Me and my brother had an interesting discussion the other day. He is in an all-original Hardcore/Metal band. They booked a show with 5 other bands or something. Only one band, one that "brought a crowd" was getting paid. I don't know about the other bands, but this was my brother's band's first show. It sparked the question, when should a band in that situation get money for their work? Vocalist in that band says 5-10 shows, I say right away. What does TB think?
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When should you start getting paid?
- Thread starter IbanezBass69
- Start date
Depends. If you can get paid for gigging right away, great. Usually you need a little "rep" before you start getting hired for paid gigs though.
Just take things as they come for those first few gigs, paid or not, and get your name out there.
Just take things as they come for those first few gigs, paid or not, and get your name out there.
It's not a matter of after "how many" gigs. It's either finding a bar that will pay you a flat upfront to play, or one that you make money off the door.
Can the band draw? If they can, then finding paid gigs shouldn't be a problem. I was in a tribute band that either had to a) open for a band, get paid $0 to get a rep with the club, b) find bars willing to pay us an upfront(then WE find openers who will play for free), or c) play for the door.
Can the band draw? If they can, then finding paid gigs shouldn't be a problem. I was in a tribute band that either had to a) open for a band, get paid $0 to get a rep with the club, b) find bars willing to pay us an upfront(then WE find openers who will play for free), or c) play for the door.
Original metal? maybe when you get lucky (or a following)
In all fairness if you didn't bring heads, you shouldnt' be paid... the band that did should..
Folks forget that a club is in the booze sales business - not metal music appreciation.
In all fairness if you didn't bring heads, you shouldnt' be paid... the band that did should..
Folks forget that a club is in the booze sales business - not metal music appreciation.
I also think it depends on the of type band and type of venues they play at. An original band would most likely be playing to showcase their music to people who will like them and buy their music. The clubs are usually setup for that purpose with a house PA and a cover at the door. They hire 3-4 bands to play a 30-45 min sets. Some clubs will let you setup a booth to sell your stuff too. Those club owners bank on bar money so the more you bring in, the better chance you have of making some extra cash. On the other spectrum you have cover and wedding bands who are HIRED to play for people. I cant see a wedding band doing the 1st few weddings for free! LOL!!
I am hoping someone in a metal band can pop in soon enough... I don't really see why the genre should matter all that much in this question really, I shouldn't have even mentioned it in hindsight. Just like many of you may not think your friends would go to a metal show, I would never see my friends at a country, blues, or other genres like that show. Shouldn't metal bands be just as deserving of pay as any other genre of music?
Of course they should. My statement had nothing to do with genre, just types of bands, covers,original, wedding and function bands.
You are only worth what venues are willing to pay you. Keep shopping around. If you are any good, you will find someone to pay you.
I guess right and wrong. Right, because my aforementioned brother and I do music for the love of it. Wrong, because we want it to be our "job", or at the very least support our habits of buying basses/amps/guitars/other crap we don't actually need.
And, he is my little brother, I gotta look after him and make sure he isn't getting screwed, and TB has more collective gigging experience than I could ever get.Making money playing original music is a tough sell, you need a following to get paid. Play as often as you can to build a reputation and worry about money later.
PS hook up with a couple similar bands, book a bunch of shows together to get in with each others friends/fans
PS hook up with a couple similar bands, book a bunch of shows together to get in with each others friends/fans
Yeah, yours was all good, someone else though had mentioned metal not getting paid ever. I don't need enemies!
HaHa no foul here. If it wasn't for Iron Maiden and Sabbath i wouldnt have started playing bass 25 yrs ago!! \m/Yeah, yours was all good, someone else though had mentioned metal not getting paid ever. I don't need enemies!
I should be making money whenever the guy who owns the joint is making money. Bands that play for free ("for exposure") merely contribute to the difficulty of getting good paid gigs.
Stick_Player
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- Nov 13, 2009
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RustyAxe is right on the answer.
One gets paid what one is worth.
The hardest part is accepting that one may not be worth enough to get paid.
Getting paid from 'music' is EXTREMELY difficult. And it does NOT start with being musically talented. It starts with being financially savvy. This is a skill set that eludes most musicians, in fact it eludes most people.
One gets paid what one is worth.
The hardest part is accepting that one may not be worth enough to get paid.
Getting paid from 'music' is EXTREMELY difficult. And it does NOT start with being musically talented. It starts with being financially savvy. This is a skill set that eludes most musicians, in fact it eludes most people.
You need to be able to bring a crowd before you can get paid. 20 years of playing in hardcore and metal bands and I have never come close to the break-even point of getting paid for all the work that has gone into it. Unless your brother's band happens to stand out as part of a giant local hardcore scene they should not even be thinking about making money in that type of music in the short term (i.e. decades).
Yes, it's a self contained room, Your on your own
- You pay a sound guy 150.00-200.00.
- Get your own guy to collect the 5.00 at the door.
Get another metal band to open for your one that has people that will show up.
Put up your posters.
Hit all your friends and family hard becauce they will be the only ones that will come out to see your band.
Thing about TB is when I make comments I never know if I am responding to an adult or a young teenager. My advice to a teenager would be different than what I would suggest to a teen.
It's called "butts on barstools"
As a band, it's your job to bring people into the venue who are going to stay and listen to your music and while they're there, they'll be shelling out money for alcohol. Your value to the club owner is determined by how much alcohol gets sold while you're playing your music versus how much would have been sold had you not been there.
Hence, if you want to be paid, you need to convince the venue that you can bring people. It really is as simple as that.
As a band, it's your job to bring people into the venue who are going to stay and listen to your music and while they're there, they'll be shelling out money for alcohol. Your value to the club owner is determined by how much alcohol gets sold while you're playing your music versus how much would have been sold had you not been there.
Hence, if you want to be paid, you need to convince the venue that you can bring people. It really is as simple as that.
