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Compensation - 3 times a week vs once a month.


senorblues

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I've found two keyboard players in my region playing at a restaurant and a country club, respectively, who are booked for the season three nights a week. Would you expect they would be paid more or less per night than the rest of us who are booked mostly on a once-a-month rotation? (From their web pages, I gather they do cruise ships during our off-season, which is another question.)

 

I also found a piano player last season who didn't sing and, oddly enough, wasn't as fluent on his instrument as the other two. He worked full time at a local inn, and I'm assuming he wasn't as well paid. . . . or at least shouldn't have been, IMHO.

 

A mutual commitment to play one room isn't the only variable that might affect pay, of course. I would think that repertoire, rapport, singing ability, virtuosity, appearance, instrumentation, number of sets, age, and draw might also have influence on take home pay. Having said that, the two rooms where I'm in rotation now book a wide variety of acts, each of whom would score quite differently on the criteria listed, yet we're apparently all paid the same - in both venues.

 

Or maybe I'm overthinking this . . . .

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Senor...you are assuming that venue owners [in general] give a rat's patootie about the quality of the music in their place.

They don't.

You see, to them you are a beer salesman. Period. Does the bar serve more booze and apps when you are there? Then they keep you.

If the clients rave about you, great, likely you get booked more...but more money? Not likely....it can happen, but you'd really have to have the planets align behind you.*

There is no other major qualifier except how you get along with them. If you are a PITA, even if you top the bar every time, they will eventually can you for someone they like more.

 

In the case of the unskilled pianist...there has to be some familial connection there...nephew, daughter's boyfriend...

 

 

* many years ago, one venue owner told me 'I can't pay you more than the other bands, because if word got out, they'd all be pissed off...but I will throw an extra $50+ in your tip jar ...'; occasionally, when the bar really did well, there was a Benjamin in the jar...once or twice a Benjamin and a Grant.

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I'm not really trying to make the case for more money at the same venue compared to my peers. It's more about the reputation and ambiance of the room. High end restaurants aren't the same as sports bars. I have to assume that the guy playing the local country club gets more than the local pub. I also assume that what he has to offer is considered more upscale than what most other rooms are booking, and I doubt the CC can find anyone else like him, so they want him essentially full time and will pay him accordingly.

 

If anybody here is playing upscale rooms several times a week, I'd like to hear from you.

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Generally it's as daddymack says, you don't get more money if you're good at selling booze, you just get booked more often - or get more days per week. There are exceptions of course. I know of a solo artist who charges more money than most. In fact I went into a room recently where he was charging $100 more than I was. Oddly enough, I sold so much booze that night, the owner got mixed up and paid me his amount. Still trying to work that one out between me and the agency.

 

Most of the upscale rooms around my parts are run by agents. The agents have developed a flat per hour fee, with a two hour minimum. If you are in demand, you get your pick of the days of the week and the shifts - early or late. You also get booked more. One fellow I know is very popular so he puts out a tip jar, in violation of the hotel's rules. The hotel's let him get away with it, because they want him so badly.

 

Of course if there's a cover charge then the artist decides on the cover and rises or falls on that. Doesn't really pertain to the solo lounge thing though.

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Let me try another approach.

 

If you're playing at a venue once month, they may assume that your pay is "walk-around" money and that you have another "real" job. If you're working there three nights a week for the season, it's harder to maintain that delusion. You're still obviously a contractor, not a full time employee, but under those conditions, are you going to work for $100/night?

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Not sure if you're using "club" generically, but I haven't been able to get booked into a club, bar, pub, whatever. For better or worse, I'm better suited to upscale restaurants.

 

But yes, I do expect the laws of supply and demand to apply.

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I have been doing this for 4 decades. Most venues expect to pay less per night for more nights. I have given volume discounts because its better to be guaranteed gigs then sitting home watching the television. If I can get back to back nights especially if I can keep the heavy speakers on the stage in the case of my full band I'm willing to take slightly less per night. Also comparing one persons compensation to anothers is a fools errand. In business everywhere each person barters with the perspective employer both trying to get the better deal. There can be vastly differing salaries in a company for the same qualifications. And likewise there can be large differences between acts at a venue. Some people can sweet talk a deal that other could never pull off. In life some people will always pay sticker price while others never do. That adage applies to more than just cars.

