BREAKING NEWS: Shortage Of Live Music. Prices Soar

[Kirk P Dighton]

Wouldn't it be nice if this would happen and we could up our prices for live music and steel gigs? Oil companies do it now. But that is because there are very limited alternatives for fuel and energy. For us, DJ's and Karaoke would suck it all up. As for the "decent-paying" gigs, the occasional net income is being swallowed up by $3.00 + gas! Anyone charging mileage or surcharges for "special performances"?

Let's start a rumor that Live music is an endagered species in some parts of the U.S. Maybe the government will step in to subsidize live music and steel players.

Just venting guys! Anyone else?

Kirk

[Roger Light]

Hum, let see...
Gig - 60 mile / 120 round trip
Jeep gets 16 MPG (need this to haul all my stuff)
Thats 7.5 gal of gas used
Gas @ $3.45 = $25.88
Gig pays $60
Net income for the night = $34.12
$34.00 doesn't buy a new $4000.00 steel and $800 Amp and $280 volume pedal and etc etc etc etc.

[James Morehead]

Just play what they are willing to pay for---every third note!!

[Dennis Schell]

Remember the great years after the movie "Urban Cowboy"? Plenty of gigs in those days as everyone "discovered" live music....

Six nighters galore for $2K!

Sigh....

Dennis

[Kevin Hatton]

My equipment doesn't leave the house for less than $100.00.

[Richard Sevigny]

My equipment doesn't leave the house for less than $100.00.

When I started playing gigs in the early 80's we were getting paid $100/per bandmember/night. Twenty five years later, the scale is still the same though the cost of equipment has in many cases tripled.

These days, I'll do volunteer gigs if I don't have to set up a PA and don't have to travel out of 'burg limits.

I have a pal who does an ABBA/Fleetwood Mac tribute. They get paid ridiculous amounts to play a 45-60 minute set, but they travel to most of their gigs and only play every few months.

And of course, they have to play ABBA.

[Bo Borland]

I remember the post Urban Cowboy days too... plenty of work, lots of new clubs in the area, month long sit down gigs, and lots of women too!! oh the perks were nice!
It's too bad the pay scale is still the same, but as long as there are bands that will play for $50-100 a man it will never change. And don't get me started on country club dj's and line dancers.

A local club turned us down for $100 a man (or any price) because the "line danseurs" don't want to dance to a live band...and yet they pay the talentless, face made for radio- voice made for newspapers, tiny little - sounds like crap/ made for lectures PA "system" ....$300.00 a nite.
do I sound angry?

[Bruce Wutzke]

It took years to learn your instrument, songs, practice, and experience...BUT it probably took that long for some of the DJers to learn to hit the "PLAY" button. Don't be so hard on 'em....dey got talent too!
Can't blame them I guess. They found the suckers to pay them.

[Ernest Cawby]

I have a friend in Live Oak Fl. he was a disk jocky, he was payed $500.00 a nite to do cds, 1 man 1 nite he quit because it did not pay enough, his son took over and has now quit not enough pay for his work. 1 man playing records, go figure.

ernie

[David L. Donald]

Gas @ $3.45 = $25.88
Gig pays $60
Net income for the night = $34.12

Less 15% taxes... $29.002

Ouch.

Here the prevailing nightly pay is 1,000 baht or $28.57...
(Unless you're a Thai rock guitarist, playing the local bars,
then its 300 baht $8.57 a 4 set night... shudder)

(EDITED...)
50 km round trip of the whole island
@ 10 km a liter of diesl @ 28 baht =140 baht or $4
leaving $24.57
Less 5% taxes
= $23.34

Oops don't forget lawyers and workpermit fees
and visa run fees and such

But in perspective dinner for two with beer is $5
in the USA same dinner $35-50...

Though some hot acts can make 2-5,000 a night each.

[CrowBear Schmitt]

8 $ a liter of Diesel in Thailand
how many liters to a gallon ?
i'm payin' 1.75 $ a liter of unleaded
6 $ a gallon ?

better hope that you don't run outta gas ...

[Kirk P Dighton]

Hey Bruce! You back from Texas? Lets get together and pick some! We'll meet half way and split the gas. I guess we would not play if we didn't love the music. We do quite a few fundraisers for our shurch and youth organizations along with handicapped facilties. They don't pay....up front that is. Just gotta complain guys, don't we?

[Donny Hinson]

the "line danseurs" don't want to dance to a live band...and yet they pay the talentless, face made for radio- voice made for newspapers, tiny little - sounds like crap/ made for lectures PA "system" ....$300.00 a nite.

Line dancers just about killed the business around here, worse even than the dreaded karaoke guys. Why? Well the line dancers would show up at 9:00 sharp, buy one bottle of water, dance all night, and then disappear like Cinderella by midnight. Some owners couldn't figure it out..."I've got a full house, and I can't even pay my 'nut'?" Of course, you idiot!!! You're running a bar, but you're catering to people who don't drink anything!!!

Kinda like running a restaurant and catering to anorexics.

By the time those owners came to their senses, the drinking crowd that had kept them well-heeled for years had left...for good.

