HELP! Corporate gig?

[rim]

We're a cover band and we've just been doing bars and private parties but we just got an e-mail for a corporate gig. No one knows the people involved so we're not sure how they got our name. It's a construction company so we're not talking a huge corporation and it's for the boss' birthday party so I think it's more casual than say a holiday party.

 

Any advice since we've never done one? I'm asking how many people they expect, if they will provide a PA, if the venue is indoors and outdoors and if there's a dress code for the band. Are there other things I should ask? Would supplying a rider be appropriate/expected?

 

We are in the Northern Virginia/DC metro area and so is the gig. Anyone have suggestion of the going rate for a two-hour show?

 

Any tips/advice would be appreciated. I would like to respond to the e-mail today if possible.

 

- Rim

[GCDEF]

They won't provide a PA. Don't even ask.

 

Ask about what type of music they want

How many people

Whether it's casual or formal. You should know how to dress based on their answer.

The size of the room.

The size of the are you'll have to play.

Whether adequate power is available.

Schedule of events. Music, talk, dinner, speech - etc.

Can you get there early to set up.

What kind of volume.

Should you be entertainment or background music.

 

Going rate depends on a lot of things. How big is your band? How good are you? What type of sound system do you have and how much will you need to bring?

 

I've never had a rider or even a contract, other than emails that spell out what we'll deliver and for how much.

[rim]

Great suggestions!

 

Originally posted by GCDEF Going rate depends on a lot of things. How big is your band? How good are you? What type of sound system do you have and how much will you need to bring?

 

4 people: female vox (some gtr), bass player, drummer and me (gtr/keys/some vox). I think we're good but if you're talking about established, no, we're not anywhere near the top in our area although we've been together for 7 years now. We have a 1,000 watt PA (Carvin) with two mains and two monitors so we usually setup 666W for mains and 333W for monitors.

[tunz4all]

I'd have to say that the Northeast is probably very similar to your market area, so here goes:

 

I have no idea what your personal minimums are, but after 7 years together, try to figure out what that minimum would be for your band based on your history, quality, and what other bands in your area are getting. (it can't be that much different than metro NYC). 'Buying a band', so to speak, is alot like buying anything else (the economics of bars and nightclubs are excluded here. We all know how THEY work)-----people generally compare, UNLESS they get a very high recommendation (such as, 'you just GOTTA get such-and-such band---they are FANTASTIC!!!', or a recommendation from a reliable source. Our band is very reluctant to play for any less than $150 per person, (this would be for a smaller private party, but we don't care what kind of gig it is), but on occasion we do it if we think we can get something else out of it and it all feels 'worth' it.

 

With the cost of gas, gear, hauling the gear, vehicle maintenence, and just the cost of LIVING, it's tougher and tougher to keep any band afloat. BUT, we feel we offer the quality, experience, the sound, etc, etc, etc to justify our numbers. For a 'smaller' private party, we may, and you could, bump the $150 down a bit (but just a little!). On the other hand, weddings and larger private parties here can fetch $350 per man and UP, but that's usually for 4 hours. A 2 hour gig, to me, takes almost the same amount of time as a 4-hour gig ----- you have to stop what you're doing, shower, get ready, load the gear, pick up members, drive to where you're going, do the gig, load up, drive back, drop off members, hopefully eat somewhere along the line, and on and on, so we try to stick to our minimum numbers.

 

Sounds to me like you were referred by a former happy customer or someone that must like your band, no? If I were you, I'd try to negitiate for more hours for more money (again, 4 hours is pretty typical for a private party), fewer hours for a little less than, but near your absolute minimum. 4 hours, say, for $250 each, 2 hours for $150 each--------I'm sure you get the drift. Anything less than $150 per man around here, and it starts making less and less cents (pun intended) to do it. We're pretty comfortable that 'ya get what ya pay for'.

 

Hope this helps a little.

[Tedster]

What GCDEF said...especially "what kind of music?" Boss' birthday party? What sort of music does the boss like? Surprise birthday party?

 

I dunno...I'd say plan on being real quiet and playing a variety of stuff.

 

And, like Tunz4all said...getting a deposit is a good idea, and sign a contract stating who is responsible for payment and any terms of payment.

 

Yup, you bring the PA...unless you want them to bring their kid brother's karaoke machine with a Mr. Microphone. That's a PA to most non-musicians.

 

Let us know how it goes, Rim!

[BlueStrat]

Yeah, we did a corpoprate gig once where they said the "pa provided". Turns out the 'PA' was a mictrophone on a podium coming through ceiling speakers! Fortunately, I suspected as much and brought my pA.

[GCDEF]

Originally posted by rim Great suggestions! 4 people: female vox (some gtr), bass player, drummer and me (gtr/keys/some vox). I think we're good but if you're talking about established, no, we're not anywhere near the top in our area although we've been together for 7 years now. We have a 1,000 watt PA (Carvin) with two mains and two monitors so we usually setup 666W for mains and 333W for monitors.

