So, how much is your show worth? If you low-ball the venue, you could get stuck there -even if you're being invited back and bringing in lots of people. If you set a "fair-price" right off the bat, you might be turned down -because other bands will play for less (that will bring in a guaranteed crowd -or so they say).
This is where I'm going to allude to a previous post about desperation. If you're a 5 or 6-piece band that carts around a PA and lights system and the venue isn't willing to pay you at least $1000, you're probably wasting your time and energy. Remember, you've got to split the earnings 5 or 6 different ways and you're compensating yourself for about 6 hours of work for the night (remember at least an hour for setup and an hour for tear down). FYI, in a 6-piece band, this comes out to about $33.00/hour. If you're cool with that, then it's a good rate -if it's not enough, time to re-negotiate.
Whatever you decide to do, stick to your guns. If a venue isn't willing to pay you what you're worth, don't accept the gig. Simply say "no".
Now, suppose you're not "doing it for the money" -which can be somewhat of a noble thing to say... but for a lot of reasons, I'm not buying that as a reason to accept rip-off gigs. If anything, think about how it affects the culture of fellow musicians in your city.
If you're the person that is accepting 4-hour long gigs for free drinks or 4-hour long gigs for $100, you're hurting your fellow musicians by undercutting the actual market value for entertainment -why? Now, the bar knows that there is somebody out there that is willing to play for peanuts just to get stage time... If there is one of you, there are inevitably more of you.
Since musicians guilds and musicians unions aren't as common nowadays, entertainers are responsible for establishing a fair market value for their services!
My blog post today is ending with a dire prediction (I know that I'm a part-time cynic, but this is rooted in patterns -not cynicism). I feel like establishing a price and understanding how the market value for entertainment are important knowledge to pursue. That being said, I feel like the culture of musicians low-balling themselves has hit an irreversible point for anybody that is trying to include "LIVE shows in bars" as part of their practical income as a working musician. I predict; that in ten years, bars will either not pay musicians at all -or will simply refuse to hire live entertainment. Why? If the lower quality and lower experienced musicians are the ones that continue to low ball existing rates, all that will be left is sonic garbage. Patrons will still continue to enjoy their alcohol without having to indulge sonic trash, and the bar will get to retain the profits.
I know it's a bummer to end on, but if anything, I definitely think this is something to consider! Do you agree? Do you disagree? Join in the conversation below!
Until next time,
-T.
