Going rate for a NYE pub gig?

John_P

Band I played with normally charges 300 for pubs and it was 800 on NYE.  Last year I depped with a band for 1K  (250ea) but it's usually between 600 and 1000 or so for pub gigs around here that night. 

I don't do it for the money and to me it's the best way to spend NY - busy on stage and the extra cash is a bonus,  pretty much like all gigs really.   

Jetfire

We did a holiday park last year for £1000 cleared to the band (agent fee was like £100ish) and this was the same for a private do. Wouldnt do it for less than £250 each (which makes it sound big headed but .. fuck um)

fretmeister

I wouldn't do a NYE evening magic show for under £750. And that's all for me. And it's only for an hour. Ish.

hotpickups

My old band got a New Yeara gig st a large hotel in Gloucester through an agent. After the agent took their fee/commission we were being paid £1300 for a six piece. Unfortunately the gig was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. We found out after that the hotel was charging £250 per person for a ticket (including room and meal). No wonder they couldn't sell enough tickets - greedy gits

Still we did get our cancellation fee paid but it was the beginning of the end for the band though. It's a long story

thomasross20

dunstanmus said:

Good comments guys. Where do you live Thomas?

Edinburgh, and sorry for the late comments guys - got a real bad "man cold"

thomasross20

fretmeister said:

I wouldn't do a NYE evening magic show for under £750. And that's all for me. And it's only for an hour. Ish.

Wow, that's amazing!

thomasross20

hotpickups said:

My old band got a New Yeara gig st a large hotel in Gloucester through an agent. After the agent took their fee/commission we were being paid £1300 for a six piece. Unfortunately the gig was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. We found out after that the hotel was charging £250 per person for a ticket (including room and meal). No wonder they couldn't sell enough tickets - greedy gits

Still we did get our cancellation fee paid but it was the beginning of the end for the band though. It's a long story

Well, we've got all day - what's the rest of the story?

hotpickups

LOL too boring and I've posted about the band's demise earlier this year. Looking to join a band now and not run one anymore. Maybe I'll be playing the next New Years gig

thomasross20;919879" said:

hotpickups said:

My old band got a New Yeara gig st a large hotel in Gloucester through an agent. After the agent took their fee/commission we were being paid £1300 for a six piece. Unfortunately the gig was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. We found out after that the hotel was charging £250 per person for a ticket (including room and meal). No wonder they couldn't sell enough tickets - greedy gits



Still we did get our cancellation fee paid but it was the beginning of the end for the band though. It's a long story





Well, we've got all day - what's the rest of the story?

thomasross20

Ah, I likely read your earlier posts on the matter

Danny1969

I did a £300 gig last night .... worked out about £50 each after putting some money in the kitty to pay the van . Got to work at 7, left at 12 so that's 5 hours, meaning we cleared £10 per hour. That's actually not so bad there's people pulling pints in pubs or sweeping roads for a lot less

hotpickups

Danny1969 said:

I did a £300 gig last night .... worked out about £50 each after putting some money in the kitty to pay the van . Got to work at 7, left at 12 so that's 5 hours, meaning we cleared £10 per hour. That's actually not so bad there's people pulling pints in pubs or sweeping roads for a lot less

Ah yes the old breakdown of hourly rates. I remember doing that once but now try not to think about it anymore. £10 an hour that will pay for your kit, time learning songs and paying rehearsal studios (if one uses them) but also years one has put in learning the instrument. Maybe the god given talent that's bestowed upon you too in some cases. All for £10 an hour ....... that's a bargain.

LOL as I say I try not to think about it anymore That's why we often say we don't do it for the money

not_the_dj

There are plenty of hobbies where people buy expensive kit and don't make anything out of it at all. I love playing guitar, I love buying guitars, so getting a little cash back is fantastic.

Danny1969

hotpickups said:

Danny1969 said:

I did a £300 gig last night .... worked out about £50 each after putting some money in the kitty to pay the van . Got to work at 7, left at 12 so that's 5 hours, meaning we cleared £10 per hour. That's actually not so bad there's people pulling pints in pubs or sweeping roads for a lot less

Ah yes the old breakdown of hourly rates. I remember doing that once but now try not to think about it anymore. £10 an hour that will pay for your kit, time learning songs and paying rehearsal studios (if one uses them) but also years one has put in learning the instrument. Maybe the god given talent that's bestowed upon you too in some cases. All for £10 an hour ....... that's a bargain.

LOL as I say I try not to think about it anymore That's why we often say we don't do it for the money

You've got a good point with the many years it takes to get good. You can certainly qualify and be an experienced plumber in less time than it takes to be really proficient on an instrument. 

Gear wise I use a £150 amp and a £200 guitar for most of the bands I'm in. There's no harm in using expensive gear but it is completely unnecessary in most cases. There's a point to having decent PA as a shared cost, all the bands I work in have that but your average punter couldn't care if I'm using an HT5 or a DC30 amp. I make a set of strings last 20 odd gigs and spend as little money on gear as possible. 

