A giant ship engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars. “What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!” So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.” The man sent a bill that read: Tapping with a hammer………………….. $ 2.00 Knowing where to tap…………………….. $ 9,998.00

I was getting $100 per night in the late '70s (which is the equivalent of $350+ per night today) - and those were 5-night house gigs that usually included food, a couple of drinks, and, of course, tips. And, of course, with a house gig, you weren't schlepping your gear all over hell every night. In the 80's I was getting $150 per night for the same. On the rare occasions where I did a one-night gig, I charged at least double. The state of the business these days is sad. It is so much more difficult for you younger folks to do what we did. Further, working 5 nights a week meant you didn't have to have a day job, and playing all those hours week in and week out for months on end gets you polished at your craft, to say the least ...

I think it's a balance between understanding where you stand. My old band used to practice 20+ hours a week. We had 2 setlists in rotations, both ready to go with specific features. The journey started with 100$ shows. We were never late, always ready to play, as professional as we could be, and never acted like divas, EVER. Eventually, we got a lot more! Some included accommodations, catering, etc. Eventually, I branched off doing sessions and solo gigs. Paid anything between 80$-150$ an hour. I got there by nailing my parts within 1 or 2 takes. Who do you prefer to pay, a guy that charges 30$ but takes 5 hours of your time for 1 song or a guy that takes 2 hours to nail your entire album? I am consistent both on stage or in studio. I am not even the best. I just deliver on my word. Apply yourself, aspire to be the best, work with people but be smart about it. Knowing your worth is important, but remember that we all start at the bottom. Learn from the journey.

DON'T DO REHEARSAL FOR $100 GIGS.... THAT I AGREE WITH

It’s a real issue. I don’t accept gigs like this unless there’s no rehearsal and they are within 30 minute drive. The main issue is there will always be bands, inexperienced, unqualified, etc, who will play for less, which completely undermines the business.

Love it! 1. 60% Delivery. If you feel undervalued, you will do less work and give less effort - around 60% of your ability. This starts a cycle of undervalued/underachieved. 2. Market Depreciation: By doing cheap gigs, the amount paid to you and other musicians will similarly lower. 3. It determines your value to others. Like Apple, the more you charge, the more you are perceived to be worth. 4. Compliance and complacency: we accept the status quo we make for ourselves. 5. You feel less valuable. And therefore you become less valuable (see #1).

I have a Saturday night residence at a very old, rather legendary bar in my city. 5 musicians play for $500 total and 5 drink tickets each for two 50 minute sets. I get email transferred my $100 on Thursday, 5 days later and, numerology aside, frankly I’m happy to have it. I wish we were making more, but it’s a steady, reliable pay day doing what I love that helps supplement my income, and since I’m used to getting paid 0$ for playing originals, it’s nice to at least have my talent valued to a certain extent even for playing mostly covers. My father was a career musician, he played 5/6 nights a week in the 70s/80s making more than I make at my unionized job now, but those days are gone. Personally I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking $100 for a gig as long as they’re not blatantly taking advantage of the artist with overly long set times and a refusal to treat them to complimentary drinks or food.

