Can you make a living as a gigging band???

57Deluxe

...maybe...

 Until their retirement in 2012, The Hamsters had gigged relentlessly around clubs, pubs, UK community venues for 21 years. They reckon they did over 4000 gigs as a Hendrix and latterly ZZ Top covers band.

So taking an average ticket price of £12 and approx turn-out of 300 persons per gig, that earned them for attendances only, in excess of £14.5 million. Divide that per the 21 years and again for the three members (prob straight split as no royalties) that gave *each* an annual gross income of approx £228K... OK, then less costs/tax etc... but then add-in Cds, T shirts sales etc...

Not a bad gig if you can get it!

monquixote

I believe U2 scrape by.

digitalscream

monquixote said:

I believe U2 scrape by.

True, but then they also have to put up with having Bono in the band.

carlos

The band got 100% of the box office takings? Don't think so, buddy!

Col_Decker

digitalscream said:

monquixote said:

I believe U2 scrape by.

True, but then they also have to put up with having Bono in the band.

Not worth it then

57Deluxe

georgenadaintl;126685" said:

The band got 100% of the box office takings? Don't think so, buddy!                                                                                         

I did say less costs... is to demonstrate viability as a career for a Gigging band if you can get a name...

stickyfiddle

I don't believe they had 300 people at every gig and £12 a ticket. 

Also, costs for a touring band can be brutal assuming you still have to pay for a "home" somewhere on top.

ESBlonde

The hampsters didn't carry production so PA, Mons and lights were always bought in. The promotor took a (sizable) cut. You can't organise ticket sales for gigs all over when you're on the road. You must have a new(ish) reliable form of transport that is regularly serviced and equiped for life on the road. The hamsters had a merc van with aircraft seats in the back, they employed a road manager/driver/merch salesman too.
They also worked the continent so ferry costs and times all feature into the equation.

Now think about a skilled technician that gets bounced around the UK and Europe to work unsocial hours and broken family time and irregular sleep patterns. How much would you expect that person to earn?

I think they earned OK but they certainly worked in a professional manner on and off stage.

not_the_dj

There was a really interesting article/rant from Fish last year breaking down the cost of touring...(a quick google later)....

http://fishheadsclub.com/2013/01/29/touring/

Danny1969

The stuff I'm involved in breaks down like this

Promoter sells 500 tickets at £10 a pop

Typical 500 capacity venue hire £450 

PA and lights £550

Band £1500

Support band (local heroes normally happy to do it for expenses) £200

The band and the PA outfit get their money no matter how little tickets are sold so the promoter can often outlay £2K to only get back £1.5K  or he might  outlay 2.5K to make 5K on a really good day. It's a risky old game

firepaulmusic

The way to make a living out of gigging (assuming you aren't in a name band) is to be a solo act. Around £180-200 per gig, at least a couple of times a week. The thing that gets me is that a local Elvis impersonator charges £375 for the same gig at the same venue.

DLM

Wisdom awarded @not_the_dj, the Fish blog article and its comments were a fantastic read.

When I saw the Hamsters there were significantly fewer than 300 people there, and I paid significantly less than twelve quid...

spacecadet

You can absolutely make a living. If you're good and know how to hustle. A mate of mine plays in a tribute band and they are out all over the country and across Europe at least once a week and often more, charging £4k a pop. I know someone else who just does cheesy covers but they are great. £1k per gig, three nights a week as well as 2 gigs a year in Barbados for a billionaire oil tycoon who pays them £250k. It's about being good, professional, reliable etc. several guys on the local music scene do the solo acoustic thing and earn a living. It can be done if you're a good businessman.

bluechargeboy

Good thread and good Fish link. Would like to see the same breakdown for Iron Maiden.
$-)

DulcetJones

It's a crap shoot whether you're a cover band or pushing original music.  As mentioned, the cost of travel is high, and you need to travel, people tend to stop showing up if an act plays the the same venue night after night no matter who they are.  The busiest cover band I played in managed about 65 gigs a year and was the envy of all the other local bands(not for our music, but the schedule lol) and we all had day jobs.  None of is could have survived on what we made in the band.  If you are pushing original music you can earn some royalties from playing your own music live at registered venues and stand a chance of getting royalties from radio airplay.  As also mentioned, going solo can be lucrative.  I gigged quite well as a solo instrumental guitarist for almost ten years and built up a reputation that got me lots of private gigs at weddings, banquets and the like.  I was making between $150.00 to $400.00(85.00 to 225.00BPS) per gig playing a mix of fingerstyle music from classical to renditions of pop songs plus some original songs.  I released CD's during this time and just barely made the cost of production back but some of my original songs got airplay(2 were in rotation for 6 years on a cable service as well) but I still had to teach at a music school to make ends meet.  Eventually I tired of the constant struggle to book enough gigs, and keep enough students and went back to the "real job" world.  Now I happily tinker away writing and recording whatever I want and write long posts on forums(!).

