Members agedhorse Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 I just got off the phone with a production assistant for a very popular country group. She was saying thier FOH guy makes about 100k/year. He also works for a bigger sound company in his off time on top of that. He's only 27 and works pretty hard. I've seen sound guys that just walk in for soundcheck and the show... and don't help load in or out. She tells me those guys are called "white glove" guys and they are few and far between now days. I don't think I could handle watching people working while I stand around anyway. She also mentioned she knows for a fact that Aerosmith, mainly steven tyler once offered a guy 10k/week because he wanted him so bad... They guy didn't really want to work with them, but he took the gig. Good stuff. Jay, I'm going to hint that there's a little bit of BS going on here. First of all, A P.A. isn't going to know what the FOH makes and even if she did she sure as heck wouldn't tell YOU (somebody who is not on an intimate basis with the band organization) whet he makes. Either that or she is well on her way to making career ending decisions. That's not how it works on tour, not with acts at that level. Other people's pay is one of the forbidden subjects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drummer_jay Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Jay, I'm going to hint that there's a little bit of BS going on here.First of all, A P.A. isn't going to know what the FOH makes and even if she did she sure as heck wouldn't tell YOU (somebody who is not on an intimate basis with the band organization) whet he makes. Either that or she is well on her way to making career ending decisions. That's not how it works on tour, not with acts at that level. Other people's pay is one of the forbidden subjects. That info came from the FOH guys mouth. They're not just on the same tour, they're friends. This is one reason I'm not meantiong names! This PA started off with "Poison" and moved her way up. Has worked in that capacity for a few big country acts (garth brooks) and before her current gig, she was on the elton john/Billy Joel tour. She let me know a rough figure, nothing concrete and said he works for sound image when not on tour with his main gig. He is probably an exception considering he's working for one of the highest grossing tours... but it's nice to know it's possible if you work hard and you're good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Well, ok. Loose lips sink ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drummer_jay Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Well, ok. Loose lips sink ships. I tend to agree with almost everything you post. In this case, I think it's an issue of nonimportance. I think she'll continue to move her way up and will soon be THE production manager for a solid tour. She's a friend of mine, passing on info from a friend of hers. She spends a good chunk of time with the guy as well as other crew members, so money does come up. I don't see where in todays modern age of the internet, text messaging and salary research websites how sharing salary info can cause big time issues. I'm assuming most mature people on these tours realize their role and that combined with thier experiance they are paid "X" amount. I can easily view almost any artists rider and going rate... knowing what the average joe winding cords takes home per week should not be a big deal! I do agree it's not professional to discuss pay in most company enviroments...but it's gotta happen at some point so you can ask and receive a fair rate? It's no different than asking a local band what they pay "x' sound company... armed with that info you can adjust your asking price accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Sure you can see "published" artist riders and rate cards, but you do know that most gigs do not transact at the card rate right? In fact, many contracts make confidentiality part of the contract. That causes some problems where public agencies are buying the acts, but that's how the world works. Just saying that this kind of thing, from my experience, is not the kind of thing that anybody in the professionthat I know would like being made public or talked about with somebody else. YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drummer_jay Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Sure you can see "published" artist riders and rate cards, but you do know that most gigs do not transact at the card rate right? In fact, many contracts make confidentiality part of the contract. That causes some problems where public agencies are buying the acts, but that's how the world works.Just saying that this kind of thing, from my experience, is not the kind of thing that anybody in the professionthat I know would like being made public or talked about with somebody else. YMMV Yeah, I'm aware of this. I've kept names out of it just for that reason. People in or around the bizz deserve to know what others make. Perhaps not from thier own inner circle. I only relayed the info here to further the convo. She's a pro, and I'm sure if I was on the same tour and asked, I would NOT be told. I know acts such as Martina McBride ask for 250,000 and sometimes she gets more, someimes less. 220,000 to play a small town in Iowa is still good money! Especially when the yearly festival has to bring in an even larger roof system to accomadate her video and pa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dangordan Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Apply for the gig and you'll find out how much it pays. If you're single and have the opportunity to go on a major tour, do it. It'll be worth the experience if nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drummer_jay Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Apply for the gig and you'll find out how much it pays. If you're single and have the opportunity to go on a major tour, do it. It'll be worth the experience if