My thoughts on this video: I like this video and I dig Terence Fisher and how he conveys his points. I don’t mean to start any negativity with presenting my thoughts, I just wanted to contribute and share how I see the points made. Making a living with music is not quick or easy. There is a lot of work involved in building your brand, making connection, expanding your reach, and understanding the specifics of the market you are in. This is all before you even touch your instrument! The description given for the $100 gig is (metaphor of a gig that under minds your value): - 2 weeks from now - 1 rehearsal - 2 to 3 day lead time before the rehearsal - Set list 30 songs, know 10 to 12, sort of heard at least 3 or 4 others (because you’ve played so long) - Need to practice or shed 20 songs - Average it takes 20 minutes to shed a song, to at least get through it - 20min x 20 songs = 6 ½ hours round down to 6 hours - 2 hour rehearsal = 8 hours - 4 hour gig = 12 hours - Drive time (average drive time 15 minutes) = 15 x 4 = 1 = 13 hours - Minimum wage For me, I only run into the above described gig conditions maybe 2 times a year. That’s perhaps 4% of the number of gigs I do. There are other factors related to taking these kind of gigs. Maybe I just like playing with all those musicians and we never get a chance to play together. Maybe I like playing that specific music but on regular gigs that specific music is never called for. Maybe the gig and rehearsal are so close to another gig that I already have that day, it just makes sense to do the gig because of quantity of work in a given day. 5 reasons to stop doing gigs like the above 1. 60 percent delivery phenomenon = poor work ethics and poor mind set a. I believe that every gig should be treated as an opportunity to present your product in the best light possible b. Work ethic shouldn’t be dependant exclusively on money. c. If you feel that a gig is not worthy of your time, I do agree that you should say no! 2. Market depreciation - set market value for yourself and for other musicians a. This completely avoids the challenge of having a market that both includes professions (people that make money to pay bills via gigs) and others (people that do music for fun and don’t care about making money) b. Also, the action of refusing $100 doesn’t set the market value, the market sets its value. c. If other musicians charge more, perhaps they need to tell the client the benefits of their product and how it may differ from the $100 musician/band 3. Determines your value to others - price that you charge is a huge determining factor on how people see you (Apple as an example) a. I agree with this point, however, to me it doesn’t peel the onion enough to explain why Apple can charge way more then other companies with similar products. Apple has brand recognition which it obtained over decades of hard work. They have influenced the market to a point where the market is willing to pay the prices they set because they are a mainstream product. There are main stream musicians. I wouldn’t compare myself to mainstream musicians and wouldn’t model my marketing strategy to main stream musicians. 4. Compliance and complacency - this is how it is a. A small business owner or trades person doesn’t base pricing on what happened in the first few years and leaves the pricing there. There is an evolution of how pricing is set depending on personal life developments (starting family, purchasing car, buying better or more equipment, etc.), experience gained, and connections made within the industry 5. You yourself start to feel less valuable - don’t feel appreciated a. This has more to do with attitude in my opinion and finding ways to stay positive. As a musician I have found that I need to realize that not everything is positive. Sometimes I feel lonely, sometimes the conditions of a gig before hitting the stage are frustrating, sometimes the length of time to get paid is annoying. I had to find a way to deal with these negative emotions and conditions. However, I have always put forth my best effort regardless of how much a gig paid. Do I feel better when a gig pays $400 vs $100? Sure I do, but do I use the excuse of a gig paying $100 to justify a lack of effort? Never, it totally devalues you and you never know who will sit in the audience of your $100 gig that might give you a higher paying gig.

I started turning down crappy gigs and I have much fewer gigs now because the rest of the musos around me are compliant and complacent like you say. It's not gonna change the situation in general around here if only a few of us push back. They can always get somebody to do the gig for next to nothing. The upside: After a few months of feeling weird about being free on a Saturday night I don't mind having less gigs b/c I wasn't getting much money for them even when my gig calendar was brimming. The bread and butter was always teaching, and my life always felt frantic. I have more time to compose, I have more time for students, and I can spend more time in studio and do other things and hang out with my friends instead of working on weekends. There are some exceptions also. I will play a crappy paying gig if I think it's a real opportunity. But just cranking out the old tired covers ONE MORE TIME for the same old people & with the same old people..... Nope.

Some very good points for sure. As a working bassist I have also done this math. For $100 there’s no rehearsal, tunes I already know and have played a million times. There are exceptions to every rule, IMO, but I get where you’re coming from. For sure.

I think the main point here is you have to count the costs. Count up the assets and the deficits to see if it is worth your time. If the gig pays $100 and you spend $200 in gas, then the $ might not be right for you. If the gig pays nothing, but gives you the exposure you need, then maybe the $0 works for you. Count the costs people...tangible and intangible. #DavidsHouse

Good stuff bro!

in theory this guy makes so0me sense but in the real world most cannot follow his advice unless they want to quit playing frequently or even much at all. the real world usually doesn't work out like this preacher is preaching. if your really valuable as a player, good stage look and very professional to work and have a good attitude you will be more likely to get calls and in a better position to get more money but the average musician that shows up in cargo shorts with a pedestrian stage look, not prepared musically and doesn't carry a professional attitude will usually not be worth more than the lowest amount. you become "WORTH MORE"...when you "ARE MORE". PERIOD.

like someone else pointed out on this thread. If it's close and no rehearsal required then $100 is not bad. I played a gig yesterday for $80. One hour, no rehearsal, show up and read. Took just over 30 minutes to get there. Easy. If it's a case of a four hour gig, three rehearsals for the week leading up to the gig and your pay is $100 plus snacks then no that's not worth it. I used to play with a cover band years ago that had a ton of potential for corporate gigs but the band leader was doing it "just for fun". We played one of the Livermore wineries on Labor Day. four hour gig, we brought all the sound and an engineer. With travel, setup, gig, and tear down it became an eight hour day. How are these numbers? 7 piece band, eight hour day, pay was a case of wine and $100. I don't drink. It was outside in 100 degree heat and no water or food provided either. The caterer understood and offered us food but when I asked the band leader if there was water for us he said "um, we're getting some wine later". There are so many out there who are doing it "for the love of music" and the sad part is they look down on the rest of us for expecting to get paid.