Danny1969

Interesting thread 

There seems to be a difference in what covers  bands can earn geographically ....  which I suppose is to be expected. A in terms of " make a living" is depends on how much you need

A top covers band will generally make roughly £1200 \ £1400 per gig in my area, and they are generally 2  x guitar with vocals,  bass and drums with maybe one guy switching between guitar and keys. That gives each guy in the band £250 and there's enough over to pay the engineer and run a van etc. You can get as little as 3 gigs a month to as much as 10 gigs a month so if you can live on £1250 ish a month you can make a living. 

mike257

I'm trying to.  I think making a living from just being in one band is a real risky business though, and a stretch.  I'm playing in a function band that are getting close to 40 decent wedding bookings a year now, another (just started) covers band that are doing smaller pub/club gigs and lower end functions and just launching an acoustic duo with the singer from one of the bands.  On top of this I freelance as a sound engineer with local venues and PA hire companies, have recently started doing PA installation work and I drive/tech/tour manage bands in my big van too.  I'm always always skint.

I think you'd have to really love being involved with and around music for the sacrifices and compromises to be worth it.  I left a steady but increasingly oppressive job with the support of an awesome missus to do this but it's caused lots of stress and tension for (and between) both of us, particularly in the months where work has been thin on the ground.  It's not enough to be a good musician, you have to be a businessman and continually seek out opportunities to earn, and you have to be prepared to play anything or take any kind of work because despite your best efforts no band, gig, residency or venue is guaranteed to be around forever, especially at the moment.  I love what I do with a passion and I'd hate the thought of going back to a 'real' job now but I certainly contemplate it every time I'm weighing up which bill I'm putting off paying for the month so I can do the food shopping!

Danny1969

@mike257

I know the feeling, there were times I was so skint I literally couldn't afford to put fuel in the van or strings on the guitar. It got better but it's taken over 2 years

What helped me is having a central hub in the studios, they come to rehearse, then they come to record, that can lead to engineering live shows and fixing their gear. Originally when we started the studios we thought we could make a fortune just recording bands so it's only been sheer luck rather than any clever business acumen on my part.  

RocknRollDave

Another +1 on the Fish link - Fascinating article, his honesty is refreshing.

I've moaned as much as the next guy over the price of concert tickets these days, but seeing how it is broken down, the things that have to be paid for that you wouldn't expect (e.g. having to pay out to  PRS for licensing his own tracks. OK he gets it back but minus a fee..), and moreover the risk these bands take on in hoping enough people will turn up to the gigs..
Must be a frightening, "seat of your pants" life.

And yes, I know there are bands out there that, even in today's marketplace with its significantly moved goalposts, are coining it in royally....but it does make you wonder how the smaller fish in the pond get by.

One example I always come back to is the band Therapy? Not knocking the band at all - cracking band, seen them several times, own the albums etc etc - but how does a band like Therapy? that doesn't have a high profile, doesn't sell a large number of records manage to keep the band running? I saw frontman Andy Cairns do a solo show in Birmingham last year, he drove to the gig himself, only had a couple of acoustics, had his guitar tech in tow (played on a few songs too) and sold a few CD's at the show. That is about as low cost a cottage industry as you can get within the music industry, but even so I doubt he'll be buying a home in the Bahamas on the money he made..

ESBlonde

There have been a number of has been bands just doing the club/holiday circuit for decades after one or two hits. Eddison Lighthouse, The swinging Blue Jeans, The Ivy League, the Baron Knights that earned a living being permanently on the road doing club and holiday resort gigs after their hey day. More recently Eighties artists have had something of a reassurance with the likes of Shiela Ferguson, The Osmands, Aled Jones, doing a similar thing but probably not so full time over here. There are the revived careers of Go West, Haircut 100 etc also making money again from music but others have long since resorted to proper jobs like that bloke from dollar selling burgers in Brighton.

There are a lot of good tribute bands doing well out of the mums and dads entertainment and dinner shows too.

There is an interesting article on the BBC (Emp does the links so well) about some 80s stars having huge presence for shows in Belgrade in Serbia.

kelvinburn

Very interesting reading. Also "What happens in Aldershot stays in Aldershot" by Reuben is worth a watch.