stingrayPete1977 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Give an inch..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 [quote name='fruitisbad' timestamp='1484672332' post='3217384'] Would play for free, wouldn't sell tickets. Would want to know how ticket money was split. Am happy for soundguy and equipment hire to be paid for. Would expect promoter to not be taking any money. [/quote] Why is OK for the sound guy to be paid and not the bands? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) [quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1484680984' post='3217474'] Why is OK for the sound guy to be paid and not the bands? [/quote] As both a sound man and a musician, I'll tell you. A band will normally do one or two slots/sets at a charity do. There may well be several bands at such an event. The sound man will have to get there before everyone else to set up, sort out sound for the bands, the speeches, the raffle, play background music, etc, etc, etc. He will pack up/leave last when everyone else has finished. He may well have to pay a gopher to help load in and out. It's a very long day and he will do several times the amount of work of any individual performer or band. Reason enough for you? Edited January 17, 2017 by Dan Dare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 And the venue, and the bar staff, and the professional fund raising team..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 [quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1484682472' post='3217500'] As both a sound man and a musician, I'll tell you. A band will normally do one or two slots/sets at a charity do. There may well be several bands at such an event. The sound man will have to get there before everyone else to set up, sort out sound for the bands, the speeches, the raffle, play background music, etc, etc, etc. he will pack up last when everyone else is finished. It's a very long day and he will do several times the amount of work of any individual performer or band. Reason enough for you? [/quote] There's an argument there for paying the sandman more than the bands, but not for paying him alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 It's also a two band charity show, not a three day festival. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlfer Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I did a 750 sell out bike rally charity 18 months ago (tickets were £35 for the weekend). We were told to be there for 4pm sound check. Duly turned up 3.45. Organiser " we're running behind, sound check 6.30pm". Me. "Could you not have texted one of us so we could have gone for a bite somewhere?" Organiser "if you don't like it, f*** off home" Result of that was the other 3 lads dragging me back out of my van, as I was offski, before I banjo'd the prick. 4 hours each way, no fuel money plus abuse? I left home 11.45am Sat, got home 2.15am Sunday. Never, ever again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 [quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1484685078' post='3217548'] I did a 750 sell out bike rally charity 18 months ago (tickets were £35 for the weekend). We were told to be there for 4pm sound check. Duly turned up 3.45. Organiser " we're running behind, sound check 6.30pm". Me. "Could you not have texted one of us so we could have gone for a bite somewhere?" Organiser "if you don't like it, f*** off home" Result of that was the other 3 lads dragging me back out of my van, as I was offski, before I banjo'd the prick. 4 hours each way, no fuel money plus abuse? I left home 11.45am Sat, got home 2.15am Sunday. Never, ever again. [/quote] Think I'd have taken the guy's advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 [quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1484685078' post='3217548'] I did a 750 sell out bike rally charity 18 months ago (tickets were £35 for the weekend). We were told to be there for 4pm sound check. Duly turned up 3.45. Organiser " we're running behind, sound check 6.30pm". Me. "Could you not have texted one of us so we could have gone for a bite somewhere?" Organiser "if you don't like it, f*** off home" Result of that was the other 3 lads dragging me back out of my van, as I was offski, before I banjo'd the prick. 4 hours each way, no fuel money plus abuse? I left home 11.45am Sat, got home 2.15am Sunday. Never, ever again. [/quote] Done that a fairly local (thankfully) 'charity' a few years ago. Got there as requested at 7 pm, complete with a dep drummer doing a massive favour as the gig wasn't paid. By ten pm the band before was just going on, and then they went on, and on...after 45 mins I grabbed my gear and packed my car, ignoring the shouts of 'oy, you can't do that', and the rest of the band decided to follow suit. That's a never again, too. I'm firmly of the belief that people value you according to what they are paying you, so if you play for free you get treated like dirt because you are worth nothing to them. Charge them a few hundred quid and they don't want to waste their investment, and therefore behave decently Bitter? Me? Oh all right then, just the one more pint.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I don't think i would do a 4 hour away charity unless I knew the people doing it personally or I happened to have another reason to be in the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 [quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1484685078' post='3217548'] I did a 750 sell out bike rally charity 18 months ago (tickets were £35 for the weekend). We were told to be there for 4pm sound check. Duly turned up 3.45. Organiser " we're running behind, sound check 6.30pm". Me. "Could you not have texted one of us so we could have gone for a bite somewhere?" Organiser "if you don't like it, f*** off home" Result of that was the other 3 lads dragging me back out of my van, as I was offski, before I banjo'd the prick. 4 hours each way, no fuel money plus abuse? I left home 11.45am Sat, got home 2.15am Sunday. Never, ever again. [/quote] Yep I've had similar, once bitten twice shy now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 This is tragic to hear. Thanks to local bands we have raised money to send over thirty kids with disabilities on trips of their lives. We always look after the bands and I can't believe the stupidity of some of the people organising the events mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitisbad Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) [quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1484682472' post='3217500'] As both a sound man and a musician, I'll tell you. A band will normally do one or two slots/sets at a charity do. There may well be several bands at such an event. The sound man will have to get there before everyone else to set up, sort out sound for the bands, the speeches, the raffle, play background music, etc, etc, etc. He will pack up/leave last when everyone else has finished. He may well have to pay a gopher to help load in and out. It's a very long day and he will do several