 would cover my bar/food tab for about 4 or 5 gigs. We average $125 per member and I make a little more since I own/haul/operate the sound and lights.

 

[McG]

A happy... patron grabs the jar and walks the crowd.

That's happened to us a few times. Flattering when someone likes the band so much they are motivated to solicit tips. We always give them a free CD.

 

[catcauphonic]

I/we do it for fun too. But did I miss the sarcasm on this or are you serious that at $83 you can't cover your bar/food tab?

I've seen some of @dbase's gig pics, and would guess if they ARE paying for their food then he ain't bringin home no bacon, cheese, or cabbage unless it's wrapped to go

It always gets more tips if someone walks it thru the crowd. Put a cute girl with it and watch it grow

 

[dbase]

I've seen some of @dbase's gig pics, and would guess if they ARE paying for their food then he ain't bringin home no bacon, cheese, or cabbage unless it's wrapped to go

Two Burgers w/ Fries 18.00
Two fancy drinks 22.00
Six shots for band 42.00
Tax 5.74
Tip 20.00
--------------------------------
Sub Total $107.74
Band Pay - 83.00
Total <loss> $ 24.74

 

[baileyboy]

...a tip jar...

I was told years ago by a veteran of the local gigging scene to always have a tip jar front and center. He was right. We never mention the tip jar, don't pass it around (I find this to be tacky), and there is no pressure on anyone in the audience to contribute. All our gigs are paid gigs, so whatever we get is a bonus. Sometimes we get nothing, sometimes we get up to $200, to be split five ways. All-in-all, we probably end up with an extra couple hundred dollars each by year's end.

...more tips... a cute girl with it and watch it grow

Definitely a clever maneuver.

 

[rtslinger]

We only play one place that has a tip jar. We do not bring our own.
This place motivates the people with the manager on the mic with this speech "Please give to keep the live music alive in NJ and help us pay these bands what they deserve. We do very well with that because, they love us there and we always give them a extra few songs when the night is through, just because they don't want it to end

 

[Microbass]

We played this really cool vegan coffee house/bar back in August in North Wales. We were on a mini tour and first time out of Scotland, so no pay (original grunge). The place started filling with a lot of grey haired people and there was an elderly couple who were celebrating their anniversary. This has train wreck written all over it. The venue hadn't done much in the way of promotion (which turned out to be due to volume wars with the council so gigs had to be kept quiet for fear of being shut down). About 20 or so people turned up, with more coming in during the set. They loved it, it was mental. The bar manager after the set brought out a champagne bucket and said something about helping us to the crowd. I jumped out for a smoke when we finished and when I came back there was over £100 in it. Turns out all these grey haired folks were retired rockers and had all been in touring bands in the 70s & 80s and were really cool down to earth people. We're away again on the 20th and I'm thinking tip jar...

 

[dalkowski]

We love the tip jar.
Tip jar pro (am) tip: "Prime the pump" by dropping a 10-spot in the jar when you put it out. It helps to set a certain expectation.

 

[two fingers]

Two Burgers w/ Fries 18.00
Two fancy drinks 22.00
Six shots for band 42.00
Tax 5.74
Tip 20.00
--------------------------------
Sub Total $107.74
Band Pay - 83.00
Total <loss> $ 24.74

Sounds like money well spent!


(Wait.... Is EVERY band member buying a round of shots??? If so, I can't hang with you. One shot and a couple beers throughout the night and I'm done if I'm trying to sing and play.)

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Two Burgers w/ Fries 18.00
Two fancy drinks 22.00
Six shots for band 42.00
Tax 5.74
Tip 20.00
--------------------------------
Sub Total $107.74
Band Pay - 83.00
Total <loss> $ 24.74

I guess that is not a profitable operation for you financially.

On average our food is 1/2 that cost, no shots, two of us only drink soda. I guess we're a cheap date.

 

[BwanaDust]

Don't do tip jars, but that doesn't mean I don't accept tips. I don't like the idea of putting up a jar and putting a few bucks in to "prime it." But I don't turn down extra money when people offer it. Some places I play the audiences are strange (I guess wealth does that). Last gig I did outside I made more money in tips 245.00 than I did in pay (200.00). The audience was all about being timid and doing golf claps, but they all came up and stuffed cash anywhere they could find an opening.

 

[Gustopher]

We always put one out, no real expectations, but since most gigs we play don't pay much more than $100 per band member... it doesn't hurt. We usually come out with $10-25 each, so at least its gas money. We always put a funny little sign with a joke on it too and the times that patrons have passed it around we have made much much more. It isn't tacky to put it out and is extremely common and expected in our area anyway.

 

[HolmeBass]

Last night's gig was at a local joint, holds approx. 45 people. Pay $80 per man.
We had a good turn out and patrons stayed with compliments about
the band. So we remind them that tips are very much appreciated.
I have never worked with a band that puts out a tip jar.
A happy... patron grabs the jar and walks the crowd.
We totaled it out at the end and had $172 to split 4 ways. At $43 each that was
more than half our pay. Some nights we make $2.00 each but at the end of a year
it does add up. Don't overlook putting one up. We work the service industry just like the others.

Having it walked through the venue by a non-band member really improves the net from a tip jar. Especially if that is done in the middle of a tune that’s cooking.

 

[mikopita]

We tell folks that we'll butcher any song for money. There has yet been a song we're not willing to at least attempt when an audience member throws $ in the tip jar. It has effectively doubled or even tripled our pay on most occasions.

 

[gln1955]

There is a tiny venue in the town near me that holds around 50. They do wine tastings every Friday with live music but don't pay the bands. My buddy played there a few weeks ago and they made $560 in tips. Lots of people filtering through, a high level of appreciation for the arts and disposable income make it work.