Can we talk money?

[charlie]

Hey you guys....just curious as to what a typical weekend gig pays in your neck of the woods. Here in Georgia, US the pay is somewhat bleak at times...and I have to constantly remind myself "why am I doing this"..and then I remember...I cant help it...it's all the music's fault. Anyway a typical gig here nets about $300 a night for us as a duo. Private parties, of course, pay way much better. We have the normal expenses...travel expenses, sequences, etc. We have been gigging at this one spot now for 5 years...and it's been great....musically...but they wont budge an inch on our pay as far as an increase...playing for same money 5 years ago...as I do today..at least at that particular spot. Like I said, we make up for it with private parties.

[rockabilly]

Hi Charlie - Here in south Australia, the pay is about the same - Duo $AUS250 to $450 depending on the gig site and duration etc. However, much like I saw in the US when I was over there, some turn out to be a case of share of the door takings (not tried the Jar for donations yet!!).
In Memphis and Nashville it surprised me to see so much talent playing for 'tips' and after chatting with a couple of the players, the waiting list for bands etc waiting to get the chance to play in some of these places was pages long.
Be interested to hear from some of the other Ozzie performers in other states

[thingyy]

I clear $NZ250 a night after tax{4 hrs max}.
{About 2 weeks groceries for 2 people.}
If away from home meals,accomodation and travelling expences gets taken into part of the deal.
I am self employed so all my cost are taken into account at the end of the year for tax puposes.

[ironbaden]

its about the same here in eastern canada.... a good duo can get around 250-300 canadian.....

[Emerald Midi]

Please bare in mind that my comments in this post do not refer to bands who have made it big, they are only about those who are your regular pub type gigging outfits, the category I come under

In Ireland (the southern part) we get paid in euros and the amount is sometimes dependant on what kind of a reputation you have within the circuit. I know groups who have albums out but are only clearing about the same amount as those who've never made a recording in their life!

A half decent one-man band effort will make around 200 - 220 euros for a 2 hour gig in a regular pub. Some make a little less, some a little more.

A two man outfit won't make much above this, although some of them will often claim they make much more, but the reality is they don't. Band people in Ireland are famed for their ability to magnify their earnings

As I have often said if I was to depend on the gigs to pay my mortgage I'd still be living in a caravan

[charlie]

Hey, thanks guys! Just wanted to know what to expect if I suddenly packed up and moved to another continent. So, it's basically the same all over, hmmmmm. One thing we have figured out, though, is there are as many sales tactics to booking a gig as there are musicians wanting to play them. Sometimes, Jacquie, the female vocalist in the duo, can do the soft sell and get the proverbial "foot in the door". We can follow up with picutues and a CD and meet them in person. This goes a long way toward winning the customer over as they see your enthusiasm and interest. We have a lot more negotiating power in the private party market, as the customers are actively seeking to book us and like supply and demand, it's what the market will bear, so to speak. Dont get me wrong, we dont have condos at the beach, multiple cars, etc as a result of private parties, it just kinda even things out. LOL

[weegeo]

Aaaaaww the bane of all musicians ** Money** Up in the northern part of Ireland we seem to make a liitle more than the south but not much more when i play 1 man i usually charge 150pounds sterling (not sure of the exchange rate lol) thats for a `normal hours gig` when i go 2pce the fee goes up a little bit but not as much as it should maybe 200/250 that sort of thing 3/4/ or 5pce outfits don`t get much more than that even the so called main bands don`t earn as much as they used to I think when you examine it the overall cost of everything around our biz has more than doubled in some cases trebled but the fee`s haven`t I find the clubs now want a 5pce band for 2pce money i think this explains why most full time musicians are thin they have little money to live on i stopped depending on my fee`s sometime ago when the children came along but i still average 3 nites a week up here in the north but at times it`s a struggle Well that was some more thoughts from the book of life lol lol regards to everybody Weegeo

[rick]

Hi Guys!

Just wanted to let ya'll know that here in Germany (Nuremberg) area, my partner and I get anywhere from 300,- to 600,- Euros (400,- to 800,- Dollars) for a Duo on an evening. It depends on the occasion, location and how long. We ask 100,- Euros (about 130,- Dollars) an hour. Anything less than 300,-Euros and 3 hours we don't except. There are exceptions of course, for friends and relatives ;D! But seriously, that is about what the prices are right now over hier. I also have to say that gasoline cost about 4 times as much over here than over there (USA)!

