eiderglast
New member
Most bars these days have open jam sessions, where customers get to play after work, have a few beers, and jam to their heart's content as other customers wait on for their turn. Others simply have karaoke nights that cater to people with enough alcohol to give them confidence to take the stage... Back then, this was not so commonplace, back then musicians were simply musicians, and not some fly-by-night player who has the money to buy gears and equipment and (lots of bravado) to get up on stage.
Still, some bars still offer you payment for a night of true, passionate music, practiced for weeks (even months), before releasing it to guests and strangers alike.
How much is the pay rate these days, anyway?
Where you play and who you play for... and who gets a cut from that deal...
Otherwise, most gigs should offer 100 per head per set... so if you're more than a four piece band playing three sets... it gets expensive for the client/ bar / owner.
Best advice; don't settle for less than a hundred per head. As musicians, we should set a bar (provided we show we deserve it, but we must set a standard).
Would a dentist lower his fees just to get a customer? Granted that a dentist is a different line of work and discipline, it should be noted that musicians mostly don't get any benefits (medical, insurance, and whatnot), and they normally thrive on a per gig basis... the lowest fee of a hundred per head (be it a soloist, duo or full band) should be acceptable to most. The fee may get higher but not lower than that.
How about people who moonlights as musicians and keeps a day job? that's where the problem starts... real hardworking musicians who have no other means of work but to play or perform, will have a hard time looking for gigs if moonlighters or people who simply play for fun get the gig that should have been given to the ones who are in need of it.
And what do we get for all this? We end up listening to music (that's been played over and over, bar after bar), and sadly sometimes the rendition is painful to listen to. Seasoned musicians who sacrifice time, money (and even love life), have no choice but to take the scraps given to them leftover by over saturation (and sadly lesser quality) musicians.
What's next in store is that we let go of our preferred career and join the workforce, and moonlight as musicians for lower the price, or even just for some free beers, or none at all.
Still, some bars still offer you payment for a night of true, passionate music, practiced for weeks (even months), before releasing it to guests and strangers alike.
How much is the pay rate these days, anyway?
Where you play and who you play for... and who gets a cut from that deal...
Otherwise, most gigs should offer 100 per head per set... so if you're more than a four piece band playing three sets... it gets expensive for the client/ bar / owner.
Best advice; don't settle for less than a hundred per head. As musicians, we should set a bar (provided we show we deserve it, but we must set a standard).
Would a dentist lower his fees just to get a customer? Granted that a dentist is a different line of work and discipline, it should be noted that musicians mostly don't get any benefits (medical, insurance, and whatnot), and they normally thrive on a per gig basis... the lowest fee of a hundred per head (be it a soloist, duo or full band) should be acceptable to most. The fee may get higher but not lower than that.
How about people who moonlights as musicians and keeps a day job? that's where the problem starts... real hardworking musicians who have no other means of work but to play or perform, will have a hard time looking for gigs if moonlighters or people who simply play for fun get the gig that should have been given to the ones who are in need of it.
And what do we get for all this? We end up listening to music (that's been played over and over, bar after bar), and sadly sometimes the rendition is painful to listen to. Seasoned musicians who sacrifice time, money (and even love life), have no choice but to take the scraps given to them leftover by over saturation (and sadly lesser quality) musicians.
What's next in store is that we let go of our preferred career and join the workforce, and moonlight as musicians for lower the price, or even just for some free beers, or none at all.
