Booking Stories

[Potts]

So I get a Facebook message from someone I've know for awhile requesting some dates for a place that he's been booking. He asks for a price, time (3 hours) and available dates in Oct/Nov. He booked me bi-weekly for a couple of months but asks if I could hold the dates for a day to confirm. No problem.

I get the response today and he said everything's a go. Great news! I ask him what time does he want and he said, " 8:30-12:00, I extended it  by 30 minutes to accomadate your breaks. I hope you don't mind." 

My response. No problem- the extra 30 minutes is an additional $75. I hope you don't mind. 

You can only guess which option he chose. I've been doing this for so long and it still amazes me that people attempt to squeeze more out of a booking. This guy hounded me for bookings the entire summer and knew my schedule was insane. Why would he even try to play games when he knows I can just book somewhere else? It bugs me because with the options I have as far as booking I'd rather not start a relationship that way and just turn the gigs down.

 

[Vito Corleone]

Some people are just idiot control freaks.   He doesn't care about having music for that earlier half-hour.  Probably doesn't have a crowd then anyway, which he why he books 9-12.   But he sees "$XXX for 3 hours of music!  I'm gonna get my 3 hours, dammit!"

Same type of guy who keeps changing lanes to try and get in the "fastest" one only to get there at the same time as everyone else anyway.

 

[sventvkg]

I don't know if I'd get in business with that guy. However, before I blew it off I would ask for a meeting and then face to face lay it down. Say hey man, I've been doing this WAY too long and it's very disrespectful to try to get over on me especially since you know I'm a veteran gigging musician and a pro. I'd like to start this relationship over based on mutual respect. Can we do that? If it looks good, and you both know where you stand cool. If he's an Assholio, than walk away. Dude. BEEN THERE DONE THAT severed relationships beause of this same type of behavior. There's also always a chance that a booker, manager, bar owner can out of the blue become a disrespectful assholio as well and when that happens I bolt. The ONLY way to get respect from anyone you're in business with is to stand up and assert yourself on his or her level. 

Good for you for firing that response back to him! 

[hockeyguy]

If you're doing three hours music and you're going to have a break(s), then the additional 30 minutes seems right. Am I missing something? We do three hours of music over a 4 hour period; 2 half-hour breaks.

 

[Potts]

Nope.. Who said three hours of music? It's a three hour gig. If you want more than three hours of my time you have to pay for it. It's the beauty of playing 150+ gigs a year and having tons of gigging opportunities. Nobody gets cheated- it works for everyone. If want more than three hours you're going to pay for it.

[jeff42]

Some places we play are 9pm-Midnight. I would call it a 3 hour gig. We would play 3 sets and take two 10 min breaks. We charge a little less for that than our usual 9-1 gigs. If a place would ask us to play from 8:30-midnight. I would ask for more $$$. 

 

 

[BlueStrat]

 

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Potts wrote:

 

Nope.. Who said three hours of music? It's a three hour gig. If you want more than three hours of my time you have to pay for it. It's the beauty of playing 150+ gigs a year and having tons of gigging opportunities. Nobody gets cheated- it works for everyone. If want more than three hours you're going to pay for it.

---

 

Yep. The deal is the deal, to quote Mike on "Breaking Bad." If they're up front about the extra half hour that's one thing. That's the deal. You are able to quote them a price based on that deal. When they try to tack it on, that isn't the deal.  

 

I did the fair this year, they told me up front it was 3-1/2 hours for four nights and asked how much I wanted. I tacked 50 dollars a night onto my normal price and they were fine with it. Had they tried to pull the extra half hour thing after I agreed to the gig, I'd fully expect to renegotiate and so should they, and it would have been more than 50 bucks.  

[Potts]

Yeah I don't mind the control of his venue either. If people are taking advantage of him then that's his issue. He wouldn't know this but I ALWAYS start on time, play exactly what's expected and leave when I'm scheduled unless I'm asked to stay or I'm having a good time.

 

He knows me and obviously wanted to book me based on mutual friends, past performances and knowing EXACTLY what he gets when he sees me. I'll just chalk this up to communication and move forward. Years ago I probably would have been desperate and state quiet though.

[Potts]

The simple math regarding three vs. four gigs. LOL.. this is so lame. 

• If the venue books you for three hours and you take (2) 15 minute breaks you're actually playing 83% of the booked time .
• If the venue books you for four hours and you take (2) 30 minute breaks you're actually playing 75% of the booked time.

I don't ever explain this but I ALWAYS tell new venues that if you hire me for more than three hours you're paying for breaks and that's just silly. Know your own establishment and book the proper time slot. I can almost guarentee that it will get slow after 10:30 at the venue mentioned in my original post. It's for an Elk's club and it's an all built-in crowd. Based on experience I bet the best time slot would be  8-11.