See Ya!

Rick

KEEP IT COUNTRY!

[bigmow]

Yea weegeo, Here in Ohio (US), seems that clubs want a 5 pc. sound for a 3 pc. price. That's why I believe in background sequenced music.

[frankdev]

i think bands got more money years ago

[Tone_Deff (Musicmaker)]

Well Guys,

I have worked - Full time Pro, on Cruise Ships, Large Residential Sea Side Hotels, and Holiday Camps in the past, and made a very good living - 7 nights a week - about 3-4 hours, Playing my keyboards for Dancing, Bingo Calling, Disco, Karaoke, MCing for visiting Artists, Comedians, etc - at todays money about 800 GB pounds a week plus food and accomodation. (Double GB Pounds for US Dollars!)

I have made a fair amount in the past few years as a semi-pro, around the pubs and clubs 3 or 4 nights a week, for 120 pounds for a 3 hour set. However.... All the larger pubs are now rapidly closing, and being bulldozed for houses, or converted into flats, and the smaller pubs are struggling, as most people are drinking at home, its so much cheaper. I now do 1 or sometimes 2 gigs a week for 60 - 70 pounds a night.

I also do charity Gigs for free, and every Sunday afternoon I play for free in Retirement Complexes.

I worked around Nashville, Tenn for 8 years 1988 - 1995, living in Hendersonville. And played for many well known singers, as a session player in recording studios - when I worked the Lodges, Restraunts and Pubs there, I too worked for tips - but they were good - sometimes getting as much as 50 dollars in the jar to play a request!

I have often pondered whether to try this here - bet I would get at least 20 pennies per punter in the pub, knowing the 'tight' Brits !!!

Interesting topic!

Tony

[crguitarman]

One other problem we have here in the US Midwest is the huge number of young bands who will play for almost nothing, just to get through the door. I'm a firm believer in the old adage - You get what you pay for - but lots of clubs here think bad music is okay as long as it's cheap enough.

When I was playing northern Minnesota in the 90s, we were getting an average of $600 a night for our four-piece. Wedding dances, Christmas parties and such were worth as much as $1,000 a night. Now I'm back in my old stomping grounds in Iowa (ten years later) and though the city population is bigger than any four counties where I played in Minnesota, the money is exponentially smaller.

The only way to make decent money here now is to play as a duo. My Piano Man ex-partner and I (see He Doesn't Have The Fire thread) were making $300 a night with no trouble right out of the chute and I don't think $500 a night would have been out of the question if we could have kept it together.

I think The Bellamy Brothers hit it right on the head when they said "It's A Hard Way To Make An Easy Living." But I, like many of the musicians who grace this Forum, have to keep on playing. I just can't put that old guitar and mic away! Rock & roll burns in my veins!

[ironbaden]

Wish I lived down your way...I'd be all over that gig!!! ;D I can't play the piano tho!!

[shyamwestwind]

The money you guys make sounds real good - 300 to 400 US$ converts to about Indian Rs,18000/- Its not bad here , atleast for our Duo - we make about $300 for a private show for the duo
The regular contracts at Restaurants, the "once a week" gigs only pay about 100 to 120 $ per night for the two of us, but then these are the places we make the contacts for other gigs, so we are not grumbling !
We must, ofcourse take into consideration the purchasing power of our respective currencies. We in India are pretty comfortable in that respect. We can have a good three course non vegaetarian Five Star dinner for about 10 dollars. We can get a very sumptious non vegetarian meal at non 5 star places for as liitle as 2 dollars or less !!
A kilo of good rice costs about 40 cents ! A kilo of really good, boneless, fatless Beef costs about 2 dollars and a whole chicken weighing a little more than a kilo costs a dollar.
For the vegetarians, life is cheaper - a kilo of tomatoes costs 20 cents Potatoes cost 20 cents a Kilo!! Petrol is rather steep at 1$ per litre.
I think it would be good idea to gig in your parts of the world, live on a shoe string budget and somehow save all the Dollars and Euros and then return to India to sit back and count the "greens"

[Steptoe]

shyamwestwind said:

Petrol is rather steep at 1$ per litre.

That's actually a pretty good price by our standards.

Todays petrol price here in Sydney Aust is average $1.29 (approx 44.11 India Rupees)