getting better paying gigs

nickp

We are a pretty tight outfit with a singer who can sing.  playing the usual(ish) run of indie and rock stuff.  I'd like to get us some better paying gigs on a more consistent basis to keep the guys interested and involved - the singer in particular is an actor and pro performer and he has become key to our signature sound (he views it as part of his living).

currently we do pub gigs on a monthly basis plus the odd private party.  Would like to get more private parties and biker parties etc.  Probably not weddings as we aren't (IMHO) a "function band" designed to get the mother in law and the teenagers dancing....

i'm after ideas and advice please so I can put together a cunning plan 

thanks as always

nick

spacecadet

Initially I would (if you haven't already) get a press pack together. Good photoshoot, good video, good recordings etc. Make sure your website is up to scratch and make sure you are as good if not better than the competition. It's gonna cost you some money to get this sorted but as the old saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. 

The next step is approach a few agents. They will have the contacts and get you better gigs and you go from there. You need to go to them with a ready made package and an indication of how much you want. If it's £200 a man, find out how much commision they take so you know if you're aiming too high or not for the area.

If you need an indication of how good you may or may not be, it's always worth entering a battle of the bands. If you don't win then you know you have to do some work. An agent will usually be fairly frank with you though. If you suck, they will tell you. 

Also, don't discount weddings. I dep for a few bands as well as doing my own band. I have done more weddings with a rock/ indie outfit than with bands doing the dancy stuff. We can command anywhere up to £2k for a 4 piece for a wedding. 

not_the_dj

nickp said:

 biker parties 

I my experience these never pay that well. Good fun and usually great crowds, but not big payers.

nickp

thanks for replies so far . given that pubs pay about £200 between the five of us I think getting £100 each to £200 each would be a good target (to put it into perspective).

Danny1969

The corporate stuff tends to pay the best. That can be anything from a Tesco regional sales award at a New Forest hotel  to a massive Estate awards in Central London. The nice thing about those kind of gigs is that they are often on a Thursday so you can get a good earn on that and then you still got your Fri and Sat for an earn as well. The last one I did hired a 20K comedian to host the event and spent £14, 000 on wine so they didn't think anything of hiring a 1.5K band

We never have had a press pack or agent, we kind of just drifted into better money by asking for it to be honest. A lot of bands don't get good money because they don't ask for it .... they just accept that's what a venue pays and live with it. Then there's an element of luck, you can do one good gig and make friends with the right people and from then on you can get some really nice work. 

Don't rule out wedding work, we play Radio Head, Smiths, Manics, Van Halen, U2, Stereophonics, KOL at Weddings, never played Mustang Sally at one yet! There's people who will want your indie rock at their wedding rather than the usual fare, there's a market for everone

Production is important, all the big earners I play with have very nice PA's with dedicated sound engineers mixing and generally showing the band in the best light. You have to sound really good and a bit more produced than a typical pub band if you see what I mean

RocknRollDave

not_the_dj said:

nickp said:

 biker parties 

I my experience these never pay that well. Good fun and usually great crowds, but not big payers.

this. But, on the grounds that more gigs is always better, no harm in going for it. Best bet, in my experience, is getting in touch with bike club secretaries, Facebook should be an easy way in...you'll need, as ever decent audio/ video samples to get anyone to take a punt on you if they don't know you, and be prepared to play a crap daytime slot to a tent with three hungover bikers in to get your foot in the door but once you're in there's a lot of scope for rebooking/ other rallies from fellow MCCs that spot you etc.

ESBlonde

Some of the best gigs to suit your style tend to be referrals and so being seen in lots of pubs rather than just two or three tends to pay dividends eventually. The cards/press pack/web etc. all count.
You have some good advice already. Another consideration is ask yourself what your unique selling point is? If you don't have one get one and sell it, everyone remembers the great band with ***** (insert hat wearing guitarist/keys player in a mask/singer sat on the PA stack/drummer with balloons in his kick.Blah blah....)

jd0272

not_the_dj said:

nickp said:

 biker parties 

I my experience these never pay that well. Good fun and usually great crowds, but not big payers.

Yer correct. Absolute hoot though, and can usually safely take the kids (and Mrs, obv). I love 'em.