New speakers - they sound great.

[modulusman]

We don't do weddings, because around here the DJ has that trade locked up, and between bridezilla and learning disposable songs the DJs can have that end of the business. That said, I do play second weddings for those not interested in all the ceremony.

 

Here is my area of Florida, the market is either the clubs corporate, or the senior market (yacht clubs, country clubs, retirement developments, and so on).

 

The clubs don't pay anything. They no longer book 6 nights, and the average will not pay more than $100 per musician no matter how good you are. We do one club lunchtime on a week day, and have been doing that for 10 years. It's an exception to the rule, but we bring in the biggest crowd of the week (on a weekday) and get paid accordingly.

 

We have an agent who feeds us corporate and "Indian Casino" gigs, but even though we are on her first call list for those, they are few and far between around here.

 

We did cruise ships for 3 years, the pay was OK but not great, but food was included. After 3 years we had enough and after a few years in the club scene we could see where it was headed around here so we drifted to the senior circuit.

 

Most of our gigs are yacht club, country club, and retirement developments, and these people are extremely frugal with their money. Some of the thriftier ones have gone to those Karaoke Jocks who buy karaoke tracks and sing along with them. We don't play the el-cheapo places, but the KJ's put other singles, duos and trios out of work that used to take those jobs making the competition for the better gigs more fierce.

 

That's the reason why we haven't been able to raise our rates since the 1990s. We have a lot of steady clients, some of which have been hiring us for decades, but we are already priced higher than all the other duos in the area, so upping our fee would not be a good idea.

 

Counting for inflation, that means our real income is slightly less than it was 20 years ago. But my house is paid for so I have no rent, just maintenance.

 

And that's why <$1k a pair speakers are expensive around here.

 

But they are worth every penny.

 

Notes

 

Ten years ago we were getting a $1200.00 guarantee for 1 night at a bar we play at. One night because of a packed bar we actually we paid over $1700.00. Now days when we play the bar which is maybe once or twice a year we get a flat rate of $800.00. We have raised our rates on are weddings and private events.

[Notes_Norton]

Good for you. I'm glad you found a niche. It's good to hear of a musician making money.

 

I don't like doing weddings though. They used to be fun when times were simpler, and bridezilly wasn't sold that this will be the best day of her life, and if she didn't outshine all her peers she would banished from civilization forever.

 

That makes for too much pressure. Not that there aren't good ones mixed between the bad ones. And I'm really not into playing a lot of EDM and don't want to be a DJ.

 

Second and third weddings are OK. They have a 'been there, done that' approach and a 'let's just have some fun' attitude.

 

But without weddings, I've paid off the mortgage on a house 300' from the east coast of the mainland of Florida, taken vacations in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, and am in zero debt with the exception of car payments.

 

That works for me.