Originally Posted by
clash67
ok I have read everyones threads and would firstly like to thank everyone who has stuck up for us, and I understand the point that K Dragon is trying to make however let me explain the reason we are charging £6 is because the Gaels is hiring the venue, there will be entertainment provided by two established bands both of which will have expenses, time of work,wages for the doorperson, travel, advertising etc. both bands will have to load a ton of gear into a van cart it to the venue and set it up on Sat afternoon when most of you will be enjoying a pint downtown, sitting down to a nice lunch or perhaps are at work (for which you obviously get paid).
We will then spend the next two hours sound checkin to get the best quality sound we can for the audience. After which Dead Grateful will perform two forty five minute sets followed by the Gaels and we will perform roughly two one hour sets...how much do we end up getting paid? Well let see, suppose 75 people turn up 75 X £6 = £450.00 which would be £225.00 per band our expenses would be minimal say £10.00 for diesal and £30.00 for doorpersons wage, £20.00 for promotional material which leaves us with £165.00 between four musicians = £41.25 per musician, total amount of hours worked (not including rehearsal time) aprox. including travel, setting up, sound check, performance, packing away, loding and unloading van = 11 hours per person which gives us a grand total hourly wage of £3.75 per hour.
Having worked hard within the music scene for over 20 some years I think that you can agree that £3.75 an hour is a miserable wage by anyones standards, but that is not all, what if say 100 people turn up or two hundred, well if that happens then we will certainly get paid better but there is the other side of that coin what if only ten people turn up? it will then be down to the Gaels to raise the money to pay Dead Grateful the agreed fee, so we are taking a risk.
and finally , I have met some excellent musicians some of whom I have tried to convince unsuccesfully to return to the music scene but will not, their reason being that they ended up taking on different jobs simply because they refuse to stand on stage and sweat it out night after night for next to nothing so they pack it in and the music scene dies a little more, but oh I hear you cry you should do it solely for the love of music..and we do but when a mixing desk decides it wants to pack in, a speaker blows or an amp has some drunk guy spill beer on it then the love of music won't pay for the repair bill (believe me I asked lol).