 

That PA could be pretty much anything. I'm a little puzzled though. How could you be together for 7 years and not know what to charge for a party? After that amount of time, I'd assume you were pretty good. I'd go for $800.

[fingerpicker]

There is already some great advice here. Two things I would add:

 

1)A simple written contract makes sure both parties are on the sam page. Yoou should make one and keep it on file. I use them for any one nighter type gig. Do a search here on harmony central and the web and you'll find several generic ones that will do just fine.

 

2) Call me optimistic, but they did contact you so I would start at a higher price. This isn't a bar gig, and private functions weddings, etc pay quite a bit more. (at least where I'm at)

 

 

[fingerpicker]

Hey I just re-read your post and saw its only 2 hours! Go for $800 and then put down(in your contract) that the band will be willing to play extra (per 1/2 hour) at _____rate.

[rim]

Thanks for all the good advice.

 

I sent out the e-mail with all the questions this morning and asked for $900 and we bring our own PA - no response yet. I discussed with the band and our minimum was $800 total so I figured $900 was a good amount. We'll see.

 

As far as not knowing what to charge after 7 years, most of our gigs have been private parties for groups we're involved in and at least some of our payment is covered with a barter system (like we get into the event for free plus some cash). Or charities, in which we don't charge anything or very little.

 

We don't gig much because it seems hard to break into this area without a booking agent. We've discussed getting with a booking agent but we didn't feel like having to drive 3 hours on a Tuesday night to play for four people (which we figure would be our gigs for a while until we get more established). We all have day jobs so none of us are relying on gigging to support ourselves. We just like doing it.

 

We're still scratching our heads on how these people heard about us. Maybe if she responds, I'll ask.

 

- Rim

[tunz4all]

Good luck---

 

After 7 years, you have experience, a track record, hopefully a good chemistry with your bandmates, and now you have a good idea what your bottom line / minimum charge is, so you're more than ready to start promoting yourselves. DO GET A basic, standard contract, which specifies price, hours-(start and end times), place, etc. We ALWAYS 'request' meals and drinks, and specify that it is the employers' responsibility to supply a 'satisfactory' area in which to perform, protected from the elements, suitable electrical power, and the right to provide subs should something happen to one or more of our members, god forbid.

 

Get a little web presence happening, some spiffy pictures and sound clips, and thar ya have it----you're in business! (I should know----I have been going thru this myself, and it's not the first time. If you have a band, you will always be pushing, selling, promoting (if you want to get ahead), right?

[Kuhnfyoozed]

There was a thread a while ago in one of the other forums about a band that almost got screwed by a lawyer who hired them to play a 4 set show. The lawyer was going to pay them 25 bucks instead of their promised 400 because they took 15 minute breaks in between sets, claiming that some national acts play for 4 hours with no breaks. Well, the guys got it worked out and the laywer wrote them a new contract stating that there would be breaks in between sets.

 

My point is that you need to write your contract with everything included, because chances are these people won't have a clue about how this works. The more stuff you write down that you might take for granted (like breaks in between sets) the better off you'll be.

[ellwood]

We to do corporate gigs all the time and have for many years and a well written contract is the key to success for you and your customers like in any business. When we first started doing corporate gigs we went to a attorney that specialized in entertainment contracts and he wrote contracts for bars/clubs, small corporate and large corporate kind of gigs. The bar/club contract was pretty close to what we had been using for years and followed the unions format for items that had to be covered by the club owners/reps. The small and large corporate contracts had specific language contained in them to address our concerns as well as coverage for our customers. The small corporated contract was not nearly as complicated and addressed a simpler kind of event/function. The large corporate contract was pretty complicated BUT it was what the legal departments at the corporations expected to see and they where very happy with how our attorney addressed their concernes. We had a very small re-write that had to be done by our attorney and everybody was happy, we have used these three contracts for allot of years. Good luck and I think you are going to really like doing the corporate thing! PS, the money for these gigs is dependent on your history of doing these kind of events, Example: When we first did a contract for General Motors Corporation and had good results, we found that when we where approached by Ford and Chrysler the good result with GM got us in the door and from then on it seemed it was like word of mouth between the entertainment directors at these different corporations, we added most of the major airlines, financial community banks, portfolio managers, metro transportation companies, railroads, engineering societies, etc. our charge for large corporate functions is $3,500.00 for a four piece act adn $4,200.00 for a five piece, on break DJ services adds another $600.00 to the contract and most elect to use that service. Hope this helps you.

[rim]

Maybe my bass player was right and they may have been looking for a band for $500 or less. I haven't heard back from them since I quoted them a price and it's been over a week. The potential customer is a roofing company and the event is the boss' birthday. Oh well. Since we all would have to take a half day from work, I don't feel bad for asking what I did. If it wasn't during business hours, we could've done it cheaper.

