gub Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 We have just had an enquiry for a booking for a 40th birthday by the wife of the chap who's birthday it is , she wants us to do an hour 9 till 10 pm and its on a saturday , our guitarist who also does somedj stuff when he is not gigging is doing the dj bit for free as he knows the guy , she said that she had hired a dj but didn't say it was our guitar player ! (she knows this as seen us before a few times ) I only found out when I sent texts to everyone asking if they are free! I have said £300 and she has not got back to me yet , I know it's only an hour slot but we still have to lug all the gear there set up etc and she is getting the dj for nowt ! I wonder what people expect sometimes , did she want me to say we will do it for £ 50 !! Rant over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulconnolly Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 If your guitarist had approached you saying "I'm dj-ing at a party, can we do an hour spot for mates rates?" Would you have thought differently? Also your guitarist knew the arrangement and said nowt? Does you band gig regularly? Are you missing out on a full fee gig to do this? Is the rest of your band going to be sat twiddling thumbs in front of Casualty when you could be "practicing" for little more than petrol money? Point is you're entitled to rant but it's not a black/white situation. Talk to your DJ guitarist and the party organiser and come to a compromise :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 DJ and a band for £300 sounds more than fair to me, the 'paid practice' is a slippery slope into getting feck all for the rest of your playing days and just makes other bands reasonable prices look steep IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I think £300 for a band and a DJ is getting both on mates rates. Am sure if each were booked independently, and she didn`t know anyone in either, the bill would be considerably more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mep Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 You should talk about this sort of situation and all agree on a response to play for mates etc. We do a special relatives rates where we do it for free but will get some beers and possibly a taxi. Then a mate(s) rate where whoever knows the person will do it for free (usually) and the others will get around £50, with possible options of beers / taxi. Then our standard rate. Unfortunately it often takes a few uncomfortable situations before an agreed response is reached. One of our last situations which prompted us to get ourselves sorted was a wedding for a friend of the singer. He had agreed to to do it for free (didn't tell us), although there was a free bar, which we didn't know about untill we got there. We were somehow under the impression we were getting £100. Our drummer couldn't make it so we got our son who deps to do the gig instead, & who will always expect to get paid. Our guitarist said he would do it for the free bar and me & our son got £50 each. We had a great gig, some free beers and got ourselves a taxi home. I knew the couple from a regular pub we gigged at. The problem was a lack of communication on our singers part as he never confirmed what the deal was. A couple of weeks later he admitted that he paid us the £100 as he agreed a no fee gig without checking. Another situation involved our guitarist who agreed to do a wedding for £100! It was for a regular visitor to a pub we gig in. She has seen us most times, but most of us don't know her. Our singer, who is from the same town said he knows her, sort of. There was no free bar or taxis this night, and again we had to get our son to dep. So, again, me & our son got £50 and the other 2 got nowt. Our guitarist admits he is highly embarresed by it all and thought she was a friend of the band so blurted out a low price without checking with the rest of us. So we have sorted out our fees and responses to avoid this happening again. I will only pay for free if I am related to that person or if they are a relative of the band, otherwise get your wallet out. Min £50, max £100 depending on type of gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gub Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 [quote name='paulconnolly' timestamp='1346352042' post='1788253'] If your guitarist had approached you saying "I'm dj-ing at a party, can we do an hour spot for mates rates?" Would you have thought differently? Also your guitarist knew the arrangement and said nowt? Does you band gig regularly? Are you missing out on a full fee gig to do this? Is the rest of your band going to be sat twiddling thumbs in front of Casualty when you could be "practicing" for little more than petrol money? Point is you're entitled to rant but it's not a black/white situation. Talk to your DJ guitarist and the party organiser and come to a compromise :-) [/quote] Well our guitarist didn't need to tell us what he was doing As she approached us on the band site not through him ! No don't think I would of felt differently if he had approached us asking for the favour , I only get every other weekend off work so they are precious these days ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gub Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1346353319' post='1788273'] I think £300 for a band and a DJ is getting both on mates rates. Am sure if each were booked independently, and she didn`t know anyone in either, the bill would be considerably more. [/quote] My feelings too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottswarwick Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I did a duo gig for a mate of our singer. He did it free and I assumed I would get £100 ish (normal min per man private gig rate). Got £50, and had turned down a £200 per man dep gig to do it. The key is communication here. Our band mates rate is £400 ish. 5 piece. Less than half our normal function or party rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Mate's rates is £420 aboslutely minimum and that assumes the mate of the mate doesn't waive their fee...but that doesn't go down too well either. So.. to settle this, our min fee is £420 to mates, come what may, for a local booking. Beers and food are expected altho none of us cane the drink Agree about the communication point..get it agreed now, for the next timwe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I guess a lot depends on whether you gig for money or love. We've played at quite a few mate's parties for nothing more than free drinks and food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 [size=6][sub][quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1346358673' post='1788400'] I guess a lot depends on whether you gig for money or love. We've played at quite a few mate's parties for nothing more than free drinks and food. [/quote][/sub][/size] [size=6][sub]You can have that POV, but some gigs can be a PITA so I make a point of always walking away with something.