Photo of the Day
Shoutbox

midwestsurfguy: Merry Christmas!
333 days ago

sysmalakian: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
326 days ago

SabedLeepski: Surfin‘ Europe, for surf (related) gigs and events in Europe Big Razz https://sunb...
287 days ago

SHADOWNIGHT5150: I like big reverb and i cannot lie
220 days ago

SHADOWNIGHT5150: Bank accounts are a scam created by a shadow government
220 days ago

sysmalakian: TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!
207 days ago

dp: dude
188 days ago

Bango_Rilla: Shout Bananas!!
143 days ago

BillyBlastOff: See you kiddies at the Convention!
127 days ago

GDW: showman
78 days ago

Please login or register to shout.

Current Polls

No polls at this time. Check out our past polls.

Current Contests

No contests at this time. Check out our past contests.

Donations

Help us meet our monthly goal:

48%

48%

Donate Now

SG101 Banner

SurfGuitar101 Forums » Surf Musician »

Permalink How much to charge for gigs?

New Topic
Goto Page: 1 2 3 Next

After learning that most of the surf bands from the fist wave used to get paid regularly for gigs at dancehalls …

do surf bands still get paid for gigs? If so what is the average payout for a band with a 30 minute set?

I know that dancehalls don’t exist anymore, but bars and clubs do….

I guess it heavily depends on country and even city/district, your level of popularity, season, specific venue or event and a lot of other factors. There is no common world rule. We usually charged some $100-150 for 1 hour set in Kyiv and were pretty happy with it but I am almost sure that it’s not the case in your country. But we were always paid, sometimes not enough even for beer, food and taxi, but paid)
Also 30 minutes set is possible only on some joint parties or fests with several bands and even in this case I would say it’s 45-60 minutes.
For a solo gig in pub you need at least two hours program plus some ready to go covers when the crowd wants to go on)
When you have it and you know that people are coming to see you and to dance and drink - then you may approach pub or club owner with your offer. Surely it differs in price when you are new band or you are Daikaju, Satan’s Pilgrims or Messer Chups.

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

Last edited: Jul 09, 2023 15:10:25

We've mostly done local surf promo gigs and take what's put in the bucket for a 45 minute set. Last time I think we netted $112 in NYC.

On regular gig front, not much happening in Maryland for surf music or any real original music. At least not on the Eastern Shore/Annapolis.

When we are a 4 piece doing 2 sets and throwing in vocals we charge around $200, which is probably cheap.

Surfcat

NEW - MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS (Released Oct 17, 2024) - Agent Octopus
YOUTUBE Video - March of the Dead Surfers NEW

AGENT OCTOPUS - BANDCAMP](https://agentoctopus.bandcamp.com/)
SPOTIFY LINK - AGENT OCTOPUS - SURF

Last edited: Jul 09, 2023 11:47:25

For the Denver metro region, the Royal Aces charge anywhere from $300 to $500, depending on the gig and the length of time we have had a relationship with that particular venue or event (this charge is for a two- to three-set gig). We have been very fortunate to get a large number of gigs, which range from bars, to private parties, beer brewing companies, and great car shows.

We accept no gigs that are "a percent of the door"...we found very quickly that those kinds of gigs would typically result in the band getting about 15 bucks. We're not trying to pay our mortgages with gig money, but we do enjoy getting $100 or more per man.

Last edited: Jul 09, 2023 13:17:53

As folks have suggested, there is no average. We’ve been paid anywhere from 2 beers to $1000 for a gig. Many venues are in very tough situations but talent must be compensated - even if the payment is in drink tickets.

Jonathan the Reverbivore

The Reverbivores

Please check out our latest album The Reverbivores Watch TV!

www.thereverbivores.com
Facebook
YouTube

Last edited: Jul 09, 2023 13:23:46

Urban Surf Kings base rate is usually starts at $500 for a set. Rarely do we play for less, unless it is something special, and makes sense to us. We are playing fewer clubs now, so we can ask for more. Club rates certainly did vary, but our aim then was $300 at the very least (1 set).

In our early days, the above rates were not reflective of what we were paid (only very occasionally did we get that much or more).

Rev

Canadian Surf

http://www.urbansurfkings.com/

I've not been in a band with a paying gig since the 80s, so can't speak to current rates. But I will say that in the US, places really should be paying at least $400 per set. Bands are providing the entertainment, which helps attract customers and keep them in the place and drinking (ideally). For a four piece band, the time spent setting up, doing a sound check, playing, breaking down, and loading back plus waiting around could be a minimum of 4 hours and possibly more.

That's like $25 per hour, and some of that goes to expenses like gas, parking, new strings, etc. When bars and clubs are charging $12 for cocktails and $8 for beers, they've certainly got the profit margin to pay the entertainment a fair wage.

What if a venue hires a band,
and 3 people show up.
how much should they get then?

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Last edited: Jul 09, 2023 20:22:40

bigtikidude wrote:

What if a venue hires a band,
and 3 people show up.
how much should they get then?

A venue where only 3 people show up probably isn’t doing any better the other six nights of the week either and shouldn’t be hiring a band, but if you want to be in the business of hiring bands, you should be willing to pay that expense regardless of who your venue pulls on any given night. The band shouldn’t be expected in any way to compensate the venue’s operating expenses. If you can’t pull more than 3 paying customers, you’ve got other problems you need to address before wasting a band’s time.

