Gig fees

[leroybasslines]

Hi everyone!

Not sure if this is the right forum for this so do move it if it’s more appropriately placed elsewhere!

I’m getting quite a few function gigs of various types at the moment, some with bands I’ve played with before, some as a dep. One of the first questions I get asked is how much I usually get paid. Truth is, I’ve no idea what I should be asking! Back in the day it used to be £100 per musician for a wedding (forgetting expenses etc - just the music part), but that’s going back many years. Nowadays I usually ask for £200 depending on the gig and how much I want it! 

So, I was wondering if we could put our Britishness aside for a mo and discuss what we ask for as a fee as a bassist for a live gig or a recording session? Obviously, it will vary very much depending on the gig, reputation of a band etc, but it would be very helpful and interesting to compare what we’re asking. 

If I’m being out of order, please forgive me: I’m a nosy bugger. Feel free to ignore. 

Cheers!

Edited August 15, 2018 by leroybasslines

[bassfunk]

Hey Leroy

Here in the Northwest you expect anything from £120 to £350 for function work.

I know some bands (or should that be brands) that put multiple bands out under the same name with a team of deps and they pay £120 a gig. But if you're a regular with them you may get multiple gigs a week as they're very busy. If I'm depping I start at £150 and add on for additional expenses/time. If I'm hiring a dep for my band I tell them what I have in the budget for them (usually what the guy whose gig it is was getting). It would be interesting to see how people price themselves and what they get paid.

 

[6feet7]

2 minutes ago, bassfunk said:

Here in the Northwest you expect anything from £120 to £350 for function work.

Same here in the South-East

[MacDaddy]

taken from the MU National Gig Rate April 2018:

For casual engagements for groups performing in pubs and clubs of up to 3 hours: £121.50

For casual engagements for groups performing at functions of up to 4 hours: £162.00

https://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/Files/Rates/Live-Rates/National-gig-rates 

Edited August 16, 2018 by MacDaddy
can't spell National

[Dropzone]

Weddings you lose the whole day, often the day after and are also treated like dirt. The answer is "as much as you want to do the gig". Have a mate who is a solo tribute turn up to an F1 party, played one song and got a figure with a comma in it, so no hard and fast rules, just make it worth your while.

[musicbassman]

I would imagine some dad rock bands struggling to book the occasional pub gig would be lucky to receive the 3 hour rate for the whole band, never mind each.

[leroybasslines]

Thanks guys. As I said, I usually ask in the region of £200 for a wedding depending on the circumstances - it looks like that's about right!  I don't want to under or over charge really...it's good to know what others are doing.

Out of interest, if you are lucky enough to be paid to do recording sessions are the rates similar?

As an aside, I saw a seminar with Michael League where he said that there are three things to consider when deciding whether to take a gig or not:

1. Money - will you be paid well (or at all!)
2. Music - will it be interesting or challenging for you on a purely musical level
3. Friends - will doing the gig help a friend out or is it with someone you just enjoy hanging out with

He said if it ticks one box, then you should consider taking it but don't do those gigs too often or you'll go crazy. Two ticks is a good gig and you should definitely take it. Three ticks and you should take the gig and allow one to prize it from the grasp of your cold, dead hands. If I'm honest, I do pretty well in 2 and 3 and 1 is improving. Pretty unusual to get all 3 though; I think it's happened maybe once or twice in my career!

[leroybasslines]

On 16/08/2018 at 13:14, MacDaddy said:

taken from the MU National Gig Rate April 2018:

For casual engagements for groups performing in pubs and clubs of up to 3 hours: £121.50

For casual engagements for groups performing at functions of up to 4 hours: £162.00

https://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/Files/Rates/Live-Rates/National-gig-rates 

The stuff on travel expenses etc on that doc is really useful. Thanks!

[casapete]

18 hours ago, musicbassman said:

I would imagine some dad rock bands struggling to book the occasional pub gig would be lucky to receive the 3 hour rate for the whole band, never mind each.

Absolutely. Round here (East Yorkshire) pub bands get paid between £250/£300 irrespective of how many people in the band. To be fair, with the pub business being as it is right now, I don’t honestly see how they could afford to pay much more.

Probably different down south?

[Linus27]

Are the figures you guys are quoting each or for the whole band?

Edited August 19, 2018 by Linus27

[Paul S]

21 minutes ago, casapete said:

Probably different down south?

That seems to be the situation here, too.  My pub band tends to play in small pubs in market towns, rather than busy hipster places in city centres, and we usually get £250-300 for the band.  The only time we get more than that is for a private party. 

[T-Bay]

Same in the midlands, some pubs on,y pay around £100-150 and still get bands. Never heard of anyone getting the figures quoted in a pub. As said above, private functions are different.

[Marvin]

£150-200, is typical if what a band will get in my area for a pub gig. There are pubs that might pay more, it depends. 

I don't see how a pub, considering most pubs near me are very small and they're struggling to stay open anyway, could pay much more. They simply can't get the number of people in. Most pubs near me seem to put on music as a personal indulgence of the landlord/lady.

