Members Speedhead Posted March 19, 2007 Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hi All. I've been doing sound and lights for a few shows recently and am wondering about what i should be charging to do what I am. I dont want to undercharge too much, cause this doesnt help anybody in the long run! I mainly do one night shows to crowds of up to around 500 people, sometimes slightly more. Generally one opening band and a headliner. My equipment is generally as follows: Yamaha MG32/14FX Mixer2-Yorkville ES1004 Double 18 Subs (Powered with Yorkville AP4040)2- Single 18" Peavey Lowrider Subs w/custom enclosure(PV 2600 bridged to each sub)2- YX215 Mid High bins(EP 2500)2- Peavey SP5's( AB international Precedent 1100 Amp) 4-YX15P Powered Monitors with seperate monitor mixesSeveral mics, all Shure. (SM58's, SM57's, PG52, PG56's, etc..)16 Par Can light show with truss/stand, and full black backdrop. Various Equalizers, Compressors, Gates, Effects processors100 ft 24 Channel Snake Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 19, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 A good rule of thumb from a business standpoint is to charge 1% of the gear's replacement value. But you have to do your own homework and determine what's the going rate for rigs in your area. And it helps to see what 'fly's' near you too....if everyone's using el-cheapo rigs and you show up with a decent system...one of two things could happen: 1. You get lots of work and can charge more, because you offer more value. 2. (more likely) You can only charge what the other guys charge, because nobody really understands or appreciates having a decent rig run well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Speedhead Posted March 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 that sounds pretty cheap to me....so if i had $20000 worth of equipment i should only charge $200 for the night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flanc Posted March 19, 2007 Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 that sounds pretty cheap to me....so if i had $20000 worth of equipment i should only charge $200 for the night? $200 is for the gear rental and then you have to transport it set it up and operate the gear. Craig was just giving a means of rough estimation. Truly something is really only worth what someone else is willing to pay. That can vary greatly from region to region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 19, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 that sounds pretty cheap to me....so if i had $20000 worth of equipment i should only charge $200 for the night? flanc's right, and sorry, I got sidetracked and didn't finish my train of thought in that post. Take the 1% for the basic rental. Add your cost of transportation, both ways, using gov't (IRS) standard mileage per your vehicle type. Add cost of your time, door to door plus time to front the gig, or any preparation time above and beyond "normal", and that of any hirees. Dont forget to allow for Soc Sec, worker's comp etc. for employees. Add insurance costs. Add maintenance and gear replacement (depreciation) costs. Obviously a lot of these costs are difficult to pin down on a per-gig basis, but you can average them out over the number of jobs, or hours, you intend to work over a given time period, or use last year's time as a basis. And finally, add in a profit...10% is considered a good profit margin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MarkGifford-1 Posted March 19, 2007 Moderators Share Posted March 19, 2007 That's $2-250/night from about 10 guys around here... MG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Speedhead Posted March 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 Ok, that helps a bit. I've been getting from $800 to $1200 per night within a 90 mile radius of myself to do the shows and have myself and 1 other guy on hand to help, so i'm probably doing alright I'm thinking.Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6Imzadi Posted March 19, 2007 Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 Ok, that helps a bit. I've been getting from $800 to $1200 per night within a 90 mile radius of myself to do the shows and have myself and 1 other guy on hand to help, so i'm probably doing alright I'm thinking.Thanks. WHERE do you live??? I have never heard of anyone paying that much for a mid-sized PA. Mis-matched, to boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Speedhead Posted March 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 I am in Western Canada, and am assuming i'm under bidding some of the other guys because i dont seem to have a problem getting the contracts at that rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6Imzadi Posted March 19, 2007 Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 oh, canadian money. what is it now, .10 on the dollar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 19, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 Dude, smile every day you wake up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Speedhead Posted March 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 well its about .85 on the dollar, but it doesnt matter to me anyways since i'm not dealing with american money! A canadian dollar is still a dollar for me! I'll keep doing what i'm doing then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6Imzadi Posted March 19, 2007 Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 I guess you mean me, Craig. I do, but it's because I see my wife when I wake up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 19, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 oh, canadian money. what is it now, .10 on the dollar? Nope, the exchange rate is about $1CDN = $0.85USD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 19, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 I guess you mean me, Craig. I do, but it's because I see my wife when I wake up. No, I meant speedhead....