Joe's Bar

"Live Band Saturday Night"

Thirty people showed up and spent 40 dollars each. That is $1200 total. Lets say Joe is a super business man and made 50% gross profit. That is $600.

What would be a reasonable amount for Joe to pay a band?

I sometimes play with a local south Florida band in the keys. There are generally 300 to 400 people at one of the gigs. Tips alone are around 200 to 400 dollars. We get paid very well because the club/restaurant makes enough money to afford to have a band. We also play our own original music for the most part. Some covers and most anything that someone request if we think we can play it well.

There are many tourist there, so we are not playing to the same people every time. They are on Holiday and have money to spend.

What they want is to be entertained. We are not in the music business. We are in the entertainment business.

Everyone in the band sings and everyone plays drums, guitar, bass, and keys.

We don't drink at the gig. We come there to work and make money. It is a business.

Are we a really good band? Well, yes we think so. On most nights at least...lol

I think we make better money than many bands because we work harder.

We are also very fortunate because everyone in the band likes one another and supports each other,so there is never any "band drama".

I will say the better paying gigs are corporate gigs.They pay anywhere from $2000 to $5000. They are a ton of work to get and to play. Many times requiring learning certain cover songs we don't know.

I think it will only take another 10 or 15 years for us to get good enough to compete with the big guys. If we are lucky...

If you want to make music be a music man. If you want to make money be a business man.

No one ever said it would be easy!!

“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”