I get the sentiment, and I agree with it, but this is the real world. Most of the musicians I've met, and most of the opportunities that have come my way were there because I took $100 gigs. Also most musicians have an inflated view of their own value. When I was coming up, I was "the man", but once I started touring the world, I realized that there are a million guys that are "the man". I was just one of them. You need to swallow your pride and take those gigs, otherwise people won't hear about you nor will you keep getting calls.

Answers 1, 2, 3, and 5 No. Ans. 4. Yes. (Compliance & Complacency). Selling yourself short means nothing.There are too many mathmatical variables on both sides to be certain. Owner expenditures vs. Band indiv. member situational expenditures. Ex. The most generous playing situations never stayed in business long enough to continue.

All Truth Bro! Excellent Sir! I’m 2 years new to TX and From my perspective this is a epidemic here. It’s just as stated in your vid. The 💩 undermines advanced working pr players like me. What really kills me is that people/ the customer/ church/ contracting party goes with the lowest price. People still don’t get that you get what you pay for

I took a gig for $100.00 to play two songs I already know. I don’t mind doing those kind of gigs.

Terence, i agree 100% with your comments. I am a pro drummer and i remember making $100 a gig back in the 80's! the wage has not gone up because Musicians under value themselves, there are always crappy bands that will take the low pay and Club owners are cheap and dont care about band quality they care about food and alcohol sales! If a crappy cheap band brings in their friends and their friends spend money they are happy. It's always about money and never about the music sadly!! Where i live in Ontario the music scene is especially bad!

I'm from new york city.. if my band makes $100 a head that means the venue or buyer is paying about $1,100 most venues in the city won't pay that much for any band unless they have a great draw over +500 to +1000 people so few of the known bands in the city can do this but not all the venues capitalize on this by opening places where musicians can play but they have to basically get the club paid first then they have some room to negotiate how much they get. now as a hired musician performing at a wedding or corporate gig it's easy to earn much more than $100 but the problem with those gigs is that they often pay late and require a w9 or to send an invoice and the back and forward with the people in charge of getting you paid on time. (almost always impossible) my approach is this i try to build relationships with people that i work with and i don't take random gigs my friends ask me to do because what i see is if the regular guy they get can't do it they will definitely try to undercut whoever comes in as a substitute.. the worst experience i've had was the entertainment company paid this wedding band like 1/3 of what the people organized the wedding put up and they stole the rest. we only found out when the manager reached out to the couple after a few weeks and found out what we should've gotten it was infuriating for everybody

Bottom line is younger generation does not dig live music. They’re rather go see some clown DJ. Until that changes gigs will be few and far between. Less demand less money.

I completely agree with this gentleman's view point. I perform in a Top Notch 10 piece tribute band with full sound system and light show all state of the art. Collectively we have at least 325 years of music education, knowledge and experience on stage. Most non musician people have NO idea what it takes to perform at a high level in any band let alone a tribute band. Many. many times people offer us $500 for a gig and they think that is ok. I try to explain to the customers the amount of skill, production costs and entertainment value we bring to there venue of event. They dont get it. They think we just do this as a hobby and have not spent most of our adult lives perfecting the skill to play music as I said at a very high level. But they will accept paying a plumber or electrician $125 to $200 per hour to install and or repair something in their home. Granted the plumber or electrician deserves the money for their skill and experience so why doesn't the pro musician or even semi pro musician deserve the same respect and fee? My point here is the general public now in 2019 doesn't respect high quality musicians and bands the same way they do for other trades and skills. In the 70's a good musician could make easily $250-$400 per night on the weekends for a club gig or wedding gig. Now you're lucky to get $50 for the same quality of music at most local clubs. Sorry for the rant but this is reality for most local acts and I don't mean HACKS I mean solid top notch excellent players and bands. But the public they will plop down $250 per ticket to see many so called Pro acts that are lip syncing live or just plain suck. Peace Out!