$800-1200 for running sound in Western Canada with MI-grade gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members milesdf Posted March 19, 2007 Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 $200 for that seems way low to me, i'm from the MD/PA area. I would expect 5-800 for that depending on some factors (transportation & time), $1200 canadian for 180 miles roundtrip seems adequate to me. mismatched MI grade gear is still gear. thats all you need doing club shows for local bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Speedhead Posted March 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 yeah, they are club shows for touring rock bands from Canada. Bands that have a decent following, but nothing huge on the national level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6Imzadi Posted March 19, 2007 Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 Must be nice to get that kind of money for that gear. It would almost make it worth while to do it for a living then. 1200/night If that is 1% of replacement cost, then it's worth 120,000? I don't think so.Sounds like there are a few sound co. raking the bands in western canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 19, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 $200 for that seems way low to me, i'm from the MD/PA area. I would expect 5-800 for that depending on some factors (transportation & time), $1200 canadian for 180 miles roundtrip seems adequate to me.mismatched MI grade gear is still gear. thats all you need doing club shows for local bands. How many clubs in this area consistently pull in 500 people and pay $680-$1020 (the USD equivalent) for the rig listed above?? Get me their names and contacts...I can and will easily provide equal or better for less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Speedhead Posted March 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 well i dont know if its worth doing for a living full time at that rate unless you could stay busy all the time. There might be 1 to 2 shows in the area in a month that will pay that kind of money, and those are the ones i'm trying to get. Figure $1200 pay, minus fuel, van/trailor maintenence, wage for help, money for any equipment maintenence, van insurance(which i dont use for anything else but sound/band gigs) time on the road, at show, finding/booking shows and doing contract, it just leaves some nice extra spending cash. If i could do that 5 days a week, i'd definately do it for a living! ANd get alot more gear to do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 19, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 well i dont know if its worth doing for a living full time at that rate unless you could stay busy all the time. There might be 1 to 2 shows in the area in a month that will pay that kind of money, and those are the ones i'm trying to get. Figure $1200 pay, minus fuel, van/trailor maintenence, wage for help, money for any equipment maintenence, van insurance(which i dont use for anything else but sound/band gigs) time on the road, at show, finding/booking shows and doing contract, it just leaves some nice extra spending cash. If i could do that 5 days a week, i'd definately do it for a living! ANd get alot more gear to do it! Exactly. HEnce why many of us do it to offset the costs of providing PA for our own bands, or go bigtime as a full business, offering installations, doing spoken word/conferences, etc. in order to make enough consistent income to do it full-time. The prevalence of inexpensive gear has done more to hurt music than help it. Too many poorly done shows by ten-minute sound guys and garage bands...it's more fun to play Nintendo, if the lack of live music gigs, and the generally {censored}ty pay is any indication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Speedhead Posted March 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 FYI regular club gigs for a cover band or something will not pay anything like this around here. For a regular gig a band is lucky to get $1200-$1500 for 2 Nights if they provide their own PA System. I'm doing the few shows where they book a touring orignal act to come in for their original show. They are bands that may be signed and have had some radio/video play, but are not huge acts. They are acts that can fill up a 500 seat club in the area at $10 a ticket or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted March 19, 2007 Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 I get an average of 500$ for DJing a wedding with one of my small set-ups (compared to the PA needed for a band in a mid sized venue )with a few lights (Starball and a few American DJ Vertigos + cop light). I'm set-up in about 25 minutes and unset-up in half that. Pretty sweet. Most weddings get my pair of NX55Ps and LS700P sub. One mixer, 2 mics, 2 MiniDisc players and that`s about it. Oh yeah, and one very friendly, professionnal and organized DJ. (I have a back-up for almost every piece of equipment in my van at all times - just in case) Al - Party-Time! DJ Services Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Speedhead Posted March 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 Exactly. HEnce why many of us do it to offset the costs of providing PA for our own bands, or go bigtime as a full business, offering installations, doing spoken word/conferences, etc. in order to make enough consistent income to do it full-time. The prevalence of inexpensive gear has done more to hurt music than help it. Too many poorly done shows by ten-minute sound guys and garage bands...it's more fun to play Nintendo, if the lack of live music gigs, and the generally {censored}ty pay is any indication. You are correct, it is mainly to give me a reason to spend some extra money on some more gear so that my own band has some decent stuff to use when we play shows. I know it is middle of the road stuff, but i get it to sound good, and havent had any complaints. So i'll keep doing it on the side so i can keep slowly upgrading!I agree that cheap gear is hurting the live industry, so i'd like to keep getting into some higher end stuff. And that is also why i dont want to undercharge, because doing that hurts the guys who do it for a living because they wont want to pay anyone more even if they do have better equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted March 19, 2007 Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 WOW! You are doing great if you can do that consistently! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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