Charges & Functions

[lukeward2004]

Hi Guys,

Sorry to be a pain, I know this has probably been asked a few times before but I couldnt see anything so I thought it worth reposting and then I can make this a sticky fro future reference.

I have recently put together a fantastic new band, and have finalised the lineup - Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals and 2x Guitarists (who for once are not the usual egotistical widdlers). Our aim is to start off playing at weddings, private parties, and corporate events, with the odd Pub gig here and there for good measure.

Set wise, so far we have some Stevie Wonder, some George Benson, some Jamiroquai, spot of Tower Of Power, teaspoon of Jill Scott, and a dash of

We also want to wrote and perform original tracks, however we need to have a good 2 hours of covers to launch us on the functions circuit and get some money behind us.

The question is, whats the going rate for:
-Weddings?
-Private Parties?
-Pubs/Clubs?
-Corporate Events (like summer/xmas parties etc)?

Just wanted to get a feeler for it as we dont want to be overpriced/underpriced out there. Obviosly we will put together a press pack to give out to potential bookings, but we need to have a rough Idea of reasonable pricing. We are not looking to charge for originals shows - this is purely for the covers and functions side of things.

Cheers

Luke

[niceguyhomer]

hello mate, we generally charge around £600 for a wedding - a bit less for smaller functions or if we know them.

[franzbassist]

Hi Luke

One of the bands I play in is a function band. When we started off six years ago we played gigs for a max of £600-£800 just to get on the circuit and build a reputation. Plenty of social club gigs too, but they were soul destroying!

From the start we were a slick outfit, with a truly special lead singer as the focal point for the band. We registered with loads of agents but little work came from them and now almost all the gigs we do are from referrals, repeats, and word of mouth. Six years on we earn a lot more than the £600 per gig we started. Sure we do the odd cheap (and, for charity, free) gig, but for the most part we can charge full whack because we always come highly recommended. That sounds arrogant but isn't meant to be; we have faith in our product and our clients do too.

So, my advice is start out cheap and make sure the band works well as a unit, if it does then you can go far pretty quickly.

Best of luck!

Gareth

[Merton]

[quote name='walbassist' post='13570' date='Jun 7 2007, 01:11 PM']Hi Luke

One of the bands I play in is a function band. When we started off six years ago we played gigs for a max of £600-£800 just to get on the circuit and build a reputation. Plenty of social club gigs too, but they were soul destroying!

From the start we were a slick outfit, with a truly special lead singer as the focal point for the band. We registered with loads of agents but little work came from them and now almost all the gigs we do are from referrals, repeats, and word of mouth. Six years on we earn a lot more than the £600 per gig we started. Sure we do the odd cheap (and, for charity, free) gig, but for the most part we can charge full whack because we always come highly recommended. That sounds arrogant but isn't meant to be; we have faith in our product and our clients do too.

So, my advice is start out cheap and make sure the band works well as a unit, if it does then you can go far pretty quickly.

Best of luck!

Gareth[/quote]

Similar. We've been together since 2003 and started off between £450 and £700, now we're never going out for less than £850 unless it's a friend or charity and 95% of our work comes from recommendation.

[whynot]

The social club scene for South London is £200 to £300 for a band. Just had a dep come in for tomorrow at £75 and that a 4 piece. Trouble with social clubs is they do expect a lot or MOR which can be soul destroying for some people, although personally I don't mind.
In my experiance th egoing rate for function work in the South-East for a self-contained band (4, 5 or 6 piece with PA) seems to be anything from £600 to £1200. Depends if your offering anything unusual as the tribute or specialist bands tend to be higher paid.
If your sole managed by an agent and doing the West End hotel wedding/corporate scene then you could be into the 2k -3k bracket. Does not mean you get much more money per person, just the agent will often arrange for PA/lighting rig and techies to be included within the price as that is part of the service being sold to the client.
Best of luck with the band.

[slaphappygarry]

Each musician should see about £100+ a night IMHO.

G

[funkysimon]

I'm starting to this we under-charge! We go for 600-800 quid per gig, we've been going since '99, though with various line up changes (singer has been a constant since then though, as have a couple of other people). We're a nice piece band playing a similar kind of setlist (see Casa del Funk link in my sig below if you're interested). I always think that's a fair price though, because we don't take random requests from the audience. We play our setlist and we play it well, but if someone asks for something outside what we've rehearsed, we can't do it. That said, most requests are for wholly inappropriate songs; someone recently criticised us for being lame because we didn't play any Beatles.

[lukeward2004]

[quote name='funkysimon' post='13633' date='Jun 7 2007, 03:29 PM']I'm starting to this we under-charge! We go for 600-800 quid per gig, we've been going since '99, though with various line up changes (singer has been a constant since then though, as have a couple of other people). We're a nice piece band playing a similar kind of setlist (see Casa del Funk link in my sig below if you're interested). I always think that's a fair price though, because we don't take random requests from the audience. We play our setlist and we play it well, but if someone asks for something outside what we've rehearsed, we can't do it. That said, most requests are for wholly inappropriate songs; someone recently criticised us for being lame because we didn't play any Beatles.[/quote]

To be honest, we wont be doing requests at first - it can turn out really bad......

[slaphappygarry]

MU Rates would be worth looking at Luke.

Cant go far wrong. the cover everything from playing time, gear lugging, mileage (15p per mile after the first 30 i believe)

Check it out

[url="http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/site/cms/contentChapterView.asp?chapter=1"]http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/site/cms/...w.asp?chapter=1[/url]

G

[elom]

[quote name='slaphappygarry' post='13949' date='Jun 8 2007, 12:21 AM']MU Rates would be worth looking at Luke.

