toxic_tone
120 posts
May 26, 2011
2:37 PM
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this is the deal... i play at this small drought house called harpers ally. its me and my friend larry. he plays guitar i play harmonica. he does all of the singing. to my point we host karaoke on wensday and open jam night on thrusday we got paid 30 for karaoke night( today is open jam at 7pm. we split it. i gave hime extra 5 for gas. now there were maybe 10 people there that stayed and sang till about 1am we started at 7pm.
in yalls opinion should i just take what i can get? we have a gig friday pays dinner 30 each plus tips. what should i do how can i get more money am i worth more mon
Last Edited by on May 26, 2011 2:41 PM
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Gig74
57 posts
May 26, 2011
2:49 PM
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Hey toxic,
That's not the best hourly rate, even if you couldn't play and had no talent they should be paying you more than that. If it's work you need to get paid a reasonable rate.
However if it's pleasure and you enjoy it despite the low rate, keep on doing in and have fun.
In my opinion (I've been learning for a year)from your help me vid, I think you're entertaining and would be more than happy to walk into a bar and find you playing there.
Greg.
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Living the dream and learning the blues one little trouble at a time.
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colynjames
8 posts
May 26, 2011
4:10 PM
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Get into a bigger club that can support a larger base pay and more frequent tips. Small local places are nice, but if it's usual to have around 10 people closing out the place, that really doesn't help your tips. You can try asking for more from management, but the likelihood is that they can't or won't give much more for local talent unless you are bringing in your own following.
If you actually are in it to make extra money, you should probably move on to a gigging band that has a draw. There are still a lot of bands out there that don't know the value of adding a harp to the group. Bands don't like to split cash up even more, but if you start jamming with some guys, chances are that they will see the advantages, and you'll see some more cash for less work.
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nacoran
4147 posts
May 26, 2011
4:13 PM
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What Gig said!
That said, maybe there are some ways to make more money at it. An open mic near me used to pass around a tip jar to tip the hosts. They also got a cut if the register made more than a certain amount for the night. I know at that particular venue the hosts drummed up a ton of business. It was always finishing 1st or 2nd for best open mic in the region polls. I'm betting that probably 2/3's of the place's weekly sales came from open mic (and on a Monday no less.) Of course, a new owner came in and screwed them over, but it was fun while it lasted.
Another open mic I enjoy the host is just finishing up his own recording studio and uses the open mic to make connections and spot talent. Karaoke could work the same way. You could use it to find people to do side projects with.
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MrVerylongusername
1695 posts
May 26, 2011
4:31 PM
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never underestimate the power of a pretty young lady when it comes to passing round a tip jar
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nacoran
4148 posts
May 26, 2011
6:10 PM
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And seed a tip jar! It's an old trick, but if you put money in a tip jar people are more likely to put more money in it. I used to work door to door collecting for a charity and we'd leave a few checks from other people visible on our clip boards. If people see a few pieces of foldy stuff in there they are more likely to assume that they are supposed to put foldy stuff in the tip jar, and at least feel guilty if they don't put something that jingles in. It really works.
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Nate
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toxic_tone
121 posts
May 27, 2011
7:40 AM
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well i the owners of the bars are the ones that run the whole place. they are kinda friends to me n my girlfriend. but i think they are trying to take advantage of us because we are nice ppl. they have been there for about a year. the bar is really really nice. and somtimes they have a huge crowd of like 50 or more ppl. anyway it is close by my house and i guess it is good practice but i dont want ppl to think i work for nothing. thanks for ur advise everyone...
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hvyj
1405 posts
May 27, 2011
11:52 AM
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You set your value when you book a particular gig. Agreeing to play for ridiculously low compensation (even if you are just doing it for fun) and then expecting to renegotiate upward sends the wrong message because you have so grossly undervalued your performance at the beginning. The owner has been given the idea that you work cheap and are not worth much to start with. But to get paid well you've got to draw an audience.It doesn't have to be a big crowd--a steady crowd that comes and goes but spends $ all night is just fine since it rings the owner's cash register.
On the other hand, there are some gigs that are worth doing for cheap because of the promotional value. But those are the exceptions.
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toxic_tone
125 posts
May 27, 2011
12:08 PM
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i c. that makes sense hvyj. in my opinion i t think they get enought people but like u said i already sold my self cheap so there is no coming back from that
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good to know tho for next time
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