harvey1-8 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hi all, Just a quickie. In one of the function band I play in we currently split the payment we receive from gigs evenly between the band members. However, recently the members who organise the majority of the gigs have asked if it would be ok if they could take a bigger cut because of the amount of time they put into organising gigs. I should also add that we have a website that I spent a fair bit of time building, and I still maintain it, SEO it and I paid for the hosting and domain name out of my own pocket. To be fair I don’t mind either way, I’m just keen to see how other bands do it. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer61 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 [quote name='harvey1-8' post='1173235' date='Mar 23 2011, 01:18 PM']Hi all, Just a quickie. In one of the function band I play in we currently split the payment we receive from gigs evenly between the band members. However, recently the members who organise the majority of the gigs have asked if it would be ok if they could take a bigger cut because of the amount of time they put into organising gigs. I should also add that we have a website that I spent a fair bit of time building, and I still maintain it, SEO it and I paid for the hosting and domain name out of my own pocket. To be fair I don’t mind either way, I’m just keen to see how other bands do it. Cheers[/quote] Even split, or you'll spend more time discussing who does what and what it's worth. IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 If the band's a co-operative, then even split. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endorka Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 If people are putting in extra hours above and beyond the average band member, then I think they are justified in asking to be paid extra for this. It can take a lot of time, money & stress organising gigs. However, the same could be said for your contribution with the website. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I was in a band a few years ago where the singer was the bandleader, & organiser - he did a lot o paperwork & got everything verified by letter etc. He also spent a lot of time chasing gigs by visiting venues etc. He took a bigger cut & no-one minded. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Even split after petrol. Either that or a long and possibly heated debate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wotnwhy Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 As stated, things can get messy when people start saying what they contribute to the group, and what it's worth. If your a function band then i guess it's all done with letters and contracts? If so, maby having a band fee + administrative fee would be more effective? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Even split. Unless you're working with Axel Rose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaypup Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 [quote name='Gust0o' post='1173260' date='Mar 23 2011, 01:36 PM']Even split. Unless you're working with Axel Rose.[/quote] ...........and in that case, pay him less than the others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Amen to the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) If any band member incurrs extra (receipted?) costs as a result of organising things then fine, they should be reimbursed before the division of the funds. Be wary of this though, as this can lead to the "your car is a diesel, and mine is a 3 litre auto, so it costs me more to get to gigs, so I should get more" scenario. From there, it be a downward slope................. There will always be people in the band who do more than others, that`s life, I`ve been there, didn`t resent it at all, and didn`t see why I should get more money because of it - using 27 of my free 1000 minutes a month wasn`t exactly costing me. However had I been printing posters etc, this would have cost on paper and ink, plus postage, so that would be reasonable to claim back. Edited March 23, 2011 by Lozz196 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 There's a big difference between the stuff that has to be done by a certain time to get the gigs and the stuff that can be done at any time. The person who picks up the PA and drops it off/unloads it at the end of the night should get extra. Especially if they own it. They have to do it on the night and can't chose when to do it. You should have a set price for this. The person who fields all the phone calls or deals with the customer should get a cut proportional to the time spent doing it. They will get called and have to call when it is convenient for the customer. If you spend an hour on a gig doing this and the gig is 10 hours out of the house then you should get an extra 10%. The people who sort music arrangements, write setlists, decide on look, build websites etc might get something extra, but essentially you can do this in your own spare time when it suits you and have probably volunteered to do it in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Even split and if that leaves a tenner over it goes to the r/h kitty, but occasionally the drummer & I split it as we do the ringing for gigs, posting of posters, website & paying for hosting between the two of us. That said it's a long while since we have. Normally it's just into the kitty for r/h or to make an easy split at a later gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbass Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 In my tribute band, Sack Sabbath, we always split everything equally between the members. Our guitarist books the gigs but this is done during free time and home or between his lessons as he teaches guitar privately. If he's done posters then he takes that out of the money before the split, we have no problem with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 If you can make it work then an even split every time is just so much easier. Actual expenses such as fuel, stamps, Cds etc can be taken out before this, but if you start counting peoples time than it becomes a big can of worms (is drivers time worth less than the web designers? etc). (You'll have to imagine the picture of the can of worms here - I can't be arsed to find it). Which will end up in arguments and bad feeling all round, and ultimately no band. Obviously different if it's a pro set up, but I'd say the above if it's predominately a fun thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 [quote name='endorka' post='1173246' date='Mar 23 2011, 01:23 PM']If people are putting in extra hours above and beyond the average band member, then I think they are justified in asking to be paid extra for this. It can take a lot of time, money & stress organising gigs. However, the same could be said for your contribution with the website. Jennifer[/quote] This ..as long as everyone thinks it is fair. The website is a band cost as well and they should pay their share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Depends how many gigs are involved and how much time they're spending on it. Couple of gigs a month and a few phone calls - no way. Tons of gigs and chasing - maybe... As for the issue of PA that someone else mentioned - well, if it's just for vocals, then it's for the singer to buy / tote around. If it's a big rig and a full band thing, then one shares the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Let the breadheads take a bigger share, but charge them a fee for every lead your website generates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 We split everything equally. One person is responsible for booking gigs. One person is responsible for keeping all the kit working. One person is responsible for setting up the PA. One person is responsible for setting up the lighting rig. One person is responsible for transporting the kit. We put 10% of whatever we take into a band slush fund and fuel and band gear upgrades\repairs come out of that. We are all responsible for the upkeep of our own instruments and backline. In practice, we all tend to muck in where we can and help each other out. It might not suit all bands but we've been doing this for about 5 years now and have yet to have an argument about anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 The bandleader always gets a bigger cut in the function bands I work with. I'm offered the gig for X amount,and I choose to accept it or not. It's the same with the rest of the band. I know roughly how much the bands go out for,but if I accept the gig and the amount I don't feel I have a right to complain about the split. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipperydick Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) How many are not getting an even split and have not realised it ? I was once with the same band for nearly 3 years, the band had been going since the mid 60s with only 2 personel changes, one particular regular gig, I wont say where or name names, we always thought was a £125 gig. Then one night the DJ, an old mate told me it was unusual as the club was a good payer usually, so for a change I went to the club office for the money. Turned out that the woman there was only covering for the usual one " How much do you want ? she said, Oh the usual grand I said with grin. But she took me seriously, went away and asked her boss. She came back and said "No way, its £250, same as usual" I took the money and did an even split, and quit. The band split up within weeks, never did find out the real reason, but it seems that 2 members who I called the dynamic duo, thought they were the talent, so should get more than even the other original members. Looking back, it seemed like all the gigs those 2 found were poor payers or freebies. Since then when I join bands I always ask, usually its even, TBH I wouldnt much mind if its not, as long as the one getting more is earning it in some way, not doing it on the sly. Edited March 23, 2011 by Slipperydick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Fight to the death in car park is the only fair way plus it will bring in more punters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 We do it like this. The person that gets the gig gets a commission from the others. This isn't a percentage but works like this: Gigs between £250 - £500 - £5 from each member Gigs between £501 - £999 - £10 from each member Gigs between £1000+ gets £15 from each member Typically we are a 4 piece sometimes 5. So say we were a 4 piece getting £400. We all 4 get £100 and then pay £5 from that £100 to the gig getter. Seems to work so far. If there is anything left it goes into the slush fund towards our originals project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 It's a real can of worms for me. I gradually realised a couple of years ago that I was the only one hustling for gigs, booking them, administering them, printing and posting the posters, checking with the venues the posters had arrived, ringing the venue on the day to say we would be coming, sending maps to the band members, liaising with the venue on the day, collecting the money, rebooking the gigs, copying the CD's we gave away as promo. In other words doing everything other than the rest of them driving to the venue, playing their instruments and going home, oh and me setting up the PA and lights which I stored and transported in addition to my gear. We had a band meeting and everyone got very defensive, basically they were too busy (read scared/lazy) to try and hustle for gigs or do anything else. So I suggested we had still equal shares but instead of 4 equal shares we divided the money 5 ways and the extra share went to the person who booked and administered the gig. That way there would be an incentive for members to get us gigs. Minutes were agreed from the band meeting but nothing changed. Last year I was the only one who got us gigs, this year has been the same. In the end on some well paid gigs I took an extra share and told them so, but on the bread and butter I didn't bother, I just wanted to make my point, and anyway I do the job a lot better than they could do it! We once turned up for a gig the guitarist had booked, I suggested to him to call in on his way earlier in the week to work to drop off some posters: he didn't bother even though it was on his route. We turned up on the night to find the venue had closed a few days before and people I had invited had to be hurridly contacted to stop them making a wasted journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 [quote name='Doddy' post='1173398' date='Mar 23 2011, 03:18 PM']The bandleader always gets a bigger cut in the function bands I work with. I'm offered the gig for X amount,and I choose to accept it or not. It's the same with the rest of the band. I know roughly how much the bands go out for,but if I accept the gig and the amount I don't feel I have a right to complain about the split.[/quote] If it is his name and eveyone is a dep or rotated as per availbility this has a lot of advantages. For years I never had to bother at all about gigs, I just agreed to do them for whatever fee we talked about and rocked up with my gear on the day and that was the end on it. Now I am a lot more active getting gigs and accept that some people can't or don't do negotiations that well etc etc ..but if it starts to run up costs then they should be acknowledged by the band...and paid for collectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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