[FinnDave]

2 hours ago, casapete said:

Absolutely. Round here (East Yorkshire) pub bands get paid between £250/£300 irrespective of how many people in the band. To be fair, with the pub business being as it is right now, I don’t honestly see how they could afford to pay much more.

Probably different down south?

Nope, that's what we get in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire as well.

[Sibob]

Thats what’s paid by pubs because there are bands who will go out for it. Simple as that. If everyone sung from the same hymn sheet, the pay would go up.

Si

[Les]

With Facebook fees are becoming increasingly transparent. I see places looking for bands offering a fee I wouldn't consider and then bands that I know or know of posting that they'd be up for it and I think to myself "Really ???"

Not sure I'm at one with this transparency on public forums/media to be honest.

[Dad3353]

3 hours ago, Sibob said:

Thats what’s paid by pubs because there are bands who will go out for it. Simple as that. If everyone sung from the same hymn sheet, the pay would go up.

Si

If everyone sang from the MU hymn sheet, most (not all, but most...) venues would stop having groups for live music. 

[T-Bay]

We are lucky that we get a lot of support when we play and always bring 20 people, often bring 40 and have on one occasion rammed a pub so full they had to open up another room so I think we are good value at £300,  or sure the same would be true at £600 lush another £200 for transport, late arrival home etc etc. Sadly I think they would either have half the bands or none at all. We still play at one for £80, we love the venue, love the Landlord and he is happy for us to try new stuff out (and gave us our first gig when he didn’t know us from Adam). The pub only holds 50 people filled to gunnels so couldn’t ask more. I appreciate people trying to make a living will consider this as unhelpful but I doubt anyone who does it for a main income ever plays that pub.

[Sibob]

15 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

If everyone sang from the MU hymn sheet, most (not all, but most...) venues would stop having groups for live music. 

I’m not entirely sure I believe that. As has been said, most have live music because they want it, not because it’s a massive money-maker, so budget appropriately for something they love. You would also see pubs becoming more discerning and the general standard of ‘pub bands’ rising as better bands/musicians see it as a viable option, probably bringing in more punters. 

Bearing in mind doing a pub gig and taking home £100 each used to be the norm 10 years ago, certainly where I am. But as bands come in and say ‘oh i’ll do that for £150 all in’, venues see that as the new norm, and wonder why punters don’t stick around for the second rate band who just want beer money.

I’ve seen agents send around emails saying ‘oh how much can you do this gig for’.....encouraging bands to undercut each other! What happened to paying appropriately and fairly for the band you want?

Si

[Dad3353]

Just now, Sibob said:

I’m not entirely sure I believe that...

You may well be right (although I doubt it, somehow...). I'm not suggesting that it's a Good Thing, either, to 'go low', although we play for free, so it's a moot point for us. If one has principles, it could be tested, to see how the gigs go. In a free, uncontrolled 'market', however, I'd say the MU basic rates have as much chance as snowballs in hell, even before adding on travelling expenses or 'after 2am' supplements. A pub willing to pay that would be a good gig to get, of course, but rather more rare than even today's gigs. I could be wrong, of course. 

[Pea Turgh]

I play in a 9 piece soul band, we do weddings mostly. Happy to walk away with £70 for 2x 45 minute sets. Would love to earn more from it, but hey ho. 

[casapete]

33 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

I play in a 9 piece soul band, we do weddings mostly. Happy to walk away with £70 for 2x 45 minute sets. Would love to earn more from it, but hey ho. 

For a wedding band I would think you are definitely underselling yourselves ( assuming you’re pretty good of course! ) I’ll bet the very average DJ on the same gig will be getting nearly half what your whole band earns 🙁

[spike]

5 hours ago, Sibob said:

 

Bearing in mind doing a pub gig and taking home £100 each used to be the norm 10 years ago, certainly where I am.

How many of you in the band?

[Sibob]

1 hour ago, spike said:

How many of you in the band?

4

Si

[Happy Jack]

This topic is trying to cover far too much ground. As I understand it, the OP's question referred to serious pro musicians who can charge a serious rate for depping because they're good enough, flexible enough, and (presumably) have some sort of reputation.

Well I've depped too. Twice. I'm not good enough, not flexible enough, and I have no reputation, so I got the same money that I'd have got for playing in Dad-rock pub band. Seeing as that's pretty much who I am, I didn't have a problem with that.

Bassfunk talks about charging up to £350 for a dep gig. Very few of the bands I've played in were capable of earning that for a pub gig, and that's for the whole band.

As to 'we should all sing from the same hymn sheet and ramp up the prices', sorry Si but that's simply nonsense in 2018. Musicians could get away with operating an unofficial cartel in the 60s and 70s, pre-Internet and pre-thousands of newly qualified music graduates appearing every year.

This is a capitalist country, and everything is driven by supply and demand. Supply has been soaring for the last ten years, at exactly the same time as demand has been falling. Do the math.