Going rate for a NYE pub gig?

Majorscale

Just wondering what the general going rate for a pub gig is on New Years Eve.

We're getting £600 as a five piece for tonight...How does that compare with the rest of you who will be gigging tonight?

stickyfiddle

The one I did we got 800 for a 4-piece in a small pub in SE London. I felt that was a bit low if I'm honest but liked the landlord and it was only 20 minutes from home so not desperately bad.

rossyamaha

Thats far too cheap mate. For a 5 piece I would double that and add another 20%, then add VAT. 

To give you an idea, I'm about to leave for the first of 2 gigs today. First is a duo gig. £250 each for 6 x 10 min sets (odd but whos asking). Tonight will be a trio gig. £300 each. 2 x 45's and we will do a half hour disco till closing for another £100.

Don't sell yourself short. 

lustycourtier

600 is ok for a 3 or 4 piece in a little pub. People ask big money, but then post the 'we decided to stay in with our families this year' on Facebook. We genuinely did decide to have new year off after 150+ gigs, but have had offers nearly every day since november in the 6-700 region

thomasross20

Jesus where do you guys gig!?

not_the_dj

Depends what the regular rate is, and the area so direct £ comparisons don't always work. We're getting x3 our usual fee for the place we're playing tonight (which is £600)

koneguitarist

Won't get £600 in my area from a pub, different area, and down here doesn't matter if you are 4-5 or 6pc band, money don't change.

Danny1969

£900 tonight for a 4 piece rock band and a sound guy, which is pretty crap to be honest but my main band won't gig on NYE. Last year I did a Marriott hotel for £2200. 

The pubs down here cover the band fee with tickets. Tonight they have sold 140 tickets at £10 a pop so they are already in profit . The Marriott charged £40 a ticket but did throw in a meal as well

EricTheWeary

I genuinely don't understand why a pub ( as opposed to something that's a dedicated music venue even if it's in a pub) would pay more than normal for a band on NYE. Presumably it is one of ( if not The) most profitable nights of the year for a pub and most will do okay without any extra effort at all. They will have additional staffing costs anyway so forking out a larger than normal chunk on a band seems an odd thing to do. Not knocking anyone who has a well paying gig tonight but I don't really understand why the pubs would bother nor do I see pubs around here suddenly putting on bands for NYE so there isn't obviously a demand.

Fatfingers

Blimey. Things seem to have got worse. 20 years back I played in a seven-piece R&B outfit (Blues Bros etc) and we never got less than a grand on NYE. 

Danny1969

EricTheWeary said:

I genuinely don't understand why a pub ( as opposed to something that's a dedicated music venue even if it's in a pub) would pay more than normal for a band on NYE. Presumably it is one of ( if not The) most profitable nights of the year for a pub and most will do okay without any extra effort at all. They will have additional staffing costs anyway so forking out a larger than normal chunk on a band seems an odd thing to do. Not knocking anyone who has a well paying gig tonight but I don't really understand why the pubs would bother nor do I see pubs around here suddenly putting on bands for NYE so there isn't obviously a demand.

It's more profitable for the pub because if they put a decent band on they can charge for a ticket. The pub I'm doing tonight have sold 140 tickets at £10 each so they have made £1400 in ticket sales. They only have to pay us £900 so already they are £500 up. 

A taxi cost more on NYE, so does a plumber and a roofer so why not a band ?

Live music popularity  is geographical though. Here in Waterlooville just outside Portsmouth people go where the bands play. One pub that is a great live venue is bang next door to a Wetherspoons and yet on a Sat night with a good band the Wetherspoons next door will be less than half full, everyone follows the bands. Their not interested in saving 40p on a pint they want music.

In other areas there's much less interest I guess, people go to pubs for food, to talk and stuff. I'm just really glad I live in an area where you can make a living doing something you love

EricTheWeary

Oh yeh, I'd want to be paid extra for playing on NYE; £900 for a band sounds a lot when the pub will be full anyway ( and popular pubs will charge just for entrance on NYE). I work with someone ( she does part time hours in our office) who runs a pub and if they don't have a good December and NYE by the end of January they probably don't have a pub anymore. Although if it's a cold enough winter they do a good profit on wakes in the new year... :o3

KKJale

I'll be lucky to get home tonight with £150. It's piteous, really. 

It's a tiny pub which doesn't do tickets on NYE. 

If the band and the guy I'm emergency-depping for weren't mates, I wouldn't do it. 

On the upside, the songs are fun, the drummer's ace and I don't have to watch Jools.

dunstanmus

Double fee for Christmas eve, Boxing Day and NYE. I have never known it be different to this. I would say if you are expecting over £200 per man in a pub you must be a hell of a player in a great band. If so, fair play to you.

Danny1969

We ended up getting £1100 between us after agent 10% fee so was quite happy with that. To be honest that was playing is a distinctly average pub band. I'm sure there was better people going out for less

thomasross20

If money is so bad, why do we do it? 

Started off as fun for me but more than a year later with 50 not-so-easy song under our belts and weekly practice to maintain those, sometimes I think about selling half my gear and jacking it in order to pursue other things. Seriously, I personally get about £20-25 per (infrequent) gig and I don't think I'm a particularly bad player. Sucks.You're lucky where you are, Danny - I think it depends where you're based and if you lived here, you wouldn't see cash like that.

Danny1969

Yeah your right thomas, the money down south is ok and Portsmouth has a lot of venues around it. Music is important to me though and it accounts for probably 60% of my income so I wouldn't live in an area that didn't support it ...... much as a miner wouldn't live in a area where there are no mines I spose. I think that's the difference, because I need to see more money from it I do, whever a lot of guys on here are just gigging for the fun of it and have real jobs that pay the bills. 

not_the_dj

I usually get £50 in my pocket at the end of the night, so £100 for Xmas Eve and £150 for New Years Eve was great for me. It's a hobby that I enjoy, the cash is a bonus, and better than being in watching rubbish on TV, and all those gigs were less than a 10min drive away.

Majorscale

Yeah that's my outlook too, it's a fun hobby with a small income stream that is rendered completely obsolete after expenditure on gear! We ended up with £120 each (before tax as I do declare it) from the gig. It was a blinder of a gig and therefore great fun so the money is really a nice benefit although I do know what we got was on the low side after speaking to other bands in the town who played that night.

dunstanmus

Good comments guys. Where do you live Thomas?

bigjon

I got booked through an agent to do an acoustic gig for £450. I chose to take a bassist and drummer along and split the money equally. We had a great time, and I play for fun rather than work, so that was a great result for me. Last year I got £250 depping as a guitarist at a village social club in the wilds of Suffolk.