nothing else. True! It's not that easy considering you often have to leave current commitments and give fair warning in order to do so. To get picked up on a good tour, you've got to be ready to go at the drop of a hat. I'm not willing to leave current commitments and wait for the call unless I have atleast a rough estimate of what I can expect to make. Having a good time but coming home empty handed=not worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dangordan Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Wasn't recommending for the good time, more for the experience, working relationships and door openings. I had the impression that your goal is A circuit FOH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted February 5, 2010 CMS Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 jay, be careful.....you've posted enough details about that salary for someone here that knows the situation to figure out who you're talking about. I'm purposely not quoting the post in case you want to delete it. PM me if you want it thoroughly cleaned. FWIW, even at this early hour there are 41 guests lurking this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 jay, be careful.....you've posted enough details about that salary for someone here that knows the situation to figure out who you're talking about. I'm purposely not quoting the post in case you want to delete it. PM me if you want it thoroughly cleaned. FWIW, even at this early hour there are 41 guests lurking this forum. Exactly what I was hinting at. You and I are old enough and experienced enough to have seen this train end up at an unintended destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drummer_jay Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 I'm not worried about it guys. She's not in a supervisor position over the guy and he offered his salary info freely to her. She's not getting this info from payroll or anything that can be seen as a violation of her duties. Maybe it's the new younger wave that doesn't hold such a big cloud of secretcy over thier pay. I'm not hiding what I make a year, if someone wants to know I'll tell them. Things change with the times, and with facebook, myspace, text messaging and email, what was once taboo to talk about is everyday conversation. I don't see how anyone involved on that tour or company would come to the conclusion it's person "a" or person "b" based on what I've said. Anyway, looks like this thread has came to a halt. Some good info in here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted February 5, 2010 CMS Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 jay, the issue isn't with people not wanting their salary made public...that's obviously easy enough to maintain...don't talk about it. It's EMPLOYERS who don't want to divulge what they are paying. It causes big problems for them. Many have strict policies against this. So the guy tells her, she tells you, you post it here, and someone lurking sees it, connects the dots, and the guy is out looking for a new gig. And Facebook, MySpace, etc. have become ripe grounds for employers to discover who's saying what. Jobs have been lost, careers ruined, and some never get off the ground at all, just based on indiscretions posted to teh interwebs. I've already seen one regular here have major grief over what he posted here being seen by a coworker. It happens. But the choice is yours. Sleep well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drummer_jay Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 I've had enough experiance working both in the corporate world and the music bizz to understand why you guys are throwing up the caution flag. This guy isn't going around telling people his exact taxable income. He's giving a ballpark figure and I'm pretty sure when you reach his level, you can wear a shirt with your salary printed on the front and back and be safe. The point is, if you're good, work hard, you make good money. What exactly that person makes should not be a problem. Like I said, it's old school thinking. Look at pro sports. All thier salary info is public info. If it wasn't, how do you know what to hold out for? How do you know what's fair and whats a slap in the face? No one from that tour or company have the time to be on here... And most would probably be board considering they have thier hands on 3 million dollars worth of pa on a daily basis! I get it... I just choose not to live walking on egg shells. If my employer doesn't want me telling people what I make... Tell me and ask me to sign something.. otherwise, "unspoken understandings" don't fly with me. Once again, I get it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted February 5, 2010 CMS Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 I just didn't want to see you get screwed over this. You assume the guy told her openly with no restriction. Maybe so, but you got the info third-hand, and maybe he told her in confidence, and reading it posted to a music industry forum might be the last thing he wants. I wouldn't want to be anywhere in the neighborhood of that. This isn't about you divulging your salary...that's your perogative. It's about "whispering down the lane" about someone else's salary. If this turned into an issue for the guy, your reputation in the business could be hurt. And for what? And to be clear, I'm not trying to talk you into or out of anything, just discussing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drummer_jay Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Ok... I'm a pretty professional person...not to stupid either. If you would have been a fly on my shoulder during my convo with her... AND also knew our relationship.. THEN knew her reputation... THEN knew his reputation, you'd understand why I'm not worried. Elton John/Bill Joel role with a very deep and large crew, so do other major acts. No one's going to be pinpointed by what has been said here. --DEBATE MODE-- (off) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.