Dubs Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) I'm after an idea as to what a reasonable rate to charge would be... I know it's kind of like "how long's a piece of string", but what should a client expect to get for: - £250 - £500 - £750 - £1000 - £1500 - £2000+ We went out for £450 on Saturday night and played a 45min set followed by a 55min set for a private party in a nice bar. It went down really well; we had a great crowd reaction and the client was really happy. The venue (events manager) then asked us if they could recommend us to clients from out of town who are also looking for a band to play at an event or private function. We agreed and left it open for them to contact us as and when, but the bottom line is that we're NOT a covers band; none of us want to do this regularly and we've only ever played functions and parties for friends or friends of friends who have asked for us personally and then agreed the fee depending on what they're asking for and the nature of the event. Basically we want to make it worth our while and would charge the top end of what's 'reasonable', otherwise we won't bother as we'd rather work on our originals. I know we've got a lot of seasoned players that have 'done the rounds' and have a wealth of info on this kind of thing, so I think this could also serve as a really useful thread for others who are in a similar boat... Thanks in advance. Edited February 22, 2010 by Dubs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) I'd consider who is doing the booking... If a pub who only make money on the drinks, then £250 is good round here for 2x45's.. If the place has a cover charge, then depending how big it is and how much the door is, then £500 sounds a starter. If you are not chasing these gigs, then ask the band what their min rate is per head..and then charge that on the first gig. Most of the time, the booker might love the band, but he needs to make the figures work..and that is a long piece of string. Edited February 22, 2010 by JTUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I'd suggest the minimum rate for a gig you want to do is £100 per person plus £100 for the band kitty, plus expenses. Remember that functions for people who are not your mates require a whole lot of attitude, behaviour and management that's different to originals/pubs/fun gigs. Read the wedding gigs thread linked from my sig. and work out how much money you want in your hand at the end of it to make it worth while. In the functions game you play for free. It's all the other sheeeeeeeet you get paid for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyJay Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 [quote name='OldGit' post='753741' date='Feb 22 2010, 01:02 PM']Read the wedding gigs thread linked from my sig. and work out how much money you want in your hand at the end of it to make it worth while.[/quote] +1 for the Wedding Gigs thread. Also, some of this ground was covered here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70838&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70838&hl=[/url] Worth a quick scan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky72 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) We do a lot of gigs on the covers circuit and we try avoid doing any for less than £300. A rather well known mock-Irish chain of pubs that you may well know pay out £300-350 depending on the night of the week and how well they know you. Some of the small one-off pubs have tiny budgets and can only stretch to £250. That big Aussie pub chain pay out around £500 upwards. For that they get 1x45min and 1x60min set usually. Pubs that charging on the door need to be giving you at least £500 for a normal set like that. For weddings we always charge between £1k and £1.5K depending on distance travelled and set-up times as well as the set length. If you've got to travel 100 miles and be there to soundcheck before the ceremony even starts then it's your whole day down the pan! Any corporate event, start at least £2k and see if they accept it or bat you down. I've been on both ends of this one from booking bands for my company and being the band being asked to play, big companies have a ton of cash to waste, my company paid a major label 3-piece who are big fans of Buck Rogers about £7.5k for a 30 min set last year. Hope that helps! Edited February 22, 2010 by Clarky72 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 [quote name='OldGit' post='753741' date='Feb 22 2010, 01:02 PM']Remember that functions for people who are not your mates require a whole lot of attitude, behaviour and management that's different to originals/pubs/fun gigs.[/quote] Yeah that's how we've approached all the covers gigs we've done for a fee; if someone's paying then you've got to i) make sure it goes down smoothly, and ii) put on a good show... £100 per person +£100 band kitty sounds about right, which is also along the lines we were thinking. Cheers for the replies guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) [quote name='Clarky72' post='753756' date='Feb 22 2010, 01:10 PM']... my company paid a major label 3-piece who are big fans of Buck Rogers about £7.5k for a 30 min set last year.[/quote] Gissa gig Mate. Go on. We could do that mate, We could, no really we could. Edited February 22, 2010 by OldGit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I think some of these replies miss the vital "where in the country are you, factor". There are some smaller pubs up here in Scotland were you would be lucky to get two-hundred quid. For larger pubs two-fifty to three-fifty is probably nearer the range (more down the lower end though). To get into the four, five hundred bracket we'd be looking at busy clubs (miner's welfares and the like). However, these require a substantial PA, lighting and a comprehensive set-list to get any kind of chance. They often are only booked by agents, so there goes another 15%. Obviously weddings, and other "it really matters" style gigs, are a law unto themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 [quote name='Clarky72' post='753756' date='Feb 22 2010, 01:10 PM']my company paid a major label 3-piece who are big fans of Buck Rogers about £7.5k for a 30 min set last year.[/quote] Nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I thought we were talking functions not pubs. Totally different markets / fee structure / expectations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 [quote name='OldGit' post='753818' date='Feb 22 2010, 01:57 PM']I thought we were talking functions not pubs. Totally different markets / fee structure / expectations[/quote] I don't know that the OP said that explicitly. There are some pubs out there that pay well enough to tempt the "higher-end" functions bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumperbob 2002 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 [quote name='Dubs' post='753814' date='Feb 22 2010, 01:56 PM']Nice [/quote] Yeah I would say £100 a man plus expenses is fair if its not your living. We are a 7 piece Soul band and do two monthly residencies for £300 plus drinks- mainly to get the functions to which we charge £1200-£1400 -but we dont travel more than 30 miles. We have picked up loads of weddings this year and charge the same as functions. The main thing is not to spread yourself too thin and to enjoy it! I have seen wedding bands look as though they really dont want to be playing when they are on £1000+ The more work the gig is ( weddings ) the more should be the £ Cheers Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Good advice so far, thanks guys. Think we're probably looking at asking for £600 for this particular venue and the potential events that we may be asked to play at... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky72 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 [quote name='OldGit' post='753764' date='Feb 22 2010, 01:17 PM']Gissa gig Mate. Go on. We could do that mate, We could, no really we could. [/quote] Hi mate, I'd love to... hang on, actually If I could I'd have got my band to do it !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 [quote name='Clarky72' post='753935' date='Feb 22 2010, 03:29 PM']Hi mate, I'd love to... hang on, actually If I could I'd have got my band to do it !! [/quote] Well that would be unethical. Booking us woudln't be, of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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