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"Boys Night Out" Is This The New Niche For Bands?


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[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1450274595' post='2931248']


There was a time when I really wanted this..... and then I realised it is VERY hard
to get enough good gigs to pay for that... and it was then I decided to do something
that paid me well and often and on time rather than convince myself I was 'making' it
doing something I love.

Two 'mates' (read guys I know) are currently on World tours and one of them will gross over a
£1m but too many guys I know struggle to make £30k p.a...or even £20k and that is where
the fun disappears, IMO, as I know they work pretty hard for that sort of money.

'Hard' means up and down the country for gigs... and this country would fit into most U.S states
a few times over..
[/quote]

Thats pretty interesting! How good and well known are your mates who are grossing one million? This isn't a dig at all btw, im hust curious because if he wasn't well known but still making a big amount thrn i reckon thats pretty cool! Is he way better thsn us as bassists?

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[quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1451698567' post='2942652']


Thats pretty interesting! How good and well known are your mates who are grossing one million? This isn't a dig at all btw, im hust curious because if he wasn't well known but still making a big amount thrn i reckon thats pretty cool! Is he way better thsn us as bassists?
[/quote]


Good question, the only cat making that kind of money as a side man would be Daryl Jones.

Blue

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[quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1451698567' post='2942652']
Thats pretty interesting! How good and well known are your mates who are grossing one million? This isn't a dig at all btw, im hust curious because if he wasn't well known but still making a big amount thrn i reckon thats pretty cool! Is he way better thsn us as bassists?
[/quote]

Good and well known are relative... I say good luck to him for getting the gig... and it is a very well known gig.

The other guy has lucked out and is currently very busy... no idea how much it is worth to him but both gigs are basically at years work.

One might last more than that as they are on a roll... but the other is World tour and then
over, I'd reckon.
Just as well the money will make him.

and yes, it is interesting to see how good these guys that can get this work are...
The is one very best guy on these instruments around here and he can't get those gigs anymore....so..??

Very very illuminating...

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[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1451737215' post='2942903']


Good and well known are relative... I say good luck to him for getting the gig... and it is a very well known gig.

The other guy has lucked out and is currently very busy... no idea how much it is worth to him but both gigs are basically at years work.

One might last more than that as they are on a roll... but the other is World tour and then
over, I'd reckon.
Just as well the money will make him.

and yes, it is interesting to see how good these guys that can get this work are...
The is one very best guy on these instruments around here and he can't get those gigs anymore....so..??

Very very illuminating...
[/quote]

Thats exactly what i mean on your last part. I was wondering if you knew people who were better than the million dollar guy, seems you do and I'm not surprised. I find it quite interesting that it's not always necessarily the most talented, quite a bit of it comes down to other circumstances, would you agree to some extent? Now the million dollar guy will obviously be a class act, but from what I take from it here is that there are better musicians without the big paying gigs, or at least it seems that this can sometimes be the case

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[quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1451742491' post='2942992']
Thats exactly what i mean on your last part. I was wondering if you knew people who were better than the million dollar guy, seems you do and I'm not surprised. I find it quite interesting that it's not always necessarily the most talented, quite a bit of it comes down to other circumstances, would you agree to some extent? Now the million dollar guy will obviously be a class act, but from what I take from it here is that there are better musicians without the big paying gigs, or at least it seems that this can sometimes be the case
[/quote]

Yes, I need to be guarded about what I say but we are lucky in having 4-5 very well connected guys who have very decent CV's..
How much they stand out is interesting, but there is one guy ...who also has had a very impressive 'career'..and he is another league...IMO.

I do find this whole 'good' thing fascinating.

But everyone is generally pleased that someone's hard work pays off.... but luck, circumstance and relationships also play a part.

I would say the two guys I'm mainly talking about are very nice and personable people as well, so no one begrudges them their day in the
sun.

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[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1451748825' post='2943069']


Yes, I need to be guarded about what I say but we are lucky in having 4-5 very well connected guys who have very decent CV's..
How much they stand out is interesting, but there is one guy ...who also has had a very impressive 'career'..and he is another league...IMO.

I do find this whole 'good' thing fascinating.

But everyone is generally pleased that someone's hard work pays off.... but luck, circumstance and relationships also play a part.

