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DJpullchord
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I play in a primarily wedding/function band. But we do play the odd pub gig for potential customers to be able to come and watch us.
For weddings, you can charge what you like. Whether you get booked is another matter.
I think you just need to be realistic with it. Take a look at the wedding bands that are established in your area. Do an honest assessment of your band. Then try to calculate what you think you can charge based off that.
As for pub gigs, we don't play many of them, maybe 4 a year, and we get £300 a go.

Edited by FuNkShUi
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[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1509617811' post='3400275']
I play in a primarily wedding/function band. But we do play the odd pub gig for potential customers to be able to come and watch us.
For weddings, you can charge what you like. Whether you get booked is another matter.
I think you just need to be realistic with it. Take a look at the wedding bands that are established in your area. Do an honest assessment of your band. Then try to calculate what you think you can charge based off that.
As for pub gigs, we don't play many of them, maybe 4 a year, and we get £300 a go.
[/quote]

You're doing well to get £300 at the dog and duck. £250 is normal for the London 'burbs.

To answer the OP by the time you have taken rehearsal time, travel costs, set up time and expenses into consideration pub gigs wont give much of a return. As an hourly rate a pub gig with a 1hr each way journey, 1 hour set up and 2 x 1 hour sets with a break gives your something like £50-70 less expenses for a 6 hour job.

Functions are profitable but what you play is very much out of the band's hands.

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Weddings parties etc it really is about what you can get in your area. I recently got £200 for playing a wedding in what was frankly a lashed up not very good band! Go figure...

Round here typical biggish weddings pay anywhere from £500 to £1k, but at the top end they expect a pro show and a disco-style "between sets" music setup.
Parties again depend on how big and how fancy, I have played solo to backing tracks at a load of 21st birthdays that paid between £200 and £300 but have also done trio & in one case full band gigs that paid the same.
Its a lottery.

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[quote name='DJpullchord' timestamp='1509656738' post='3400696']
It's not unrealistic to demand a hundred quid each per gig then? I appreciate the time that goes in to rehearse and new kit and ferrying drums etc. Not to mention learning to play for a few decades....
[/quote]

If you are a three piece £100 each might be realistic at some venues. You will be competing with established bands with a track record playing for £250. If you were the landlord who would you book?

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I'd be careful with weddings, definitely need to be well prepared. I've seen some wedding bands that you think aren't that good but their set list is huuuuuuge. Realistically your wedding band needs to be able to deal with the mother of the bride demanding her favourite Elton John song while the best man wants you to play some iron maiden. It is the biggest day of their lives for the couple and probably their nearest and dearest so I would want to be a slick operation that can pull from a massive range of songs, especially if going for "big" money. It's why my band won't play weddings! :)

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[quote name='DJpullchord' timestamp='1509637149' post='3400514']
Oh, does anyone declare it as income? Hmrc styleeeee?
[/quote]
Absolutely and get a Tax rebate every year. If you have a good accountant even weekend warrior status can be offset against your normal wage.

To answer the original Q.
I guess it depends on the area. In the NW £200 - £300 for a pub is about average. Weddings/Functions are really down to the client budget. As has already been mentioned you need to be very slick and professional to be successful in the Corporate/Wedding arena but we have an agency representing us at £1600 for the 6 piece version of the band up to £2200 including the brass section.

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£250-£300 seems to be average- cheapest I've done recently was £150 for a pub that was just starting having bands and didn't know if they'd cover costs.

The £150 gig was a belter, we got a couple of drinks thrown in (all driving, but handy) - but we had a great time, I got propositioned mid song, we had people dancing like loons, one old boy who'd been sat by the bar watching intently suddenly leaped from his stool at the beginning of Crazy Train and shouted "Ozzy Ozbourne" with total glee!
They even helped us load gear into the cars at the end. Proper fun night - half the wage but much better than a £300 gig with a bunch of disinterested table hoggers.
Doesn't hurt to take chance every now and then.

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[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1509699570' post='3400901']
I'd be careful with weddings, definitely need to be well prepared. I've seen some wedding bands that you think aren't that good but their set list is huuuuuuge. Realistically your wedding band needs to be able to deal with the mother of the bride demanding her favourite Elton John song while the best man wants you to play some iron maiden. It is the biggest day of their lives for the couple and probably their nearest and dearest so I would want to be a slick operation that can pull from a massive range of songs, especially if going for "big" money. It's why my band won't play weddings! :)
[/quote]

Yes requests can role in , ideally you manage the clients expectations of what you can do before the day , if your set list is limited that's not a problem if that's agreed up front

As in all business , communication is key

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[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1509781730' post='3401542']


Yes requests can role in , ideally you manage the clients expectations of what you can do before the day , if your set list is limited that's not a problem if that's agreed up front

As in all business , communication is key
[/quote]

Good point!

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I've never really fancied the wedding scene as its a very long day for the band including playing for 4-6hrs depending on event.
My mate has a very professional wedding band and when you see them live its like watching a well rehearsed VID clip. So professional it embarrasses me. They wear expensive looking suits and stage gear but they command a pretty good fee for playing circa £2k upwards for a wedding all day shot.
They produced a professional demo VID for their website few yrs back too and i think that paid off quite well for them getting some good gigs.
They tend to play the Weddings held in Castles type venues with kilts if a trad Scottish wedding and they have a repertoire of circa 400-500songs they will pick from.
That's a lot of hard work to get to that point but he is a professional in respect to the fact its his only job nowadays but that was always his aim.
He spent a year in Nashville learning how to entertain audiences and generally picking up on the various styles of singers and guitarist. (he is the singer / guitarist in the band)
They also take a lot of time to socialise with their wedding party especially at the end and have great interaction with their audience.
Its taken them circa 8-10yrs to get to that point tho so it doesn't come quick. Building a reputation is important in that field of music.

£200 - £300 for local pub gigs around our way too.

Dave

Edited by dmccombe7
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The wedding market is really saturated. Your band need to be really on it & you'll need to stick at for a few years before you start making a name for yourself, getting a healthy amount of bookings & commanding a decent fee. It's worth it if that's what you want.

Don't bother asking other bands what they charge as they generally won't tell, kind of an unwritten rule. A bit of a nonsense as 99% of wedding bands in a given area end up pretty much charging the same...once you know what that amount is, you've arrived XD

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