 

I have gotten better than some and worse than others. I have also received more than what was agreed just by being 'friendly & professional'.

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Actually, I'm also better suited to restaurants -- I sing and play standards and older on piano. But here in Ontario, almost all clubs/bars/pubs are also restaurants by law and certainly in Gananoque that's universally the case. And none of these restaurants/bars etc. are hiring for dinner hour entertainment. So I don't play out much, which is a pity.

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<...>I have also received more than what was agreed just by being 'friendly & professional'.

Friendly and professional go a long way.

 

1) Be easy to work with. Think of the management, a waitress just called in sick, the ice machine acting up, or whatever. Be the person the management doesn't have to be concerned with. Never-ever cancel, show up late, or take long breaks. Be easy to get along with so the management can talk to you if he/she has time and the desire, but don't get in the way if that isn't happening. Knowing that you will show up and do your job without the management having to worry about goes a long way with future bookings.

 

2) Work for the house. Pretend each dollar going into the cash register is yours. When you do, you will automatically play the songs the audience needs when they need them, skip breaks when the house is rocking, and do everything you can to make sure the bartender is busy. That means promoting a drink special or the other nights even when other bands are playing, acknowledging the bartenders and waitresses, or whatever (if appropriate in all of the previous cases).

 

Remember, whatever is good for the club (or wherever you are playing) is good for you.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

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well, first...pay is relative. Your unacceptable $100/night might be gravy money elsewhere.

 

But to address your clarified point: The guys who are booked way out with multiple nights per week at the same venue are likely getting paid very well. But they apparently have earned that status by doing exactly what the venue wants. Maybe they don't sell more booze, but possibly the patrons have commented favorably/repeatedly about the performance. Maybe their repertoire is just so perfect for the room they fit. Whatever it is...figure it out.

 

You also need to convey that this is not just a hobby, but an income stream. It is incumbent on you to get across to them that you work other rooms, and that you have a payment baseline. And do not take a gig for crap pay just to get in a room [lesson learned working with other bands/ side gigs], because once you work for crap, you'll pretty much always work for crap unless you stipulate in the initial deal that you are doing it for 'half price' to show them what you can do [lesson learned from my early musical career]...but woe be unto you if you do not exceed all expectations.

 

The other thing, network, network, network...get to know those guys with the 'A' gigs, and make sure they know you can play up to their level in their style, so if they get sick, take a vacation, whatever, you get on their 'first call' replacement list. I have gotten calls for big band, jazz, classic rock, punk and country gigs because I have networked so broadly...none of which are my forte, but hey, these guys think I can cut it.

 

Also, as kbeaumont and Notes mentioned, be friendly and professional, tailor your show to the venue, and make their business your business. The first time we played BB King's Hollywood, the manager paid me in cash, and said 'usually, we do this by check, but we can't seem to get the printer to print checks lately'. Being a former network admin, I said 'If you would like, I could come back tomorrow [saturday] and see if I can fix that for you'. He looked at me in awe and wonderment, as if a blues musician should not know anything about technology...'Really ? That would be cool ... we open at 11, so any time after that...' I went in the next day, was on the free parking list [universal Studios], figured out the problem in under ten minutes, and the manager said 'any time you come in, dinner is on the house.'

He also put us in the favored 'Saturday Rotation' for openers for signed/major label acts. I really miss that gig...

 

So yeah, friendly and professional is the way to go, and it isn't always about the Benjamins.

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Let me try another approach.

 

If you're playing at a venue once month, they may assume that your pay is "walk-around" money and that you have another "real" job. If you're working there three nights a week for the season, it's harder to maintain that delusion. You're still obviously a contractor, not a full time employee, but under those conditions, are you going to work for $100/night?