times the amount of work of any individual performer or band. Reason enough for you? [/quote] Sums it up really, but also, playing live is fun, lugging equipment around and pulling pints isn't so much! Edited January 17, 2017 by fruitisbad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Just got asked to do a charity gig last night! Drummer immediately asked situation with kit, PA, etc. It's unpaid, but local to us and we want more party gigs so decided to pencil it in for the contacts and a place to try some new material. Luckily our drummer knows the organiser and that's what swung it. No pro fund raisers or anything like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 I find that if and when you do get asked about a possible gig after a charity gig it is often about another free one, mind you that's even more exposure I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Yes, Pete. Our 'fame' as a band that does some charity gigs is spreading and we are getting requests from further and wider. Hmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 [quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1484682472' post='3217500'] As both a sound man and a musician, I'll tell you. A band will normally do one or two slots/sets at a charity do. There may well be several bands at such an event. The sound man will have to get there before everyone else to set up, sort out sound for the bands, the speeches, the raffle, play background music, etc, etc, etc. He will pack up/leave last when everyone else has finished. He may well have to pay a gopher to help load in and out. It's a very long day and he will do several times the amount of work of any individual performer or band. Reason enough for you? [/quote] Totally agree. As a former sound man and now manager of audio visual at a corporate firm, it gets me when an internal department of the firm will try and run a charity event in the building then put loads of "but its for charity" pressure on my team and our hire suppliers to give them the earth for nothing and stay behind all night making it all work for free whilst they get p****d. What they don't usually realise is that they're usually the fourth charity event we've dealt with in just that one week, so the answer these days is usually "no". It also works the other way though, I've seen them put on huge charity gala dinners in hired venues with lots of wow and splendour, not to mention free drink and food. It makes you wonder if the charity will ever see any money.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 I can only echo the general conscientious here. I too have been burned many times and it does make you cynical. I have had some good experiences but generally it seems to have come rather questionable tactics too many times, coupled with the added pressure that it's for charity. The alternative is to organise something yourself for a chosen charity. That way at least you know it is genuine and the money goes to the right place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Totally agree to being careful and asking questions beforehand.. And to steer clear of promoters.. The one that annoys me is pub landlords putting a "festival for charity" apparently simply as a way of getting punters through the door... Interestingly these are the pubs that never seem to tell you how much was donated to the charity or charities.. Equally there are local pubs that do a fine job of this - not surprisingly these tend to be the pubs with landlords/landladies that do the music thing anyway... However I won't travel too far, and want to speak to the people doing the sound before I commit.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 In the distant past I've done charity and fund raiser gigs. The band was a business expense and was always paid, as was everyone and everything else involved in the event. I don't subscribe to the "it's fun, so let's just play" mentality. If someone is earning (the beer is never free!) then everyone should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 (edited) You only need to read the small print on some charity stuff "80% of the profit guaranteed to go to the advertised charity" So even after paying themselves an extortionate amount to provide sweets or wristbands or whatever they still take another 20% out of what's left! "80p of every £1 raised" which looks like a better deal to me is not the same as "80% of the profit" but it's clearly what they are trying to make you think This is all before the remains of the "profit" are given to a particular charity who will have paid staff and offices etc, if you buy a bag of charity sweets for a pound I wonder how much actually goes in the funds of the organisation that genuinely needs it? Edited January 18, 2017 by stingrayPete1977 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1484612604' post='3216920'] Find out how much the charity gets out of this. I would not be surprised if their percentage was lower than the promoters! Edit: I'd pass and give your money directly to the charity. [/quote] Unfortunately this is a valid approach. Charity events are like anything else some are on the up and up and some are questionable. Get a therough understanding on how the event is organized and managed. In some cases it's only musicians that are donating their services for free. I can only speak for US charities and benefits. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 [quote name='bassace' timestamp='1484727207' post='3217743'] Yes, Pete. Our 'fame' as a band that does some charity gigs is spreading and we are getting requests from further and wider. Hmm. [/quote] Unfortunately we're getting the same problem, not helped by a gig we did last year where and I have it from the horses mouth, they'd spent £20k on the event and promotion- I've rarely played through a bigger PA or seen a larger lighting rig, and they wouldn't mix the band (we were provided with a stereo feed to the desk from ours) we had to clear the stage before we were on, put it all back ourselves in five minutes, play for an hour after waiting 7, then watch the video we took to find out they hadn't lit us at all, it was all dancefloor. We had a great gig, but in terms of 'exposure' all we achieved was promoting ourselves to the great and the good of our neck of the woods that we're a push over and cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoRhino Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 No call back as promised. Event has finally appeared on social media built around one band. Looks like my refusal to sell tickets was indeed a 'game changer' I feel satisfied that I did the right thing. Cheers everybody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 My thoughts on this. They'll be paying the bar staff, they'll be paying the security, the caterers will be paid, as will the chefs and the waiting staff. No doubt the venue will also expect something, Personally I don't do charity shows unless I'm being paid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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