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Author Topic: And they're back.....  (Read 2609 times)

Brian Jojade

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Re: And they're back.....
« Reply #10 on: June 16, 2021, 07:45:30 PM »

Standard mileage rate according to the IRS is 56 cents per mile, which typically represents the true average cost of driving.  Now, that's generally for passenger vehicles. Larger vans may end up costing even more than that, but it's an easy rough number to work with for budgeting purposes.  If the jobs are 2 hours away, at 60 miles per hour, you're traveling 120 miles one way, or 240 miles round trip.  That means just the empty vehicle getting there and back has a COST of $134.40.  That's not including ANY labor involved.  Even at minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, that's $29 windshield time.  So now your minimum cost to get there and back is $163.40.  There is absofreakinglutely NO way that $175 is a viable amount for that.

Your quote of $350, just to show up is still not that great either for that job 2 hours away. After you factor in the mileage, that leaves you with a net pay of $186.60. 4 hours in the car, 1 hour setup, 4 hour show and 1 hour strike means you're putting in a 10 hour day minimum.  That's only $18.60/hr, assuming no expenses (and not counting taxes).  That's crap pay for specialized work.



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Brian Jojade

Mike Monte

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Re: And they're back.....
« Reply #11 on: June 16, 2021, 07:54:51 PM »

Got a call today from a guy looking for sound for his band. Living in the most restrictive county in the most restrictive state, it has been quite a while since anyone called about live sound....

So the band apparently plays 4-5 gigs a month and wants a dedicated sound guy. Gigs are spread out over a pretty large area - so probably 1-2 hours driving each direction for many of these gigs. He claims he has 5-6 guys who bring their own gear and only charge $175/gig. I told him $350 was my minimum to show up, and that's if I don't bring any gear. He understood but here was the interesting part.....

He claims the venues have cut their pay to bands in half since before the pandemic and everyone is getting squeezed. Not surprising, and I told him good luck and no thanks. Fortunately my guitar students put enough dough in my pocket that I don't have to play this game. I really feel for all you that do.

Let's see: two hour commute to-the-gig, arrive two hours early to set up, four hour gig, one hour to break-down / load out, two hour drive back...that's 11 hours....for $175.....and also provide the gear.......

It sounds like this band is "kicking tires" shopping around for the lowest price - it's business.

I, for one, will not take a sound gig for less than what it would cost me to find a replacement.....  Things out of my control could happen....  If I'm dumb enough to take a low-ball gig I'll have to eat a more expensive engineer's fee to get it covered.

A good friend of mine (who is an outstanding engineer) techs a (local) band that pays him $225 cash.  The band unloads his truck, puts everything in place, runs their own mic cables.  He wires-up the rest of the rig and it's up'n running in short order.  At the end of the night the band members load everything out and pack the truck.  He never breaks a sweat.

Would I do it for that $......probably not....  He says that it is a good diversion from all of the local theater work that he does...

 

 
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Steve-White

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Re: And they're back.....
« Reply #12 on: June 17, 2021, 12:42:56 AM »

^^^ Many times it's load truck too, and unload at the other end, no way that would come in under a full 12 hour day.
« Last Edit: June 17, 2021, 12:16:29 PM by Steve-White »
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Mark Scrivener

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Re: And they're back.....
« Reply #13 on: June 17, 2021, 01:31:08 AM »

Your quote of $350, just to show up is still not that great either for that job 2 hours away. After you factor in the mileage, that leaves you with a net pay of $186.60. 4 hours in the car, 1 hour setup, 4 hour show and 1 hour strike means you're putting in a 10 hour day minimum.  That's only $18.60/hr, assuming no expenses (and not counting taxes).  That's crap pay for specialized work.

Agreed. $350 is my minimum to show up in the local area and just twist knobs.....no load in or strike. And that assumes it is a short show.


But good to hear others are seeing a robust market. I've been more focused on my guitar students and I'm doing fine, so I only take the gigs (playing or sound) that I want to do....which typically means some combination of nice place, nice people, great music, and great pay. In my experience, bar band gigs almost always fail every one of those categories.

Mike Monte

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Re: And they're back.....
« Reply #14 on: June 17, 2021, 07:20:27 AM »


But good to hear others are seeing a robust market. I've been more focused on my guitar students and I'm doing fine, so I only take the gigs (playing or sound) that I want to do....
You sound a bit like me when I was 22 through 30 years old; 40 (yes forty) private students per week, gigging most every weekend..... but I was also a full-time public school music teacher....

Back then (in the 80's) there was no direct deposit of my school pay so the joke in my school was that the secretary always had to remind me to pick up my check.....I paid my expenses from my lessons/gigging, thus all of my school pay went into savings...
I was rolling in $ (although I was busy) at that time....it was an excellent musicians' life. 

btw: The music/gigging back then (in my area: Boston/Cape Cod) was swing, jazz, dixieland, horn bands, ballroom....fun stuff to play (except for ballroom zzzzzzz).
   
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Mark Scrivener

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Re: And they're back.....
« Reply #15 on: June 17, 2021, 05:14:45 PM »

You sound a bit like me when I was 22 through 30 years old; 40 (yes forty) private students per week, gigging most every weekend..... but I was also a full-time public school music teacher....

Back then (in the 80's) there was no direct deposit of my school pay so the joke in my school was that the secretary always had to remind me to pick up my check.....I paid my expenses from my lessons/gigging, thus all of my school pay went into savings...
I was rolling in $ (although I was busy) at that time....it was an excellent musicians' life. 

btw: The music/gigging back then (in my area: Boston/Cape Cod) was swing, jazz, dixieland, horn bands, ballroom....fun stuff to play (except for ballroom zzzzzzz).
 

wow! 40 private students plus full-time public school music! Yikes! Yeah, one would def have to be in their 20's or early 30's for that. I'm mid/late 50's.....about 30 private students (mostly 1 hour per week), but I make a short drive to one of the highest priced zip codes in the country and teach in home lessons, so the rate is absurd compared to what I could get anywhere else. Teaching pays the bills and the rest is to keep me entertained and challenged.

ProSoundWeb Community

Re: And they're back.....
« Reply #15 on: June 17, 2021, 05:14:45 PM »


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