 

Sound advice on contracts, ellwood. I'll definitely heed the advice if we actually start doing corporate gigs.

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

 

- Rim

[BlueStrat]

If it wasn't during business hours, we could've done it cheaper.

 

 

I wouldn't. What too many prospective clients (and too many bands, for that matter) don't seem to realize is that to do their 3 hour party on Friday night, you have to give up a potential weekend gig somewhwere else. So I always charged them for a one nighter what I could have gotten for a weeekend. 800 bucks for a private party is not unreasonable.

[tunz4all]

 

Originally posted by BlueStrat If it wasn't during business hours, we could've done it cheaper. What too many prospective clients (and too many bands, for that matter) don't seem to realize is that to do their 3 hour party on Friday night, you have to give up a potential weekend gig somewhwere else.

 

 

Spoken like a true BIZNESS man. (Yup, music is a BIZNESS, not a Charity. Although it's fine to be 'charitable' for a good cause once in a while. For a GOOD CAUSE only!).

[MartinC]

Originally posted by ellwood [, on break DJ services adds another $600.00 to the contract and most elect to use that service. Hope this helps you.

 

Do you actually have a dj there or do you get 600.00 for hitting play on a cd player?

 

I'm often asked to provide break music, which I hate to do because it's one more thing to do, and I'm never paid extra for it. I think you have a great way of dealing with it-you don't do it-if they want it, you bring in a guy and charge 6 bills. Sweet!

[rim]

Just when I thought this was done...

 

We've been playing a lot of gigs for Hashers (running group with a drinking problem) since our bass player is a Hasher. He ran into the woman who contacted us for the gig at a Hash. Turns out, she never got my e-mail quoting for the gig. Let that be a lesson for me to FOLLOW UP!

 

Anyway, the bass player spoke to her and he said they didn't even seem to be bothered by our quote (he was the one who was ready to give them a discount). So thank you, Backstage with the Band folks, for suggesting a fair price.

 

And even better, they changed the gig time to start at 630pm instead of during the afternoon so most of the band don't have to take off time from work. (I still do since I have the PA - no biggie for me though).

 

So we accepted the gig. The bass player even opened the door for charging more if the venue doesnt have enough lighting.

 

Thank you, again.

 

Anyone want to share their gigging contract?

 

Rim

[bassred]

 

claiming that some national acts play for 4 hours with no breaks.

 

 

That lawyer must have bee the ambulance chasin' kind!! Most national acts play 45 mins to an hour and a half, and they take a potty break before the encore... the show might be 4 hours, but that's with an opener and stage changer-overs....

 

Good job!! Corporate gigs area different world, contracts are a must and communication with the customer to make sure you have dotted your T's and crossed your I's......... just checking you!!!

[tunz4all]

Excellent, Rim! That wasn't so bad now, was it, asking for a fair and honest wage? See how EASY it is??

 

Congrats!

[rim]

Originally posted by tunz4all Excellent, Rim! That wasn't so bad now, was it, asking for a fair and honest wage? See how EASY it is?? Congrats!

 

Absolutely correct. I know there are a lot of professional gigging musicians on this forum and I have lots of respect. But it's sometimes a struggle convincing the rest of the band that the suggestions from an Internet forum really do come from real-world experiences and that it applies to us. But they're coming around slowly.

 

Rim

[b1ackie]

Company parties are great gigs and not as demanding as bars ( they like you more too). A good idea to remind the boss to have cash at the end and sign off the checque. Otherwise your pay can go through accounting at the office and 2 months can go by before the checque is mailed out.

[rim]

So we had the gig yesterday. They were expecting up to 75 people but I don't think more than 25 showed up the whole night. We were ready to play at 630pm as agreed upon and the band agreed that we'd offer to start at 7pm to give a chance for more people to show up and the company agreed. Only a few more showed up. We played our two sets and only got a few people up dancing for only a handful of songs. We've played to a more receptive crowd. I don't think we played as good because we tend to feed off the crowd.

 

I just kept thinking about the $900 and that's what kept me motivated. Oh, and there was one hottie who was dancing for a song but she left before I could talk to her. We also charged the company an extra $200 for lighting (though we only spent $50 for renting it so we'll buy our own lighting with the $150 left over). Plus they gave us a $250 tip! So we netted $1350 for the night and I was home by 11:30pm. Our usual bar gig experience is $300 for the night and you get home around 2am or later.

 

The bass player did get a contract from the Internet and changed it for us and got it signed, including when and how much we're getting paid. So by the end of the night, he had a check for $1100 ($900 gig + $200 lighting). They had given us the $250 tip in cash, which he distributed immediately to all four band members plus our sound engineer.

 

So it wasn't as much fun to play, but was definitely more lucrative. I can see how people can do this full time. We would definitely do more corp gigs, but I don't see us giving up bar gigs any time soon.

 

Thanks again, BWTB, for all the sage advice.

 

Rim