What to charge

Subject: What to charge
From: GUEST,FloraG
Date: 15 Nov 13 - 04:33 AM

This came up in another thread and I thought it interesting enough to have a thread of its own.
I tend to think of one price for just me calling; another price for the band with me calling ; a different price if its a band do with singing and playing ( not a dance, oddly enough usually less) I add a bit if its a long night or a long distance; I take off a bit if its a friend or a charity I support.
I put 5% aside for insurance and equipement and divide the money up equally between the band.
Its all a bit ad hoc.

I wondered how other people calculate what to charge?
FloraG

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: Will Fly
Date: 15 Nov 13 - 04:52 AM

I use a witch's cauldron and add the entrails of a black cockerel before turning widdershins three times and... oh, sorry - that was last year.

The band charges very roughly £80 a head for 3 hours of music - more for unsociable hours and long journeys - plus a little extra to top up the kitty (EFDSS sub + PLI, etc). We also have a "mates' rate" for family and friends, which is somewhat less.

We've got to these levels really by trial and error over the years - and each year we put it up a little to keep up with inflation. Too little and we're playing for peanuts - too dear and we won't get work. However, some band members have families and domestic commitments and don't want to work too much, so a higher rate putting people off is sometimes quite a useful thing! We have our own caller, who gets what we all get; if we have guest callers (rare), they also get the same rate. It's very rare for us to be asked to play by another caller.

Most of our work is for weddings and birthday parties, with some functions for social organisations.

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: GUEST,werty
Date: 15 Nov 13 - 04:53 AM

We work on a fixed fee, split evenly. insurance, replacement gear etc comes out of a gig's fee.

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: Mo the caller
Date: 15 Nov 13 - 05:13 AM

Here is the other thread

We showed you ours, now show us yours. How much do you charge, Flora.

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: GUEST,FloraG
Date: 15 Nov 13 - 09:38 AM

I was not really asking how much - just how you worked it out.
However, a pub do is about £120. 3 or sometimes 4 in the band. That seems to be the going rate.
Calling I tend to go for £70 for just me( + PA + box). I got this from a cancellation. I was phoned one Saturday and a fairly desperate woman said ' can you call and are you free tonight'? Our caller has been taken into hospital and we don't want to cancel and is £70 OK as thats what the other caller was charging. This was the first time I had done it without the band. We have done the same organisation for the last 3 years.
For local dos with the band I think about £200+ a bit for travel + a bit for extra time. We usually go as caller +3. The band is always same people. They know that sometimes I do 3 As and 4 Bs because I'm concentrating on the calling rather than the playing and if they just follow usually knowbody notices.   
FloraG

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: Banjo-Flower
Date: 15 Nov 13 - 10:17 AM

"For local dos with the band I think about £200+ a bit for travel + a bit for extra time"

Is that each or does it cover the whole band?

Gerry

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: Will Fly
Date: 15 Nov 13 - 11:18 AM

Around my area (Sussex), there seems to be a kind of unspoken but accepted general musician's fee of £25 and hour. So, if you're teaching an instrument, £25 an hour for a lesson at home (the teacher's home) appears to be the going rate among my friends.

Extrapolating that to band work: 3 hours dance playing would be £75, plus extra for travelling. Multiply that up by the number of band members and that's one way of working out a band charge - all to be altered for local conditions and economy.

Having played in various bands of varying sorts over the years, I've found that the ceilidh work is certainly the better paying. This is probably because it's function-venue based, whereas in other bands we've done mainly pubs - and pubs don't pay as much for bands. You're better off doing a pub as a solo or duo if you want a reasonable pay rate.

Over the years, at many gigs, by the time we'd paid the real costs of travelling by car - petrol+ - and then bought a drink or two (even soft drinks), and popped outside for the occasional snout, the fee had nearly gone...

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Nov 13 - 10:37 PM

"What to charge"

What will the market bear? If it won't bear what you need to cover expenses and make some cash, why do it?

Example: I have a gig away from home. It will cost X amount of money to get there and back by car, train, plane, etc. It will cost Y to eat and lodge getting there and back. I charge Z for the gig itself. Add them up--X+Y+Z--and that's what you charge. X and Y are written in stone as it were. Z is your only decision. What are you worth to your prospective employers?

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: Will Fly
Date: 16 Nov 13 - 05:40 AM

Ah, well, the unspoken bit in all this is the fun element. For many of us the impetus for playing is the music itself and the joy associated with making it. Quite often the cash is a secondary consideration and, in my early days, we'd do gigs for peanuts - just for the hell of it and to feed our juvenile egos!

This still goes on in places like Brighton, where I've heard of bands actually paying pubs to play, simply to get the exposure. But that's not really the ceilidh scene.

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 16 Nov 13 - 09:18 AM

The church my wife attends has been investigating a band for a barn dance, the usual local band (Ascot, Berks) quotes: £530 for 3-piece and caller for up to 3 hrs with break for refreshments and £630 for the 5-piece for bigger venues.
RtS

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: GUEST,FloraG
Date: 17 Nov 13 - 04:22 AM

I think I might be under charging - but its not my main source of income - and even when I bill for just me - some of the band tend to come along too. I think we have a sad social life.
However, I was looking for how people calculate the fee ( rather than how much ) - and thanks to those who explained that.
I am aware that some perfromers will perform for 80% of the door after expenses.
Any other things to take into account?
I have heard of someone doing a floor spot and selling 35 CDs. I don't know how much you would expect to make on the sale of each CD.
FloraG.

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: alex s
Date: 17 Nov 13 - 07:20 AM

Geography may play a part too. When I moved to Lancashire from Tyneside we found that the average fee was much lower in the NW region than in the NE, possibly because of the high demand for acts in the huge number of clubs in Northumberland and Durham. I would imagine that applies to London and the SE too.

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: Mo the caller
Date: 17 Nov 13 - 09:21 AM

It only takes one or two bands who go out 'for the love of it' to set expectations lower.

I've noticed that Lancashire bands tend to change less / head than those from Cheshire (not all)

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 17 Nov 13 - 10:26 AM

Quite a lot may depend on the perception of the band and caller.

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: Leadfingers
Date: 17 Nov 13 - 12:18 PM

IF you are full pro , its very easy to be cut out of the loop by Semi Pro performers

Subject: RE: What to charge
From: GUEST,FloraG
Date: 18 Nov 13 - 03:57 AM

I have heard of ' named acts' offering a support act a place in the concert without fee just to get exposure. Is this usual?
FloraG