I would say the two guys I'm mainly talking about are very nice and personable people as well, so no one begrudges them their day in the
sun.
[/quote]

Ofx, i only admire and take my hat off to them! Another question i had around this that you guys might have an opinion on: are there any musicians out there who are on very good money (say equivalent of over £60k pa) who aren't mainstream or well known? Do these sort of opportunities exist? I ask this as i am trying to liken it to football for example. You don't have to be a champions league level player to make good money, the players at my local club Stevenage even make a decent wage and aren't really known at all. Are there any musicians of the 'stevenage' level making good money?

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:lol: I always look at the cars they drive..

We did a gig with a 60's one hit wonder band ..and none of the guys were original and so there was not even royalties in the equation and they
turned up in 2 yr old SUV/4x4's and I think they took away £1500 for a 60 min afternoon set.

They certainly didn't put up any trees playwise but were pretty competant.. How many gears..?? well they didn't need them..or show them
and I think they do well through out the year.
There is the Butlins circuit for them... that pays well.

Local underground act of the 70's/80's..no hits iirc but albums got critical acclaim...asked to reform for £5k a gig... that beats
running a pub for a brewery

Most of the guys that pass thru are after tours and MD work for smaller theatre acts but I assume they are working for function money...
They even have function bands as well... but they aren't doing £60k.. and they've played with some very good names.

They'll tell you stories about a chart act paying £150 a night..and that is someone who has a string of hits...??
But yes...difficult and tacky to talk about money but I know what they'll work for if they haven't got anything that date...
Better work for fun and turnover than sit at home..???

Collegue act last summer... never heard of them since and can't even recall their name..charged £7200 for a 35min set...and they
wanted to come of stage after 25mins ::: That was an absolute steal...
So..it depends on the circuit you can plug into..
What you can charge/get and what you are 'worth'..well, who detemines that..?
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[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1451756363' post='2943158']
They'll tell you stories about a [b]chart act paying £150 a night..and that is someone who has a string of hits.[/b]..??
[/quote]

Must admit, this doesn't surprise me all that much - there's obviously a public misconception that if you're having hits then you'll be sleeping on a mattress made of banknotes, which can be quite misleading. Our singer was a pretty big deal back in Lithuania (still is, really - when she visits home there will be people calling up for interviews about her new life in London), but told us about people recognising her whilst looking through the discount section of a clothes shop, and having to explain that actually, royalties from record sales weren't paying much more than she'd have got from a regular office job.

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This is why a lot of musicians are quite desperate for work outside of London...
They will work for reasonable money plus travel as the only ones interested in
that money at that level are young guys who see the 'credit' has more value
than the money itself.

The older guys target the more mature artist who aren't current anymore...maybe on a
comeback gig or are just knocking out regular gigs for good money.

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[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1451825425' post='2943693']

Royalties from record sales weren't paying much more than she'd have got from a regular office job.[/quote]

That in itself sounds great. Collecting royalties as opposed to straight gig making someone else rich.

Blue

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[quote name='blue' timestamp='1451864432' post='2944219']
That in itself sounds great. Collecting royalties as opposed to straight gig making someone else rich.

Blue
[/quote]

I suspect the modest nature of her income may give clues as to where the rest of the money was going! She was by no means an independent artist at the time, so it's highly likely that various managers and label types were enjoying a far more lucrative share of it than she was...

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[quote name='blue' timestamp='1451864432' post='2944219']
That in itself sounds great.
[/quote]

Incredible really that even a big star over there was making that much in royalties; most artists never recoup and out of those that do at the major label I used to work at I'd say less than 20 artists/groups were earning office salary money.

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Before the internet became a way to 'expose' an artist, they may have negotiated a straight fee
for delivering a record for sale in a given region.
These small indie labels could afford a few thousand for the rights to sell in their own country
and maybe a few others...
That way, the artist, bankrolled the record with a loan from the bank, kept the royalties from song writing
and paid the studio musicians.
When the tours came round, the same band would be offered the tour for set nightly fees.

The tours wouldn't be luxurious but you make the same sort of money per night of a decent function band
so a 10 day tour, for example, could 'pay' quite well. You'd then go back out and do another couple of countries
the next month.

I'd say that sort of level was much easier today...

The artist still needs to be viable though and be able to sell out smaller venues.

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