I'm trying to transition to higher paying gigs which will involve developing a tighter act: broadening my songbook, getting material tight, press kit, etc. Something that really resonated with me though on this video was that your price point value determines your psychological value towards the gig. I've gotten a few well paying gigs ($300 and up) in the past three months. Psychologically I was up in spirit and preparedness for those gigs as opposed to my lower paid one's. It's true it is a self fulfilling cycle that you can get stuck in.

You make some really good points, and the stagnation of working musician's wages is a big problem. But at the end of the day, if I didn't take low money gigs, I wouldn't get to play any gigs. Americana singer/songwriter here, and for me in my area (NW Indiana) a 4-man band getting $100 a man is an above-average payday. If I'm doing a full band gig or a duo with a lead guitarist, chances are I'm only taking home $75-80 for the show. If I do a 3 hour solo acoustic set of mostly covers I can get away with charging around $120, but those kinda sets absolute death. But when I'm going about booking gigs, and when I actually get a response from a venue, if I'm asking for anything above my standard rate I just don't hear back from them. Am I supposed to just sit at home, not booked and not paid, satisfied that I'm not settling for less than I'm worth? This really feels like a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation.

❤ This is true. When I was in college taking a web design course my professor warned us all not to do a $100 dollar website. For all the same reasons you just stated. It's the same with my job as a network engineer. It's difficult, stressful. Yet I was over a barrel and had to work cheap. I felt horrible about myself. I also knew that I was helping to kill the market for my colleagues. Now when I'm asked what I want in terms of salary, I don't lowball it. I ask for a decent wage. That makes my employer value me more. It also puts a cushion between me and imminent poverty. Thank you for the great video!

As a Los Angeles booker, what I've found is that the people doing $100 gigs are worth $100. When you make yourself more valuable - learning to read, write, mix, produce, arrange, and compose music - you get more work for real money then you can handle. It's like any business - the more you know, the more your bank account will grow. Commercials, movies, cartoons, video games, corporate jingles - there's tons of work and only a relatively small group of people are getting the gigs. That's because they're the only ones who can handle the full package and producers are looking for the path of least resistance. Your points are spot on, but telling them to stop taking those gigs when that's all they're worth will have them out of the music biz, and more frustrated than ever. Cream rises to the top.

Great insights. This is the exact same thing that's talked about among photographers. But the insights you're bringing are things I've never heard discussed among photographers at the same level of organization and depth that you're doing here.

This video could be really applied to the construction industry. When i was in it i worked for less than $100 a day most were at the exact $100 mark i made a joke about it the other day to a friend who is still in the construction industry and he said they at least get $200 now so at least in the last 10 years they doubled down. This is a great viewpoint and great video awesome job Terence!

Yes, that kind of money is an insult, however musicians will ‘always’ accept that and less, because they just want to play. It will ‘never’ change.

Amen!!! :) Wow, this is huge!! This is a really really insightful and incredible video! You really made me stop and think a whole lot and I really appreciate you reminding us about all this. I am realizing lately that I suuuuper undervalue myself as a musician and singer. I love how you said accepting little money for gigs makes other PERCEIVE you as not valuable. Wow, so true! But also, not charging much makes you perceive YOURSELF as not valuable. What a huge and important concept. I will probably have to watch this a few times for it to really sink in, hahaha. Thank you for again!

Thank you Terence 🙏🏼. This is so necessary to hear. For everyone. Thank my you.

Everything Terence says makes sense, but it's also down to the specifics of your level of playing, your connections, the instrument you are playing, the supply and demand (of bands, gigs, musicians) in your area. It's easy to say "don't play low paying gigs", but most of the time the choice you have is not "high paying gigs" vs "low paying gigs". It's more like "low paying gigs" or "no gigs".

