How much would you charge for showing up?

[Ryan.]

Meaning, the set up is already there, all you have to do is control sound for the evening. (I don't mean to make it sound like this task is going to be simple, I just mean you won't have to load, unload, plug in, unplug, turn on, carry, lift, tape down... etc)

 

One night. Maybe 7 pm to midnight?

[Mogwix]

$100-$200 is typical for club gigs.

[Vinny D]

In my area the typical *Walk-In* where all you are doing is moving mic's around on stage and powering up the system $75-100 is tops.

Again, this is your typical bar/club venue not a large auditorium or concert venue.

[modulusman]

We sometimes hire a soundman to briefcase the gig. We pay him about $100.00 a night.

[kmart]

In my market (Chicago), you can possibly get by with paying someone as low as $100, but not if they are known as being any good at what they do. I have a good friend who is an excellent engineer, and if I use him, my 'buddy deal' price is $100-$125, and that's been for soundcheck through a single set only shows...

 

Any less, and he be better off spending 10 minutes looking to pick up an extra shift at any of the clubs he's regularly booked at where he'll make 2-3 times that (at least) for the night.

[Dogoth]

As you can see it depends on where you are. I'd want to get between $100 & $150 for a soundcheck and babysitting (I MIGHT do it a little cheaper for friends on an off night). As it is I rarely freelance anymore but occasionaly my buddy gets double booked and hits me up for help.

 

That's about what I get (I had to pass on $350 for the day last 4th because my regular job had something booked (the Casino I work for puts on a pretty good fireworks display & we do music on a street stage)).

[BillESC]

Not less than $ 90.00 per hour with a 4 hour minimum. Hey, when I owned a BMW, the mechanic charged me $ 75.00 an hour. Sound is harder.

[JohnnyGraphic]

 

Not less than $ 90.00 per hour with a 4 hour minimum. Hey, when I owned a BMW, the mechanic charged me $ 75.00 an hour. Sound is harder.

 

 

Be glad you don't own a Bimmer anymore. It's considerably a lot more these days! That's why I've started to do my own maintenance/repairs (simple jobs).

 

Johnny

[TimmyP]

Much depends on the city one is in, his reputation, and the kind of money the band is bringing in. Around here, if one has any chops at all, he does not leave the house for less than $100. In in some places and/or for some people, offering only $100 would be a grave insult.

[MainEventSound]

I mix at 2 churchs every other Sunday. One of the churchs is 2 miles from my house. I charge them $80.00 for three hours. The other church is 20 miles from my house. I charge them $125.00 for 2.5 hours. I'm satisfied for usually doing nothing on Sundays.

[bigjeffjones]

Is it a Blues Society jam? Do you want to be bothered? Do you have a reputation? To me 5 hours as a "favor" is $125...twice that if it's a big gig.

[MainEventSound]

It's not 5 hours total. Church "A" is 3 hours. The next Sunday, Church "B" is 2.5 hours.

[BillESC]

Why not look at the average - $ 37.27 an hour. Beats minimum wage.

[Mike M]

My fee is $125.00 (local) to babysit a rig (line/sound check/mix) four hours total. My fee to setup / line check / with "house gear" is $150.00 ( five hours).

 

I gig mostly with my own gear thus I do not "tech out" on a regular basis...

 

Mike M

[BillESC]

 

My fee is $125.00 (local) to babysit a rig (line/sound check/mix) four hours total. My fee to setup / line check / with "house gear" is $150.00 ( five hours). I gig mostly with my own gear thus I do not "tech out" on a regular basis... Mike M

 

 

Mike,

 

With the numbers you've supplied, the easy gig pays $ 31.25 an hour and the tough one $ 30.00 per hour. Am I missing something?

[Craig Vecchione]

$150

[gehwokka]

It's really hard to come up with pricing for music related work - one has to consider what the market will bear, your own time, distance from the club, etc.

 

I built a simple tool a couple of weeks ago for musicians to use to help them estimate gig costs - it'd probably work for estimating sound reinforcement gigs too. If nothing else you could use it to "backwards engineer" your rate by inputting the going rate in your area - then you'll know your own hourly rate.

 

In the case of MainEventSound, you're getting $24/hour for the first church, and over $28/hour for the second - not bad if you ask me.

 

You can check the tool out yourself if you'd like:

 

gigcalc.gehwokka.com

 

I hope it's useful to anyone in the music business - I spent over 15 years playing in bands and I never - EVER - felt like I was getting paid what I was worth. This tool is my way of helping others avoid the same...