blue Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) [quote name='leemarseillebass' timestamp='1481837774' post='3195645'] Kinda nauseating isn't it? I'd do it for free but that's my choice, I'm not having it decided for me very much like yourself. I go to work to get paid, I'm not doing that for charity either. I just think there should be a bit more justification when someone expects a lot for very little, I may end up saying 'well if you want more people here, charge 90p a pint.' Or something. [/quote] For those into playing for free, cool, that's your right and choice. For those asking bands to play for free and profiting off those bands, not cool. Blue Edited December 16, 2016 by blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Zombie thread alert! This topic has raised its head for me recently and I found it interesting to come back and read this. Lots of local banter on FB groups and pages of the fact that everyone's costs have gone through the roof, none more so than fuel costs... gig travel costs are 50% more than they were 6 years ago when this thread started and that band fees are pretty much as they were in the 80's and 90's... almost 40 years ago! I'm presently in a few 'bands'; a 3 piece power trio, a 3 piece acoustic (sometimes becoming a 4 piece adding a drummer) and an acoustic duo. * the power trio are well established and we do local pub gigs for £250 - £300. * 3 piece acoustic, very few gigs and just finding its feet... fee 'negotiable' (more later). * duo, newly established and getting £150 - £180 As it happens the power trio is 90% of my gigging and we'll have done 60 gigs by the end of this year. However, the acoustic trio (vocal/bass/guitar) are looking to up the gig ratio and touting for gigs. Despite the band having formerly had a decent rep (inc with another infamous BCer on bass duties), the addition of a new singer means starting from scratch, which is fair enough and we've done a few gigs at a very discounted rate, which gives us the thorny issue that we are being pegged at that rate! I suppose the situation isn't helped by the fact that I know I am getting gigs with the other bands at £80 - £100. Recently came to a head when we (3 piece acoustic) were offered a gig 1 hour from home, playing 3 sets over 4 hours (17:00 - 21:00), which means leaving home at 15:00, maybe back 22:30; for £60 per person (minus 8 litre of fuel) and one of the band was happy to take it... I wasn't. No 'answer' to this as such; I know my worth and won't gig for that, another member of the band will... we don't gig or they get a dep who will. It will create some tension I'm sure but I'm a big lad now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Since the lockdowns, my gigs have paid between £0 (charity gig after the death of a good friend) and £200. The average is between £80 and £100. The bands I'm in are good and I'm also connected to many guys who put dep gigs my way. I look at gigs as being better than sitting at home. Every one is an opportunity. They get me seen and making contacts. None of the guys I work with go out for peanuts, so if I like the band I usually don't even ask what the fee is. I wouldn't leave over money, unless the bandleader was ripping us off! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 I think this topic is cropping up with most gigging bands WH. We normally do a set rate for gigs within a 50 mile radius but thoughts on charges for next year are a consideration if fuel doesn't drop soon. WE will honour existing (I think we have 15 or so booked into next year) but will have to look at increases for next years from now on which we know could be difficult for some of the smaller venues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 45 minutes ago, warwickhunt said: Zombie thread alert! This topic has raised its head for me recently and I found it interesting to come back and read this. Lots of local banter on FB groups and pages of the fact that everyone's costs have gone through the roof, none more so than fuel costs... gig travel costs are 50% more than they were 6 years ago when this thread started and that band fees are pretty much as they were in the 80's and 90's... almost 40 years ago! I'm presently in a few 'bands'; a 3 piece power trio, a 3 piece acoustic (sometimes becoming a 4 piece adding a drummer) and an acoustic duo. * the power trio are well established and we do local pub gigs for £250 - £300. * 3 piece acoustic, very few gigs and just finding its feet... fee 'negotiable' (more later). * duo, newly established and getting £150 - £180 As it happens the power trio is 90% of my gigging and we'll have done 60 gigs by the end of this year. However, the acoustic trio (vocal/bass/guitar) are looking to up the gig ratio and touting for gigs. Despite the band having formerly had a decent rep (inc with another infamous BCer on bass duties), the addition of a new singer means starting from scratch, which is fair enough and we've done a few gigs at a very discounted rate, which gives us the thorny issue that we are being pegged at that rate! I suppose the situation isn't helped by the fact that I know I am getting gigs with the other bands at £80 - £100. Recently came to a head when we (3 piece acoustic) were offered a gig 1 hour from home, playing 3 sets over 4 hours (17:00 - 21:00), which means leaving home at 15:00, maybe back 22:30; for £60 per person (minus 8 litre of fuel) and one of the band was happy to take it... I wasn't. No 'answer' to this as such; I know my worth and won't gig for that, another member of the band will... we don't gig or they get a dep who will. It will create some tension I'm sure but I'm a big lad now. £8 per hour from leaving to getting back... not including rehearsal times, deductions for consumables etc etc. I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth quoting showing total time with reference to the minimum wage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zbd1960 Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 I understand the pain, but as an amateur musician that has sung for years in various choirs and played in various orchestras, with one notable exception, I have to pay to perform via subscriptions etc. I did some film work for ITV where they needed real musicians who knew how to play their instruments. We were filmed but MU rules meant pros sound was overdubbed onto our playing... It was fun and well paid. I get paid for repeats too... (only once so far). A friend of mine who's done band work etc for decades says the fees are ridiculous as they're less than they were 30 years go. As noted, costs haven't gone down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 6 minutes ago, zbd1960 said: A friend of mine who's done band work etc for decades says the fees are ridiculous as they're less than they were 30 years go. As noted, costs haven't gone down... Unfortunately the demand for live music has! With increased bills and a likely recession around the corner, this is unlikely to get better any time soon. I am certainly not saying that musos shouldn't get paid for playing (far from it), but we all have to bear this in mind when setting band fees in the current economic climate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Since the lockdown it seems that all the gigs we have done have paid more than they used to before the lockdown. As they are almost all local, there haven't really been any increase in costs on our behalf, so it seems positive here. Not sure if this is a rebound of people wanting more music after being locked up or we just got braver asking for money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Same situation here, I can see it from the other side that unless a pub is independent they will need monstrous takings to cover band fees however that doesn't mean it's ok to expect people work for slave wages. This year we've had more than the usual quota of one off events with very demanding requirements (last one wanted two 3hr sets), the old caveat of limited budget mentioned right at the end and the promise to cover our costs. Presumably that meant fuel for one vehicle and a service station sandwich between the five of us. Still some great gigs out there but everybody is definitely feeling the pinch, just a shame musicians expected to take the brunt before anybody else has to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 My trio had a big falling-out with a pub at which we had about 30 gigs set up for the year, when they refused to increase (by less than 10%) the money which had been the same for the last three or four years. Bear in mind this is a very busy (queues out the door most of the night, bouncers staffing a one out, one in policy) city centre pub taking a fortune...it got ugly on their side very quickly ('You're contractually obliged' 'Ummmmm, where's this contract?' 'I sent you a text message'), and we walked away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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