I get the impression there are some regional variations. Also depends upon what you do and the type of venues you are looking at.
For us to play within spitting distance of Birmingham city centre we wouldn't get paid (and we have done this).
At a venue with a decent rep anywhere in the West Mids to get a support its pay to play ( or at least we would be expected to stump up the cash for x amount of tickets which we would then have to sell to get the money back; we have not done this).
For each paid gig we do now there is a trail of unpaid ones - multi band nights, charity events,etc. The paid gigs aren't in music venues were I might go as a ticket paying punter they are in pubs, social clubs, maybe the odd private do, usually in the middle of some Godforsaken estate or non descript town ( we are playing my local this saturday - that fits this description).
The gigs booked in 2013 so far pay about £450 ( between 6 of us) a night. We could do more and eventually get paid more but its about how it all fits in with the rest of your life ( our bass player is in a second band - either despite or because of having 5 kids).
We are basically a tribute act but we like what we play and don't have to play Mustang Sally or Sex on Fire ( both of which bore punters silly as far as I can see from other bands). I have a mate who is the drummer in an originals folk rock band and they gig regularly and get paid reasonable money ( and are appearing on the radio Shropshire Christmas special this weekend!). No Mustang Sally there either but they are very good at engaging with an audience and sharing their joy with the punters.
Breeding mammals with insects is my personal bugbear.
A bud of mine is making about £500 a week playing one or two gigs a week, plus teaching on top of that.
What sort of band?Originally Posted by daveyh
Lost touch with him now but I knew someone who made his income from gigging,quite often just small pubs. Three piece, very polished playing (he was a one time member of John Mayall's band) and rarely bought gear, just maintained stuff and so almost any paying gig was pure income (minus petrol).Can't say he was rich but he got by okay and seemed to be a happy man.
Breeding mammals with insects is my personal bugbear.
Wedding and tribute
Thought so.
monquixote's list from the previous page sums it up pretty well.
Personally I'm 75% pub gigs, the rest with parties and the odd wedding. It's a hobby for me, and these days costs are covered plus a few quid in my pocket, and I'm happy with that. Of course that goes no way to paying for the gear I've bought over the years, but if I was in this just for the money I would have given up years ago!
I know a pro drummer who is in a band who had several big chart hits 20-30 years ago. He goes on tour with them about once a year and the rest of the year is in a fairly high end function band. Apparently he makes significantly more money with the function band.
We don't even put our shoes on for less than £100 a man. Thats regardless of band format. Solo, duo, trio etc. We go up to 6 piece and when we do we usually charge a fair amount more for the trouble.
Another way of putting it is: How many people in this country go out and pay to watch live music when it's not a name band?
I know I only ever go and see amateur bands if it's a mate's band. I never go and see a band just to check out the local talent, so to speak. So I guess I'm as guilty as anyone for not really supporting the live scene, but you can't expect pubs and venues to put bands on if there's nothing in it for them.
There ARE exceptions to the rule, with some local venues that specialise in live music, but they are few and far between.
With the exception of the odd "charidy" gig, I will only play a gig if I'm being paid.
I'm lucky as I get on the guest list of quite a few gigs, and I also get into a nearby venue which puts on "original" music free.
Having said that, I do spend quite a lot of money going to gigs, and (usually) enjoy live music.
I always thought that taking the tip jar around (which you see also in the US), should be encouraged more.
I some live jazz the other night (nice), and they sent the tip jar round.
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