J

Last edited: Jul 09, 2023 20:54:34

I’ve seen clubs here in so cal that will have between 50-200 on a Friday
Or Saturday night, then a surf band on Sunday. 5 people

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Last edited: Jul 10, 2023 01:16:29

My normal band charges $500 per show
But since we live in Oklahoma and people dont even know what surf music is in this state when we do our surf band we just tell em its punk and charge $200 for gas and tolls

bigtikidude wrote:

I’ve seen clubs here in so cal that will have between 50-200 on a Friday
Or Saturday night, then a surf band on Sunday. 5 people

So you see that Sunday is surely wrong day for any shows) Even Monday is better!

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

I caused a **** storm on The Gear Page when I started a thread similar to this a while back. I ended up deleting it, as it was causing me stress in real life. I am going to keep my personal opinion on this subject to myself. Having said that, I am glad to see some of you guys getting paid really well to do surf gigs!

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New Singles "Finish Line" and "Paradiso" on Bandcamp and website.

bigtikidude wrote:

What if a venue hires a band,
and 3 people show up.
how much should they get then?

From my experience bands are generally hired by bars to sell more booze. There are exceptions, of course. If you have an agreed upon price with the bar, then it should be honoured. If we have a relationship with the club, and played there often, we can work something out. So many factors can affect attendance. We’ve played nights where everything seems to be in place for a big crowd, and it doesn’t materialize. On the flipside, we’ve played nights that nobody seems to be out (storm, etc), and the place is packed.

Canadian Surf

http://www.urbansurfkings.com/

Last edited: Jul 10, 2023 09:09:09

bigtikidude wrote:

What if a venue hires a band,
and 3 people show up.
how much should they get then?

Around the DC area there were usually a few different scenarios. Very important - COMMUNICATE WITH CLUB OWNER/BOOKER WHAT YOUR CROWD DRAW RESPONSIBLITY IS.

I've played gigs where the club would have open slots for less proven acts and pay per fan, or % of door/booze. These were usually the smaller clubs in Arlington & Alexandria, VA.

If the owner is paying you to entertain and not draw a crowd, that's on them. Take the money and move on. A lot of new club owners start trying different events and days/times to see what might get someone into their club.

So most important, make sure your expectation and the booker's expectations have been discussed.

Surfcat

NEW - MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS (Released Oct 17, 2024) - Agent Octopus
YOUTUBE Video - March of the Dead Surfers NEW

AGENT OCTOPUS - BANDCAMP](https://agentoctopus.bandcamp.com/)
SPOTIFY LINK - AGENT OCTOPUS - SURF

This good topic is highlighting the fact that there are basically two types of venues:
1) Bars that want the band to bring in a large number of people, and pay is based on turnout.
2) Bars that always have a good crowd because people know it's a fun place that always hires good bands; these joints have a guaranteed pay amount.
We only play at the second type. Bands that are willing to play at the first type have a tough job in terms of bringing in a large number of people, because there are too many factors which can affect the size of the turnout.
It would be fun to sit around a table with other SG101 bands and talk about this issue!

There is a reason so many clubs are having tribute bands, they draw well.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

I'll add two more things:
First, most bands spend quite a bit of time promoting themselves through social media, flyers, etc., no matter which type of venue they are playing. So they are doing a lot of work to promote a given show and the venue. Back in the day, this involved making flyers and posting them all over the place. So this is added labor that sees little compensation if a venue is paying less than $400 or $500. If the bar or club is not actively promoting themselves and their entertainment such that they don't draw much of a crowd, that's on them.

Second, there's the issue of supply and demand - there are lots of bands out there (of many genres) looking to establish themselves, and many are willing to play for peanuts or even for free for the exposure. This gives bar and club owners an option for cheap entertainment on what they know are slow days, and they get the bonus of the bands doing the promotional work for them. A major downside of this is that this depresses the pay that other bands could get, even when playing at packed places on Fridays or Saturdays. The venues think "we can get those guys for $200, so why should we pay you $1000?" This might not be a big deal for musicians who just see this a hobby or side gig, but a lot of those musicians out there are professional level or close to it, and deserve to be paid well for their work. And of course, anyone doing all that work deserves to be compensated fairly for their work.

And on a side note, here's a relevant song by Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIo7eTS-2PI

edwardsand wrote:

Second, there's the issue of supply and demand - there are lots of bands out there (of many genres) looking to establish themselves, and many are willing to play for peanuts or even for free for the exposure. This gives bar and club owners an option for cheap entertainment on what they know are slow days, and they get the bonus of the bands doing the promotional work for them. A major downside of this is that this depresses the pay that other bands could get, even when playing at packed places on Fridays or Saturdays. The venues think "we can get those guys for $200, so why should we pay you $1000?" This might not be a big deal for musicians who just see this a hobby or side gig, but a lot of those musicians out there are professional level or close to it, and deserve to be paid well for their work. And of course, anyone doing all that work deserves to be compensated fairly for their work.

So true ... and that can also work the other way.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away I lived on an island where there was a lot of local talent, but they were all calypso and soca bands. I played in the only "rock" band (classic, and current covers) on the island. We played 2 nights a week (2 different clubs) at $600.00 / night. And on special events like New Years we'd get $3k a night. It was a fresh batch of tourists every week, so you could play the same set every week and it never got old.

Those were the good old days. Although I'm not gigging much these days, there certainly is a lot more supply than demand where I live now.

Goto Page: 1 2 3 Next
Top