I

hotpickups

Danny1969 said:

hotpickups said:

Danny1969 said:

I did a £300 gig last night .... worked out about £50 each after putting some money in the kitty to pay the van . Got to work at 7, left at 12 so that's 5 hours, meaning we cleared £10 per hour. That's actually not so bad there's people pulling pints in pubs or sweeping roads for a lot less

Ah yes the old breakdown of hourly rates. I remember doing that once but now try not to think about it anymore. £10 an hour that will pay for your kit, time learning songs and paying rehearsal studios (if one uses them) but also years one has put in learning the instrument. Maybe the god given talent that's bestowed upon you too in some cases. All for £10 an hour ....... that's a bargain.

LOL as I say I try not to think about it anymore That's why we often say we don't do it for the money

You've got a good point with the many years it takes to get good. You can certainly qualify and be an experienced plumber in less time than it takes to be really proficient on an instrument. 

Gear wise I use a £150 amp and a £200 guitar for most of the bands I'm in. There's no harm in using expensive gear but it is completely unnecessary in most cases. There's a point to having decent PA as a shared cost, all the bands I work in have that but your average punter couldn't care if I'm using an HT5 or a DC30 amp. I make a set of strings last 20 odd gigs and spend as little money on gear as possible. 

I

Very true we do get hung up on kit, myself very much included LOL. Band kit ownership? Hmmmmm that was one of the reasons why my band broke up i.e sharing costs etc

thomasross20

So true re plumbing. That's sort of what I was getting at. All that time and if money is a motivator, could have done something like that instead. But I love guitar. Going through a massive lull right now though, really can't be @rsed with it which is unlike me.

ChrisCox1994

In the bands around my area (chichester/portsmouth/brighton) we try and get 300 per member, my 3 piece goes out for 900 minimum for ticketed NYE events, still a steal for the pubs when they're getting 100x£20 tickets pre sold + beer sales....

hotpickups

ChrisCox1994 said:

In the bands around my area (chichester/portsmouth/brighton) we try and get 300 per member, my 3 piece goes out for 900 minimum for ticketed NYE events, still a steal for the pubs when they're getting 100x£20 tickets pre sold + beer sales....

So wished I lived in your area. So many venues to play at and a great music scene that is appreciated

Panama_Jack666

There must be loads of places in Edinbrough. paying good money - you're just not finding them.

If there all shite paying then there would be no semi or pro musicians up there and I bet there are loads.

Do you have an agent? Have your tried marketing yourself for weddings by attending wedding fairs and stuff? What are you pro actively doing to compete with other bands in the area?

As much as I hate playing them, Working Mens Clubs tend to pay the best where I live. Minimum we go out for is 50 quid per member but it's been more like double that recently.

EricTheWeary

Panama_Jack666 said:

There must be loads of places in Edinbrough. paying good money - you're just not finding them.

If there all shite paying then there would be no semi or pro musicians up there and I bet there are loads.

Do you have an agent? Have your tried marketing yourself for weddings by attending wedding fairs and stuff? What are you pro actively doing to compete with other bands in the area?

As much as I hate playing them, Working Mens Clubs tend to pay the best where I live. Minimum we go out for is 50 quid per member but it's been more like double that recently.

Looking at gig guides and music venues is only part of the live music market, there's a whole world of less obvious gigs doing weddings, parties, hotel theme nights, pubs that have one band a month,etc. If you want to do original material or are heavily invested in your own sense of what's cool then you'll be sticking to the same three places. However, if you want to do popular covers (ooh, like Thomas' band do...) and get paid better then those gigs exist. There is effort in chasing them and you might be dealing with agents who also book magicians and Lady Gaga tributes but I'm pretty sure they exist. It's not a world entirely for me, TBH, but it is there. 

p90fool

Panama_Jack666 said:

There must be loads of places in Edinbrough. paying good money - you're just not finding them.

If there all shite paying then there would be no semi or pro musicians up there and I bet there are loads.

I totally agree. I gig at least once a week for £80-£100 per person in rural mid Wales, rarely travelling more than 20 minutes from my home, usually less than 10 minutes. If Thomas can't get regular paid work based in a capital city then he needs to take a step back and look at why, especially since he's a much more accomplished guitarist than I am.

I may have said this before, but start by accompanying a great singer, then other quality musicians will want a piece of the action.

Regarding the plumbing thing, I think it probably takes about the same amount of time to become an experienced, in-demand plumber OR guitar player. If you do either for 9 hours per day, 5 days per week you will be good enough to make a living after 18 months or so.

You'll never get to be a decent plumber by fiddling about with your tools for an hour on a Wednesday night, yet a lot of guitar owners do just that then tell everyone they've been playing for decades without getting anywhere.