Just interested in opinions.
We are a covers band (age 45 - 58) all been round the block a few times with different bands. We play for fun and enjoyment.
Saying that we generally get paid. My take is that if we're good enough to play then we should be paid the same as other bands.
We've been approached by a local promoter.
He puts on a gig once a month at a weatherspoons. It's to raise money for a charity.
He's asked if we would like to headline (2 warm up acts and a 45 min set for us) - as it's for charity then there is no fee.
Our bass player has raised an interesting point:
"I like the idea of it, but why would we do it for free for a massive national brand like Wetherspoons….on the other hand it will no doubt be very busy and I’m sure we would go down well and get other gigs from it…it’s an intersting conundrum !"
What would you do?
Comments
Maybe try and get the pub to through in some free drinks or some food for the band at least.
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You’ve also got the questions about what the organisers, and the venue, are making from the event, both directly and indirectly. Paying for free is actually paying to play once you’ve added in costs of travel, parking, drinks, strings, rehearsals etc. I’m loath to do that where the venue is taking bar profits and not contributing to the charity.
Are any other people working that day for free?
Either charge a fee and donate it, invoice them in advance with a donation itemised or just charge your regular fee.
In my experience, the more you are paid the more they will treat with respect. One of my best paying gigs is a big charity ball I do every easter, the band gets around £2k and they usually raise around £70k for charity.
I would at least ask them how the gig is bringing in money - if it's just a bucket being passed around then you would probably raise more doing it as a regular gig and donating the fee.
Done all this when I was younger. The end result was always that I found out others had been paid to be there whereas I'd paid to play, and we didn't even get any further work from it.
Ask if the pub are handing over their profits, are the bar staff working for free. Is anyone making anything from this apart from the charity?
If so, ask why your band shouldn’t be receiving payment.
Then there’s the question of if the charity aligned with your beliefs. Would you normally hand over £50 to that charity (assuming a 5 piece band at £250 a gig).
Now not wishing to cast any aspersions on anyone, but charity gigs are there to raise money for the charity.Therefor it is in the best interest of the charity to ensure they get as many people in as possible which means a band or bands which can draw a crowd . They have spent a long time building up a following so they deserve to at least be offered something .
Personally I'm all for a good cause and don't mind doing them on occasion.
As others have said it is a bit cheeky the band are expected to do it for free whilst staff etc are still being paid as well.
Just because I'm having fun on stage, I'm still working.
I wouldn't say never play for free, but you have to feel comfortable with the deal in your own mind.
If I can’t get a clear answer on that it’s either a no thanks or what we’re normally paid and a proportion of the money handed directly to the charity.
We're going to go back to the promoter and ask some of these questions. It sounds like it's quite likely weatherspoons trying to get bands for free.
We did a charity gig 2 weeks ago that we would do again in an heartbeat.
A pub where we've played a few times and get paid the going rate.
Once a year they do a charity bash and everyone plays for free (inc the soundguy) there was free beer and burgers though.
The place was rammed all day - the pub must have made a fortune but they did made £2k for a local charity both from bucket collections and merch sales.
All bands got booked for a further paid gig. So yes the venue did well, but they are good guys so we don't mind supporting their business. There must have been quite a lot of organising and there were a lot of bar staff on so the venue put a lot of effort into it. Sounds like it's not quite the same at weatherspoons.
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