Cant go far wrong. the cover everything from playing time, gear lugging, mileage (15p per mile after the first 30 i believe)

Check it out

[url="http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/site/cms/contentChapterView.asp?chapter=1"]http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/site/cms/...w.asp?chapter=1[/url]

G[/quote]

Interesting read Garry. Following their 'National Gig Rates' document then for a 5 piece playing 9pm to 11pm we should be asking for £300. That's a lot more than pubs round here will pay but it does make me think that maybe we're too cheap. Still it's early days so we're prepared to go out for less than we'd expect in order to get ourselves established.

[spike]

For weddings and functions my 9 piece bands starts negotiations at £1000, less if it's local or for friends. We charge more if the gig is a distance away or we have to be there particularly early or leave particularly late. We always specify that we need to be fed. Next month we are doing a function where we have to be set up, soundchecked and out of the way by 8pm, first set is 10-11pm, second set is 1-2am. Including travel thats's going to be a 12 hour day and we are charging accordingly

[Merton]

[quote name='spike' post='14163' date='Jun 8 2007, 01:08 PM']Next month we are doing a function where we have to be set up, soundchecked and out of the way by 8pm, first set is 10-11pm, second set is 1-2am. Including travel thats's going to be a 12 hour day and we are charging accordingly[/quote]
Yep, that's one thing which some poeple don't quite understand until you break it down for them....

[iansmith]

Spike and Merton make a good point... the punters often just think in terms of the actual playing time, but should really be thinking in terms of the total time you're away from the house - especially if a gig is going to involve significant travelling time, an awkward get-in/get-out (inaccessible venues, stairs, long corridors, no lifts, marquees in the middle of fields with no vehicle access - yes, I've seen them all!), and periods of dead time in between sets or before you start playing. So make sure you explain that all to them if they baulk at what they perceive to be a high quote.

I think the numbers being discussed are about right... £200-300 for a basic pub gig is pretty standard, £500-600 should be a minimum for a wedding/function, and £1000+ isn't unreasonable for a decent outfit and/or for a big bash. I play in bands which do all three of these types of gigs, and so my take-home wedge naturally varies from gig to gig - so I don't think it's as easy as saying that you should always be getting a set amount per gig - but as always, you'll have an idea of what constitutes an acceptable profit for the amount of effort you have to put in for the gig. I'm happy to take a smaller amount for the odd local gig (maybe midweek, or for a mate, involving minimal effort) than I would for a big wedding 300 miles away.

So basically, just make sure you try and negotiate a price that you're all happy with, and which covers all your expenses while leaving a sensible amount of profit afterwards. If you subsequently discover that another band is getting paid more for a similar gig, adjust your pitch accordingly the next time an enquiry comes in. And remember, it's easier to start high and negotiate downwards than pitch in too low and then try to get more when you realise you've under-quoted!

Oh yes, and have fun too!!!

[barneythedog]

he he he ........... makes me smile.

I live, work and gig in central France - we're going out €250 minimum (4 piece), with the average for a wedding etc being around €500. I even know of one 6 (yes SIX) piece doing €120 a night.

So keep smiling, you could be here ........................

[stingrayfan]

My three piece band charges pubs about £250, parties £300-600 and weddings £600+. There are only three of us, so the split's a lot better. I think you need to be competitive to start with but not to the point where you're only clearing a few quid. Also, factor in the cost of lights and extra kit you'll have to buy to do those sorts of functions. Pass that on. I think it's also good point to break the cost down for people so they understand how many hours are involved. People don't really understand the cost of a band, so it's helpful to explain.

[stingrayfan]

Re-reading this thread I think there's also another point to be made - depends whether you're doing a band for a hobby or to make a living. If it's a living, you are by definition, a professional musician and so should be charging more. If it's a sideline, you can afford to discount a bit if you like the sound of the gigs.

[Whykno]

Thats a damn fine point, we get between, £250-£350, on the local pub circuit, buts its just a hobby for us, playing a coupla times a month. I would hate to have to live off that lol!

[beerdragon]

[quote name='Whykno' post='20319' date='Jun 19 2007, 05:04 PM']Thats a damn fine point, we get between, £250-£350, on the local pub circuit, buts its just a hobby for us, playing a coupla times a month. I would hate to have to live off that lol![/quote]

One thing i have never bothered to enquire about is the tax situation, are you supposed to declare anything you earn by gigging? or is there a threshold.

[whynot]

[quote name='beerdragon' post='20693' date='Jun 20 2007, 12:12 PM']One thing i have never bothered to enquire about is the tax situation, are you supposed to declare anything you earn by gigging? or is there a threshold.[/quote]

If being a musician is in addition to a main income then you need to complete a yearly tax return with relevant self assessment sheets detailing additional income. Any profit can be offset by expenses such as buying equipment, petrol cost to gigs. You should pay tax on the net income (if any).

[largo]

Hi Luke

One thing I would like to add is, in my experience you have to become a musical prostitute for the money !
I've played in wedding & function bands for the last 7 years, 2 nights a week every week. The band all earn good money from this, but you can't (IMHO) just get up and play what you want to play, or play your own songs. Sure you chuck in some songs you like, but Joe Public wants to hear the Brown Eyed Girl, Girls Aloud and Abba medley's especially at weddings where the bulk of the work lies.

So, choice is usually to sell your soul and earn the cash or, if you still want to make it doing originals then expect to be skint.

As 5 piece earn £800+ but play 8-12 with a 30 min break.
That's 3 1/2 playing time, and we'll have a go at covers (even first time) or back singers if the need arises. You get used to it, and again IMHO it makes you a better musician, and tighter band because of it.

S

Edited June 28, 2007 by largo