I would like to know how much you can get
paid as a solo performer in a small venue?
Should I set the price?
K

Hi K,

Thanks for joining the forum.

Wow - big question for a first post.

Some context would help.

Please tell us more about your music:

• What kind(s) of music you play?
  
• Where you do it (size, type of venue)?
  
• Who is there (audience) - how many, what are they doing while you are performing?
  
• Where are you?
  
• What kind of L1® do you have?
  
• Do you have a web site?
  
  

Thank you.

Hey – I also think this is a regional question. Where do you live? I have found the pay scale can be lower in a bigger city because of supply and demand.

Around here the going rate is about $100 per player with a $40 bar tab for a 3 hour gig. Not enough to make a living on but enough to at least make it worth while doing if you are playing regularly. I figure I play for free and get paid to haul everything in and out of the location.

Too many musicians in the area water down the rates. Too much competition.
gt

In most cases we're talking about venues that sell alcohol.

If beer is a buck fifty and a well drink is two fifty, there won't be much for entertainment.

If a cold Miller Lite is $4 and a well drink is $5.50 the pay should be a little better.

In the late 70's and early 80's I worked on a percentage of liquor sales, usually 21 to 24 percent. I made a good living. More venues, more players, drunk driving laws, all this and more have made it difficult for all but the best to truly make a living on playing music alone.

I would rather play for fun than to play for cheap. I don't think a working musician should have to work for less than a run of the mill lawyer.

In the end I guess the two factors that matter are how bad do you want to play and / or how bad do you need the money.

O..

Hello,

quote:

"Originally posted by Kacer702:
I would like to know how much you can get
paid as a solo performer in a small venue?
Should I set the price?"

Depending on the type of venue you are trying to break into, you will likely find that the venue will set the price for you.

If you can demonstrate that you can consistently draw in an audience, and 'pack the place', then you should easily be able to negotiate for more than what the venue typically offers.

Currently I'm not actively performing out on a super regular basis but when I was (which was until fairly recently) the going rate for most bars in town was $150.00 for a three-to-four-hour stint. Some places, not all, offered free food, or half price on the food. Only one venue I ever played allowed an unlimited supply of free beer. I don't drink so I chowed down on the free salad bar instead. That venue demanded you perform for four hours.

There was one venue that paid double the going rate, so you'd get $300.00 for a three-hour performance. I just heard, though, that it went out of business recently.

I also found that, whether I perform solo, or as part of a duo, or trio, the pay was the same amount. It doesn't seem to have so much to do with how many of you there are...but how popular is your music with the venue's patrons. Being a solo performer should (should!) be in your favor.

I know of one performer who (typically) packs every venue he performs. Last I heard he was being paid $750.00 for the night plus a percentage of the door receipts. I do know that $750.00 was not the going rate at that venue but the artist was so popular that he consistently sold out the place, so could negotiate such a relatively high amount of money.

Good luck,

Stu

This message has been edited. Last edited by: StuartD,

Stu, that sounds about right. I usually get 200 at most places, but others pay only 150. I even have one place that pays 250. So their are so many variables and I don't think it's even fair to speak about prices. Like the guy you mentioned that gets 750...if he's worth it then it's all relative. You're worth what you're worth.

I've gotten more money by just asking for it instead of working for the standard 150 or 200.

Takes a little moxie I suppose, but this whole entertainment business requires some bravado and we sell ourselves asking for the gig and again when we get on stage.

K, ask for what you want, if you get it and live up to it they'll hire you again. Like ST said, that's a big question until you answer his questions.

good luck to you ---leo

www.leodean.com

Stu,

I'm curious about what it is that makes the $ 750 a night guy so popular. Stu ?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ted the musicman,

quote:

Originally posted by Ted the musicman:
"I'm curious about what it is that makes the $ 750 a night guy so popular. Stu ?"

I don't know, Ted. I guess it has to be either his popularity with the audience, the style of music he performs, or how good he is, or some combination of the three.

I've yet to hear of a venue paying top dollar to someone just because someone asks for it (well it's never worked for me )! A performer has to be able to demonstrate they are worth those extra dollars (I would think). In this case, so I've been told on more than one occasion, this guy "packs the place".

I've never actually seen the guy perform, so can't speak to how good he is, or what style of music he plays, only how popular he apparently is. I also don't know if he's solo or if he has a back-up band, though that shouldn't matter, other than he'd make less of the money for himself, etc.

Also, and I might not have made this very clear in my previous post, he gets $750.00 dollars at one particular venue. I've no idea what he gets paid elswhere.

Stu

Edit: This venue is not a "listening room" per se, it's a bar. I'm sure the manager is figuring s/he'll recoup a lot of that $750.00 in alchohol sales from the patrons, etc.

Urban Myth?

I was having discussion about just such a man during breaks at a gig last night.

Seriously, a couple of us were actively engaged in a conversation about the local market for live musicians and why some places pay more than others and some pay more for different acts.

I have a friend who works solo that can consistently draw 300 to 400 on a Saturday night at $5 a pop at the door. Just guessing, but the sales average is probably between $12 and $15 per person. So the door is worth $1500 to $2000 and sales are greater than $4200. I'm betting he gets more than $750.

What happens to the numbers if the attendance drops to 200? Which is probably greater than most anyone else locally can do.

I think it is all relative to the difference in business with and without you, and with and without your competition.

If you don't add to the numbers you're not worth anything. At least not to that establishment.

For restaurants and other establishments that tend to have a full house because of tourism or just a good reputation, the draw of the entertainer is not as important. I think then the managers tend to work on a budget that will allow a range of pay neccessary to keep the best of the locals in their place of business.

Whatever the pay, it's a long way from here to Hollywood.

O..

Hi Oldghm,

Were you at the table last night?

You pretty much managed to sum up our conversation. Just for context I should add that we were sitting in a restaurant in a beach resort strip of bars and restaurants in a little tourist oriented hamlet.

This is where we ended up:

It ain't about art, it's about business. In the end, the artist must generate more revenue for the venue than s/he costs. Anything else is unsustainable.

Oooooohhhhhh, Clint Eastwood was playing there, ok now I understand.

quote:

Originally posted by Oldghm:
"I have a friend who works solo that can consistently draw 300 to 400 on a Saturday night at $5 a pop at the door. Just guessing, but the sales average is probably between $12 and $15 per person. So the door is worth $1500 to $2000 and sales are greater than $4200. I'm betting he gets more than $750."

I was told he gets a percentage of the door take as well.

Come to think of it I also saw the guy in the pic that ST posted. He was there making sure no one got in without paying

Stu