[/sub][/size] [size=6][sub] [/sub][/size] [size=6][sub]As it is, I do it for the love of it [/sub][/size] [size=6][sub]Lugging the gear and the hours involved mean it is a LOT of work... and some times, too much work for the money, so it is better to [/sub][/size] [size=6][sub]say it will cost this much or get someone else. Mate's parties have that extra little pressure, so I can take them or leave them tbh..[/sub][/size] [size=6][sub]and I'd rather attend as a guest.[/sub][/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 [color=#222222]I have played at several mate's parties or weddings (or mates of someone in the band) for no more than a few beers. If they are genuinely mates, I am more than happy to help out![/color] [color=#222222][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"] [/size][/font][/color] [color=#222222]What goes around comes around. When I got married I had five good bands playing at the party. All it cost me was a tenner towards a taxi fare home for each of the main band (a three piece and I had to force the money on them) and I gave the two lads who were doing the sound £40 and a couple of pints each…....[/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Five bands!? Sounds like a great wedding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 (edited) [quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1346364443' post='1788523'] Five bands!? Sounds like a great wedding! [/quote] It was indeed...! We set up a stage and a PA in a working brewery, had a big indian buffet set out, cheap beer and got all out mates to play short sets then had a bit of a jam session to finish off. No way that I could have afforded that if I was paying all of the bands! The only problem was that I was in two of the five bands playing at my own wedding..... Edited August 30, 2012 by peteb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 When you talk about mates rates not all the band will be mates with the mate in question so to them it is just another gig. If the mate is close then you can waive your fee but nobody expects the other guys in the band to work on that basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 (edited) [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1346395556' post='1788620'] When you talk about mates rates not all the band will be mates with the mate in question so to them it is just another gig. If the mate is close then you can waive your fee but nobody expects the other guys in the band to work on that basis. [/quote] Not necessarily, it depends on your outlook on life. If I do a favour for the guitar player's mate then he's more likely to do a favour for my mate, who in turn might be able to help out the guitarist one day! Obviously you have make sure that people don't abuse your good nature or else you will be playing for free every other week, but in reality that just doesn't happen. Also, it is entirely a different thing of someone in the band is relying on the Saturday gig to pay the rent! But if not, it doesn't hurt to help mates out once in a while - you will find that over time things even themselves out and that people are more likely to help you out..... Edited August 31, 2012 by peteb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Many of these gigs could be a real pain. I don't mind doing some time one of these for free (drinks + transport)... but I would prefer that initially there is always a fee. Then if things are smooth and fun, you can talk among yourselves and when payment time comes then you can tell them to just give you half, or nothing, or whatever. In my experience, a situation where people expect to pay, and in the end you waive it, works better than when they don't expect to pay from the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 The ceilidh band I play have come to the arrangement where we (nearly) always state the full fee, and its then up to the individuals what they do with their share, which may be to waive it altogether. This covers mates rates and charity gigs. If it is something we all have an interest in then we may collectively decide to waive the whole lot, but only once we've all discussed it, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero9 Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 If your guitarist dj's on the side, then that's a seperate arrangement to the band. If he's already been booked as the dj FOC, then that's up to him. The band is a seperate entity and as such you can charge what you feel is fair. There's nothing to say that the lady doing the booking is trying to get you for 'free', otherwise she might have chosen a different route rather than book via the site. If you and the rest of the band are happy with £300 and so is the 'client' = result Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Quote all gigs on an individual basis but base them on a standard rate. Factor in repeat gigs and ability to pay. Eg if you'll get a residency from a pub then it's worth doing 12 for £250, if it's a one off wedding at a big venue a lot more. So no such thing as mates rates. If you want to do the gig you drop the price accordingly. £300 is a lot for a 3 piece playing in a back garden, not a lot for a function room of a hotel. My band are happy as individuals to play for free but not happy to be taken advantage of. When you drop your price by £300 for a mate and then find he's put £300 on the bar you start to feel like you're paying for his guests drinks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 The lady is getting the "mate rate" by way of a free Dj. If your guitarist also wants to waive his gig fee that's his call but if he or she expects anyone else to drop their fee then their not being fair. We're playing my best mates wedding in a few weeks (I'm also best man) and I'm giving him the services of our band as a wedding gift. I have however offered to pay the rest of the band. Two have said they don't want my money but one does. I have absolutely no problem with this as its only fair and he's never asked me to play for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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