...maybe...
Until their retirement in 2012,
The Hamsters had gigged relentlessly around clubs, pubs, UK community venues for 21 years. They reckon they did over 4000 gigs as a Hendrix and latterly ZZ Top covers band.
So taking an average ticket price of £12 and approx turn-out of 300 persons per gig, that earned them for attendances only, in excess of £14.5 million. Divide that per the 21 years and again for the three members (prob straight split as no royalties) that gave *each* an annual gross income of approx £228K... OK, then less costs/tax etc... but then add-in Cds, T shirts sales etc...
Not a bad gig if you can get it!
<Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
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Comments
Not worth it then
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They also worked the continent so ferry costs and times all feature into the equation.
Now think about a skilled technician that gets bounced around the UK and Europe to work unsocial hours and broken family time and irregular sleep patterns. How much would you expect that person to earn?
I think they earned OK but they certainly worked in a professional manner on and off stage.
When I saw the Hamsters there were significantly fewer than 300 people there, and I paid significantly less than twelve quid...
$-)
“Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay
I've moaned as much as the next guy over the price of concert tickets these days, but seeing how it is broken down, the things that have to be paid for that you wouldn't expect (e.g. having to pay out to PRS for licensing his own tracks. OK he gets it back but minus a fee..), and moreover the risk these bands take on in hoping enough people will turn up to the gigs..
Must be a frightening, "seat of your pants" life.
And yes, I know there are bands out there that, even in today's marketplace with its significantly moved goalposts, are coining it in royally....but it does make you wonder how the smaller fish in the pond get by.
One example I always come back to is the band Therapy? Not knocking the band at all - cracking band, seen them several times, own the albums etc etc - but how does a band like Therapy? that doesn't have a high profile, doesn't sell a large number of records manage to keep the band running? I saw frontman Andy Cairns do a solo show in Birmingham last year, he drove to the gig himself, only had a couple of acoustics, had his guitar tech in tow (played on a few songs too) and sold a few CD's at the show. That is about as low cost a cottage industry as you can get within the music industry, but even so I doubt he'll be buying a home in the Bahamas on the money he made..