I like the idea of paying the bands a % of any profits if it’s a new event where organizers aren’t sure how profitable the night is going to be, or putting a cap on wages if the night doesn’t draw in much money. Night’s a success and everyone wins, but if the event organizer doesn’t make a profit then they’re not too much out of pocket.

That said, some times money will need to be invested in bands, even if profit’s not guaranteed. After all, any business venture is a ‘risk’, but you still need to invest to see if it can work in the first place. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes you end up losing money.

Thanks again for your input.

When I put on bands, it was because in my area, it was predominately a pay-to-play set up. The overwhelming majority of gigs where Battle of the Bands where you had to pay an entry fee, sell tickets (at best getting back a tiny percentage of ticket money that wouldn’t even cover the entry fee) and the winners were always the band that brought the biggest crowd. I was so thoroughly fed up with not only having to pay to play but to also play in atmosphere’s where you were actively wanting the other bands on the bill to be terrible so you’d have a chance at winning that I decided (along with a friend) to start my own gig nights.

The problem we encountered was that we lost money on pretty much every gig night we ran. The bands, on the whole, were good and after a short while we had a reputation for putting on good nights but we had to rely on ticket money to generate any income. Problem number one was that while the average punter would gladly hand over three pounds for a pint of lager they wouldn’t pay more than a fiver to see a gig night which included three or four bands and a DJ playing until 3am.

We offered the bands a cut of the ticket sales. How much depended on the bands but usually it was something like an equal cut if all the bands were local and of similar standing or if a band was from out of town and/or a bit more established, they’d get a bit more. We tried our best to make sure the bands were looked after and supplied dinner and a few drinks for them too.

In the end though, how much they were paid depended purely on how much the night made in ticket sales. As much as the idea of paying bands a proper wage appropriate to their talent appeals, the money has to come from somewhere.

There’s also the running costs of organising events. We were lucky at the start and had people who would work for free but that only lasts for a few events and if you’re doing this as a regular thing as I was, staff have to be paid. The person in the ticket booth deserves compensation for their time and the sound engineer needs to get money for the hard work they put into the night too.

I haven’t even mentioned the costs of making sure the equipment works! Replacement mics and leads have to be bought (if you’re in a band that thinks its cool to throw mics to the ground at the end of your set then stop it right now. It’s not cool, you’re being an arrogant ). PA equipment has to be maintained and upgraded if you’re serious about putting on the best show you can and then you also have to factor in promotion costs.

So while musicians deserve fair pay, it should all be taken in context. If you’re on a support bill for a well supported act and are playing to medium or big venues then you should expect decent pay. If you’re a wedding band or playing covers in a pub then you should expect decent pay. If you’re playing originals for an independent organiser that’s covering all the costs, expect to get a fair share of what’s available even if it’s not much. As long as the organiser is transparent with how the money is distributed, of course.

A final point in this longer-than-I-expected post. As a band member, I found that a good way to generate income that will allow you to play gigs and not be overly concerned with pay is to play paying cover gigs. Those gigs paid for our recording costs as well as not making us too resentful about doing the unpaid original gigs. It also brought us a few extra fans as people would stop and chat to us after the gigs so we could tell them about our ‘proper’ band.

Payment of musicians isn’t fair but sadly it’s a situation that’s been around for a very long time and will probably continue to be the norm for a longer time to come. There are ways to make it work for you so it’s possible to make the best out of a bad situation.

A lot of people are predicting the same future you are, guess we’ll just have to wait and see if it gets there.

The event organizer on the other hand will make a lot more, regardless of who brings the people into the show. These are the people who make enough money to pay the acts a better wage (And who have the biggest say in how the show goes down), and who the article is aimed at.

I’d say that if you’ve got a load of songs under your belt, maybe hold back with investing in recording new ones. Instead, market your current music more to those that haven’t heard it yet. It’ll be cheaper to do, and it’d build up more of a fanbase who you can make money off in future.

Spending money recording etc without a fanbase with the potential to make money will keep you in the red for longer then you need to be, so give the marketing side a bit more of a push. Good luck. 🙂