Same problems in Europe. 1) you can make a calculation and obviously decide not to play for 100$ (too many expenses). 2) you can ignore it and play for less or for free (your business if you can live or not with that Money). 3) UNDERSTAND THE REAL PROBLEM : people do not require good music anymore and don't have much money to see gigs every week. If clients seem not to look for good music, your music will be paid less and less and less. In addition, you Will have to face other countries' musicians, Who play for less Money and with a big smile on their face. There are musicians, Who come from Africa or East Europe, Who play for music agencies for less than 60$ per gig. So, you, as a musician, can Say "no", but the fact Is that world will go on without you. So, if we really want to save musicians and good music, there has to be a law that helps us more, and people should begin to listen to good music again...very tricky mission

Very good points. Never sell yourself short. Always know your worth 💯

This is all environmentally dependent. In my town, I do predominantly Gospel music. $100 gigs with no rehearsal (because most churches do the same songs) will actually keep the bills paid if you already have an anchor Gig. I just say. Play with people you love. and Do what makes you happy, cause that pays in terms of health!

My solution: I do solo gigs, so I will continue to do $100 gigs - that's the minimum amount that I'll leave the house for. No rehearsal needed, no bandmates to pay and I make well over minimum wage.

If you play in an area where the bars only pay a certain amount, you can either play, AND ENJOY playing and showing your skills to an audience, or sit home. Most bands start at 100 a man at a certain bar, if over the course of X amount of gigs you are attracting more and more people, the bar makes more, you can ask for more. It's just how it works. Everything Terence has said is true BUT if you follow his advise, your going to do a lot of playing at home instead of having fun entertaining people. I play music for fun and to show off my skills. If you only play music to make money.....well good luck.

Excellent my dude. I’m 2 years new to TX and my experience here is that this is a epidemic. This mentality undermines advanced working players like me. It’s taught Church’s to pay musicians minimally, low balling us to death during contract negotiations. It’s to the point that few churches choose quality over perceived feasibility. Churches choose under qualified, under developed musicians paying them crumbs and when the qualified shows up $400-$600 (which should be standard here) sounds outrageous. Imma product of the Bay Area. Our version of player quality control is “Be dope or be clowned every time you hit a key”. Average where I’m gets you laughed out of town. That mentality has made us a region of “head hunters”. Musicians who for a while only love to rip the next musicians head off. I’m not sure what it will take for this particular region to except and implement your advice but this 💩 is killing the working musicians and it’s inferiating. Stop existing as less 🎶🎼 Family

You can't generalize like this man. I get where you're coming from, and agree, but if I turned down all gigs that paid $100 or less I would have missed out on some major, major opportunities. You point is well taken, and in general is absolutely true , yet for some gigs that have a high creative level, for a new project that is just starting out, and have a lot of potential , you can be shooting yourself in the foot if you said "no , I only play gigs that pay more" . I think people do undervalue themselves in music frequently , but also have to recognize opportunities that may pay less in the beginning , but have strong potential to be very successful. Thanks for the video!

great points here- more musicians should take this advice...the more time, effort, and experience you have, the more money you should be able to command (which in turn, benefits other musicians as well)...i also recommend coming up with a "base-line" pay that you can negotiate from to still make a solid paycheck from the gig- an amount that provides wiggle-room to secure a gig without it becoming a wash for you...

Great advice! thank you for sharing:)

I never do $100 gigs and I think I suck as a musician. I look cool and that’s about it.

Totally agree with all this. The only exception is that I will occasionally do cheaper gigs for old friends, or people who helped me get my career started

I think the trick is to be so good that you're turning down gigs because you're already too busy gigging. I have the feeling that a lot of musicians want to perform for people before they can really play well. The audience can tell the difference, and if you can play, and perform for enough people, you can get that following that enables you to charge more. That said, I agree with everything you said. I would just supplement it by adding that musicians need to pay their dues in the shed and by maybe taking a few gigs for less than they'd like in the very beginning. It's better to take a gig than to sit on the couch wondering why bars won't pay you more.

I love this video it is long overdue nothing but the truth and thank you so much

You are helping my brother

you lost me at "rehearsal"

This needs to be said! Thanks for posting!

This is amazing ! I found some real value in this video, you just earned another sub. Peace brother

Yep. All this is true! next video - how to get the well-paid gigs !! Thanks Terence :)

Great video and great points. However, I think being selective in which gigs you accept is the key. Just accepting gigs for $100 to play some awful music that's been played a thousand times may not be worth it. But if you are playing original music that soothes your soul you may want to accept them in order to pay a bill or two. $100 will pay my cellphone bill. Two $100 gigs will pay my cell bill and my car insurance for the month. So I take this advice to heart but I also take it with a grain of salt. I'd much rather play two $100 gigs in a month rather than work some menial job. Yes, I AM worth waaaaayy more than $100 per gig. My value is at least 10 times that. But every now and then you may have to take those kinds of gigs to make ends meet. I also think it has to do with the market you live in. If you live in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta etc... There will probably be more opportunities for higher paying gigs than if you live Jackson, Mississippi or Butte, Montana. With that said, I've also made the decision to NOT accept every $100 gig that comes my way. Lately I've been turning down a lot of those gigs. Good video Terence Fisher... Thanks for the reminder!