[John Steele]

Just when you think it can't get any wierder....
Around here several of the local musicians are laughing with delight at a new phenomenon in the bar which is actually putting DJ's out of work.
The "Ipod battle".
Yes. People come to the bar with their Ipod loaded with their favourite music, and they're given their time on the stage to play it.
I haven't actually witnessed this, as I've always felt canned music sounded the same no matter who "plays" it.
-John

[Kevin Hatton]

Donny, thats a laugh. We've had our fill of the line dancers here in Buffalo. Club owners can't stand them. Water drinking tight a$$e$. The owner of a new country club here purposely discouraged line dancing and built the dance floor long and narrow to make it difficult for them. I equate line dancers to people who did the minuet 200 years ago. Pathetic people who have to count to dance, drink water, and leave by midnight so that they can get up for there golf game at 7:30 in the moring. The new owner of this club encourages drinking and socializing. He is quite successful with live country music on both Friday and Saturday nights. Dale Watson just played here to a packed house. No line dancing or DJ's.

[David L. Donald]

Crowbear not quite.
Plus I must a been tired, it's
140 baht for a round trip of the island,
aprox.
About $4 to circumnavigate for a gig in the south end.

96 cents a liter
about $3.40 a gallon for diesl.

3.78 liters to US gallon.

We have had a sunday afternoon gig at a
freshwater fishing place at the exact opposite
end so I havbe been rounding the horn a lot lately.
Interesting place, fish as long as your leg too.

Tomorrows gig only half way round and at
the Four Seasons. High zoot, and better pay too.

[Tony Prior]

My equipment doesn't leave the house for less than $100.00.

Kevin, why would that be ? Is it an expense thing or is that your personal low limit ?

A year or so back I got a call from a band that was just starting out, they offered me the gig, which I couldn't do because I was already playing regular with our band. I gave the guys the name of another Guitar player I knew who turned down the gig because he wouldn't play for less than $100. I think the weekend paid $150.

Well, now that band plays out for between $600 to $800 / gig and I think they are 5 piece, maybe even 4 piece. Do the math.

guys , Gas has gone up 50 cents/gallon ( avg $3.00) over the past few months, so if we are driving 100 miles roundtrip @ 6.5 gallons, the cost went up $3.25 for the gig. It didn't increase $19.50 for the gig.

The $60 gig was $16 for gas before the recent hike.

Our band normally books out anywhere from $50/man ( more local) to as much as $150 man. If a band calls and they are in trouble, and I am available, I'm going. We'll work the money out later.

Oh, by the way, the Guitar player who turned down the gig mentioned above hasn't had a gig in a year. He calls me often to see if I want to start a band with him. That ain't gonna happen.

heres the way I look at it, maybe it's too simple..When I go to the grocery store, I use Gas and I spend money, It's a double loss. When I go to a gig, yeh, I spend some money on Gas but I come home with cash and I get to play music which I love to do. If I come home with $1 over expenses it's a win. I would rather gig for $1 over expenses than stay home and watch Law and Order reruns or go grocery shopping. And obviously the $1 figure used is just for this exercise, I generally profit at least $2

[James Cann]

. . . as I've always felt canned music sounded the same no matter who "plays" it.

That's because you haven't yet heard it played by one who knows it well!

[Charles Davidson]

The first gig I remember getting paid for was in 1955 when I was sixteen,made fifty bucks,more than most family men were making for a forty hour work week.Fifty two years later a lot of these jerks still think that's too much to pay you.In fact some[a lot in fact]of these clubs want you to pay them[they call it giving you exposer]That won't even buy you a Big Mac.To hell with the fame,give me the fortune.

[John Steele]

That's because you haven't yet heard it played by one who knows it well!

You're right, I haven't. Next time I see one of those contests going on, I'm gonna load up my Ipod with Erroll Garner records, put my pants and hat on backwards, and head on down...
Maybe I'll learn something.

-John

[David L. Donald]

My iPopd will be stocked with John Cage and Stockhousen,
with a smattering of Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor.

[Tom Olson]

But that is because there are very limited alternatives for fuel and energy.

Actually, the way I understand it is that there is presently far more oil being produced than at any other time in history.

The problem is not short supply, but astronomical demand. Think about it -- back in the 60's there were roughly 175 million Americans with way less than 1 vehicle per person (more like 1 vehicle for every 3 or 4 people), a few Canadians, and a few Europeans buying most of the world's oil supply (there were probably no more than a few hundred cars in the entire continent of Asia) .

Now, there are over 300 million Americans, all of whom have at least one vehicle and some of whom have several vehicles, lots of Canadians, lots of Europeans, lots of Japanese, lots of Africans, lots of South Americans, plus a billion or so Chinese and Indians/Pakistanis -- all of whom can now afford to buy cars and gas. Result = lots and lots more demand == higer and higher prices.

Now, I agree, if the same thing happened with music -- i.e., suddenly there were billions more people who wanted live music -- there would be a big surge in prices.

[Richard Sevigny]

There's a glut of inexpensive, reliable (read: predictable) entertainment out there. Big screen TVs in venues pipe in a world of "pleasure" at the touch of a remote for a lot less than what a band or even single musician will cost.

Seems to me it started about the time MTV and satellite dishes became popular.

That's what a performing musician is competing with: big name sports & reality TV.