 

I've never known management to care whether or not a musician is doing it for fun or to make a living. They know that musicians love to play, and will take advantage of that whenever they can. Walmart certainly doesn't care about it's suppliers when they bludgeon them into providing their goods below the price they should.

 

On my circuit, I've got a few rooms where they really like me and others where they kind of like me or just tolerate me. In the rooms where I'm just good enough not to get fired, I get paid the same as the "stars" of the room. By the way, many of the artists who are stars in a venue aren't the best musicians. They do take the most requests, talk to the audience during the break, do all birthday shout outs, play the staff's favourite songs and so on. They really know how to work a room. In fact, although I know how to work a room from a band member's perspective, I'm still learning from the darlings of the solo circuit. Now being a rebel, I'm not going to adopt all of their obsequious behaviour but at least I'm still learning how far artists need to bend over, in order to make management happy.

 

As others have said, if you want to get booked more, find out what is working at the venues that you want to perform in. Then do what works - or do something along the same lines, but even better. In order to work as much as the top artists, you've got to provide a similar or superior product. As far as money, again on my local downtown hotel circuit it's by the hour and by the day. No extra for just one night and no discount for multiples. However, every gig, circuit, market and even season can work differently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Remember, we are all small businesses in competition with each other. You have to use whatever your strong points are to be competitive. Some will always use price, others will use a better quality product. Others go for a compromise between the two.

 

As daddymack pointed out, if you play for cheap, they will always want you for cheap. To get into a room, I find it better to give them a free night than to play for cheap. You'll make more money in the long run because if you can do a great job, you can get your price. Of course, don't give them a free night if you cannot do a great job, and only use that as a very last resort. You have to evaluate the situation and the management very carefully before trying this one.

 

Notes

 

 

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there is a tipping point when it comes to working the room, between being genuine and being a slimeball...I see it all the time. I try to err on the genuine side...but I learned the best thing is to ingratiate yourself with the bar and wait staff. Mention them by name [and suggest they are working hard and need tips...while pointing to your own tip jar if permitted ;) ] often during your show. Always acknowledge your regulars [even if they are lousy tippers], and be mindful of requests...they can be a double edged sword.

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Only once has giving a free night worked out for me, so I generally do not suggest that*; if you are willing to give something for free, it sends the message that you don't value it.

 

* better you should ask for tips plus a % of the bar take if it is over their usual. This exudes confidence without seeming arrogant.

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If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don't hoard it. Don't dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.

Brendan Francis

 

Never... ever suggest they don't have to pay you. What they pay for, they'll value. What they get for free, they'll take for granted, and then demand as a right. Hold them up for all the market will bear.

Lois McMaster Bujold, A Civil Campaign, 1999

 

Darn. Problem with quotes is you can find one to support almost any position.

 

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Matthew vii. 6

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Which leads to the subject of open mics. . . .

 

They're quite popular in pretty much every market, but too often a room wants you to use that night to audition for future gigs. I really want to tell them off . . . that playing for free, along with all the other wanna bees, is just another way to get something for nothing. They're aware that a lot of musicians don't think like businessmen - in this case, committing to a night so you can maybe get into a rotation where you play once a month, if that. You want to know what I have to offer? Here's a link to videos of live performances in other venues that didn't demand a free performance.

 

What I tell them instead is that it takes quite a bit of time and physical effort to set up and tear down my keyboard, bench, mixer, amp, stand, pedals, mic, etc. On average, I spend three hours per gig (including driving) before we factor in actual performance.

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Open mics are something else again. They are not, though, an appropriate place to audition for a gig. My experience is that they are about the host first (who usually gets the first full set) and about the regulars who, after all, will be buying the beer next week and the week after. No-one there actually cares much about some stranger. I understand that, but . . . But to ask a professional to butt into a bunch of happy amateurs to audition shows a lack of respect for both.

 

And your point about keyboards is especially valid -- you can walk up on stage with a guitar and be plugged in adequately in minutes. A keyboard, not so much.

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