Thanks for the info Terence! I can clearly see that you are appealing to those who really want to make a living as a full time musician. This is not for the hobbyist mindset.... Being happy to receive $100 for something that you've done your whole life or for a considerable amount of time, shows that you have a hobbyist mentality.. you cannot make a living off of that kind of pay. There are levels to everything folks! The $100 gig is the lowest aiming target to shoot for. I don't think it's arrogant to say that you're worth more than the norm (given you are a good musician and you really have something to offer). There are a lot of variants to this but the message is clear as a bell to me! A lot of your information has helped me to be full time now. Thanks again and keep them coming!

Thank you, Terence. It's good to concider.

So one thing that musicians like to leave out when they are bitching about not getting paid much from gigs is are they actually able to sell enough tickets to warrant their particular pay. So if a band is wanting to leave with each member being paid at minimum $100 each, can that band sell enough tickets for that. If the answer is no, then they should expect not to get paid that much. As a band, you are only worth your ticket sales to that venue. Obviously, if you are just a gun for hire (like what most of the points in this video are about) then it's not your job to bring people and sell tickets. So if you want more money as that hired gun, then you should be networking and making friends with bigger bands that have larger draws who can afford to pay you more of what you're worth

Man! Now here is where I totally agree 100% with Terence. He is so right it hurts. And let's not forget that the day of the gig the bass player will call you to see if he can borrow a bass because his is in the "shop" .....the pawn shop. And the singer needs to borrow a mic stand and the other guitarist plays like Larry Carlton but is so absent minded you know to just bring him a tuner and a strap. And the club has no lights so ya better bring some because everyone else is so caught up with having the baddest new axe they never considered lights. Listen up kids. Me and Terence might not always agree but this is solid advice. Thank you Terence🙏♾️♥️

Very well said sir! I think many musicians should see/hear that!

Thank you! Great insight!

First of all, rehearsals are nonsense for cover gigs. If it's an original band, and there AREN'T any charts, then IF you have the time, sure, ONE rehearsal. As a bandleader, I hate rehearsals. I expect players to know the songs, show up, and play. Mistakes happen, and one or twenty rehearsals isn't going to stop that. But know the material. If we tour, that's a bit different, but even then it should be a limited number of full band rehearsals (one on one or section rehearsals are preferable). Two - I have a scale on taking gigs. One to ten: How fun will it be? Is the pay acceptable? Will it help my career? Any gig that doesn't score at least "15" gets turned down. Three - for any original band, it's a tougher haul. Venues are not patrons of the arts. They are businesses that have a certain amount they need to make to stay in business. An acquaintance opened a venue in a very popular area, with three other partners. All of them are musicians, and he owns a recording studio. They got a great sound system, advertised, and booked local original acts. They almost went bankrupt. After six months, they started having tribute bands. Their pay for original acts plummeted unless there was a great turnout. They stopped booking certain kinds of music completely. And I can't blame them - they risked everything, and almost didn't make it. Last point - speaking of perceived worth, anywhere you play MUST charge a cover. $5. $10. $25. Depending on your following ($5 for limited following, etc.). Why? Because when you play at places that don't charge, your perceived worth is NOTHING. You aren't worth paying for to see. And when you want to play a venue that charges a cover, they will see that you played Joe's Dump-and-Drunk last week with no cover. So how can they justify charging patrons when you'll just play another dive with no cover next week? It's not so much the $100 per man, which (granted) sucks. It's more of what your audience thinks your band is worth.

A friend that was doing no-pay gigs for musical theater tried to bring me into that, no pay, no way. He wouldn't hear it when I told him he was hurting himself and those that he took the jobs from. Said it would give us exposure that we needed. What BS. With youtube we all have worldwide exposure. I have business cards with my youtube music channel on them. Plenty of exposure there.

