| Information
about rock music in the UK
Getting paid
to play
An aweful
lot of bands play at small venues for small
fees: pubs, small music venues and halls.
Sometimes these hire bands direct and pay
them. But its not uncommon for band nights
to be organised by promoters.
These small
venues frequently have limit capacity:
say, between 50 to 100 people. That limits
the bands who can play and it limits the
value of the ticket take.
At the GYBO
Showcase nights for example, our venues
have a 100 person capacity. We sell tickets
on the door for £3, an average price for
rock music gigs in Leicester.
That means
that even with a totally full house, the
total budget is no more than £300. Out
of this you have meet promotion costs,
sometimes PA hire and what is left over
goes to pay the bands.
If you do
just two bands a night and both of them
want to be paid, then that might mean that
each band gets something like £125 at most.
It sounds
good but that is with a full house. Most
gigs attract far less people - it possible
that with only a small ticket take, the
two bands will barely be able to cover
their petrol costs.
Bands who
bring all their own equipment - including
a vocals PA - will be able to benefit the
most, because there are no hire overheads.
If your
playing a venue some distance away from
your home base, the venue or promoter will
often ask you how many fans you are likely
to bring with you.
In some
cases, the venue will want you to sell
tickets in advance, or will insist you
bring 20 or more fans with you. If you
don't do that, the chances they will not
pay you.
Your band
is a business
Some of
you just play for fun. Some of you play
when you can but don't ever want to do
it full-time. A few bands want to be full-time
musicians, gigging for a living.
What your
situation, your band is a business. First
off, it costs you money. You have to buy
instruments, equipment, you have running
costs like transport and strings, you have
to hunt for gigs and publicise yourselves.
Secondly,
if you want to play gigs fairly often,
you needs to keep a diary, plan ahead to
be in the right place at the right time
and do hundreds of other things just to
keep doing.
If you're
earning money from playing, then the tax
man will be after you. You should be keeping
accounts, however simple.
You might
even be able to get a grant to help you
to get started or to keep you moving ahead.
There is
a lot to learn about being even moderately
successful in the UK music industry.
Get Your
Band On is learning new things every day.
We try our best to keep our bands informed
and to be good at what they do - not just
playing but also earning their keep. Radio
The BBC
web site has lots of information about
the rock, alternative and indie scene.
See their guide to rock
and alt. You
can also find useful stuff on Virgin
Radio.
Or, try
the Rock3
Radio Network.
Magazines
Kerrang!
Mojo Magazine
NME (New
Musical Express) Q
4music
Rolling
Stone
2-4-7Music
| 