General Music Chat

How much do you think a local cover band should get paid for a four hour set. I am talking a good band playing whatever mix of popular (radio played) rock?????

Like anything else: what the market will bear. If you're in an area with a lot of bands, the amount will be less than an area where there's not as many. That said, $400 is probably an average, with some bands making less and a few making more. I know of one band that charges a minimum $1000 a night.

Depends on the venue. Beer bar or night club? Road house or big city? Will the band draw?

If you know any bands that have played the venue, ask them what they were paid.

Around here $400 is also pretty standard. If you have more than 4 musicians you have to make the cut smaller. There are just so many gigs and far too many bands fighting to get them. Unless you are known to have a dedicated following.

Between $400-$600 IME. It does depend on a few factors. But if you're a relatively new band, you may have to take a couple of $200 gigs.

And here's how I handle those:

I'll take 'em for the first few bars for the first few shows. Once the band establishes that it can make money for the bar I tell 'em $300 or we don't play. They usually pay it. Then every few months I jack it up $50-$100 until I reach what I think we should be getting in that bar or they say "no". If they say "no" I generally won't play there anymore unless there is some other factor making it worthwhile (in which case, I've probably stopped increasing my fee in any case, so mostly it means the band doesn't play there any more).

If you're getting a lot of $500 gigs, walk away from the $400 ones. If you can get $600, don't do the $500 ones. But don't assume you can charge $600 out the gate and get it. But don't, Don't, DON'T take less the $200. There are some bars that will only pay $200 to a band which is an unknown quantity, IME, but once they go below that it pretty much means they aren't ever going to pay you what you're worth.

And, FWIW, that $200 threshold might be a bit higher where you are. I very much doubt it's lower.

"But don't, Don't, DON'T take less the $200."



There is another reason not to take chump change. You are cutting the throats of every other band in town by working cheap.

Around my area the big cover bands (which are damn good at what they do by the way) get somewhere between $750 to around $1,100 for a four hour set. Just as the other guys have stated though, there's many other factors involved.

I did the cover band thing when I was a kid, so all I do now is original metal. In our case, we've already been offered an hour slot for a four band show and would make $500 for that hour. Depends on where you're at and what type of crowd that you can draw as well...

thanks guys I am thinking like $400 should be on and then you are able to charge more as you draw more. I agree with aiki_mcr. and I am talking venues with a max cap. of 300-400 poeple. So thats medium to small size bar, club, whatever.

In our area for a cover band we get $100 per person and if I'm supporting an artist I get $200 per night plus meals and lodgings

thats not bad meals and stay over plus $200 I hope the food is good and you drink for free