I tell my students and kids at clinics that the the worse the music is the more money you make and the better the music is the less money you make. The are commercial gigs and there are cultural gigs. Commercial gigs should and do pay better money. Cultural gigs (jazz gigs and music you love to play) usually pay less.. A jazz big band gig is fun to play but with 16 people in the band hard to pay for. I still do big band jazz gigs that pay $50.. You've heard the phrase "starving artist"? That kind of defines the "cultural musician" .Someone who plays the music he loves for short bread. I do a lot of free rehearsals with what some people call kicks bands. I'm a trumpet player and we have to keep our chops up. " Free Lance" musicians do a lot of different type and paying gigs. We play shows, dances, party's, studio film dates and jazz gigs. It all comes back to my opening statement . Shows and dances and party's and studio dates pay well but the music is not fun to play or even listen to. Jazz gigs pay less but it the music we love to play and listen to and for the cultural musicians the reason we got into music in the first place.

Coming in way late... well, first, thank you for being an adult. Too many YT's undermine their credibility by dressing like a kid, talking like a kid, stupid hats, etc. I'm not talking about acting white, I'm talking about being a grown-up and being credible. I'm an old man now and it really bothers me when some 20 or even 30-something chats me up like I'm his peer, his homeboy from around the way. I am, hopefully, never too old to learn but, if you want to teach me something, position yourself from a place of reasoned authority, which you have done without abandoning who you are in exchange. Thank you for not wearing a stupid hat. Twenty minutes per song? I salute you, sir. I was constantly pulling al-nighters. I paid sessions people $100 back in 1985 to learn two songs. Two EASY songs. To think this still goes on today and, 30 songs? C’mon. Stop, now. Beyond that, I feel like maybe you've been trolling me for 30 years because you've reiterated things I've been saying for decades. Mr. Fisher, if you hang around people who treat you as if you’re nothing, sooner or later you yourself will begin to believe it. I've dealt mostly with the black church, which routinely exploits people who serve in music ministry. Paradoxically, music ministry is THE unparalleled economic engine for the black church. Yet there is no parity, no profit sharing. Our tradition creates an infinite number of pageants: Women’s Day and Usher’s Annual Day, annual celebrations of the church itself. The pastor is routinely feted on his anniversary and often lavished with financial gifts, offerings collected at a service or even a week or, in cases I’ve known, a MONTH of services. Services powered by music ministry carried out by volunteer choirs and musicians who rely heavily on the one or two paid professional or semi-professional musicians who are almost always burdened by extra events they never contracted for and who are almost never similarly rewarded and who enjoy no royalty percentage from this income, forcing them into side hustles in clubs or day jobs. Most musicians I knew were broke all the time, desperate for that hundred bucks. Or they were most certainly tired all the time, fighting with the wife or husband all the time, because of the stress imposed by their service to this ministry. Besides this being unbiblical (1 Chronicles 9:33), it certainly is unethical, which places the church out of fellowship with Christ and disturbs its communion with the Holy Spirit. I enjoy your work, Mr. Fisher, and appreciate your contribution.

I agree with everything this guy says! However the reality is, at least in the market I'm in, is venues cannot afford to pay more! The bars are either not large enough to hold enough people to be able to turn a profit while paying more than $100 per person or they cannot charge enough because of the local economy. And let's face it there is always going to be that group that will play for beer and "exposure"!

$100 gigs can lead to $350+ gigs. As a musician, manager and band owner, I originally felt on the defensive with this video, because I'm the brotha' that is paying the $100 to each musician for a cover gig including myself. Local live music venues, such as restaurants and bars, can NOT pay $1500+ a night. Which is why DJ's have killed off a ton of live music venues around Boston. Cheaper to put on Spotify than hire a band. The question: Is your phone ringing off the hook with high paid gigs? If not, be careful what you shit on. I'll take $100 over $0 for the night. The flaw with your time vs. pay formula is that most of the songs that a musician has to learn can earn way more than $100. You can not think short term. Once a musician learns that song, the work is done! The new songs are now your repertoire and you can EARN & BUILD money with that knowledge. FUTURE $100 gigs are now easy and effortless. Put in the work once and now you capitalize on that time spent with future dates and making a profit. Now you can earn $1000 with 10 easy gigs with songs you already know. You are now easily hired and more consistently with minimal effort on your part. Once my musicians have songs down, there is no need for rehearsals. We can gig on those same 30-60 songs for the year and make money with minimal effort because it's 2nd nature.

Well said Terence 💯👌

Love that opening comment “So your still doing $100 gigs?? Well that’s probably why your a broke musician!” This is so true!!! Not only does it affect the musician but it also waters down the venue booking for other working musicians. A lot of places are gonna start saying well so and so plays for $300 cheaper! We’re gonna go with him! 🤦🏽‍♂️

Hey Terence - I hit like, the bell, and the subscribe button: I love your delivery, the production, and of course the tantalizing title :-) I hear every point you made, and in my opinion it lacks empathy for how very different live music opportunities are across different areas. I know you made this before the pandemic, but the biz is the biz and the core values I think you missed held true right through it. To your points: #1 - I'd argue anyone who shows up at a live music gig and brings 60% effort should most definititely find something else to do - because you're not cut out for the music biz. It's 110% anytime you're in front of an audience - the key to great performers is what they do when they're NOT at their best - like when they're only making $100 for the gig. #2 - throughout world history, market value has RARELY been set by employees demanding higher wages, but it almost always is set by what consumers demand. Here in Florida, there are no shortage of "re-located" musicians who are looking forward to retirement. That has a BIG impact on what that market can bear, especially when 4 or 5 of them show up willing to play a gig for free meals and drinks for their spouses. In NYC, bands PAY the venues to play. You have to start somewhere and for most that means starting at the bottom of the pay scale. #3 - each artist earns his value, and sadly in the real world that could be less than $100/gig. I find most of the musicians who bitch about money haven't actually sat down and purchased a drink at any of the potential venues they want to play at. In my opinion, it's bad to encourage potential live musicians to stay home and pout until the music fairly puts a $100 bill under their pillow - because that means they miss out on the very experience of how to get better better and add value to their brand - to me that's a big mistake that guarantees failure in the music biz. #4 - compliance and complacency are definitely factors that affect live music, but money is a small part of it. You want to make more money? Don't play the same 40 songs in the same order every night. Invest in equipment that will make your product better - equipment which is not always the shiny new guitar, keyboard, or drum you think it would be cool to have. Sometimes, it's a PA, light show, advertising, swag, things that other start up businesses do every single day. #5 - if you assign your personal "value" based on how much you get for a gig, you should most definitely find something else to do because you're not cut out for the music biz. The real questions you should ask sound more like "what do I need to do to earn a living playing music?", "How do I get to tour the world on someone else's money?" - goals and dreams like that. Maybe that means taking steady gigs on weeknights for less than $100 and figuring out how you can grow those gigs into better ones. Learn what makes people want to tip, learning of other opportunities that avail themselves because you played those gigs... Signed - the guy who plays gigs that pay more AND less than $100 every single week, for decades.

I get that this 100$ gig thing is a metaphor. But it does not even come to close to what my band makes. We generally make maybe 20-50$ per gig. Mainly because we live in Upstate NY where most of the promoters are greedy with there money. The problem with wanting to except more cash or asking for more money is that you will not be booked any shows unless you comply with these promoter's terms. Which is to get paid like shit. It's hard because as a Musician who has been playing shows for years I do not know what to do to get paid properly.

I can respect the views of this video. However, unfortunately pushing the status quo, is only possible if you get the majority to push back as well. The issue isn’t just the musicians, it’s also the talent buyers (bar owners primarily) who don’t see the value in paying more for bands to play.

Well said. I had to stop doing those gigs as well. I don't even take the gig unless there is something that will benefit me on the other end of getting paid such a low amount. I have been playing for over 35+ years and I value my time more than that 100 dollars that will be gone in an instant. Great info.

This guy deserves more credit

Many valid points. I still do them but not like I was before. I just say no if I don't want to do them and if it's not worth my time. I play for churches for the most part but never demand money. If I feel the price is not worth my time I just say no but there are exceptions. Now that I have a family sometimes it's just not worth the $100 to take away time from them.

Misleading title . . . You're talking about a sub gig!! I used to play the supper club circuit six nights a week and that was my sole source of income. That circuit is gone, so let me ask you what kinds of band gigs you're playing - steady - for over $100/man? You also assume we live in a city, but I moved from suburbia to a small town in another state and it isn't much different. The venues that are large enough and busy enough are mostly gone! What's happening now is that every restaurant, every pub, every brewery thinks they have to have music, and they find that there's a huge supply of hobby bands who draw enough of their friends to cover the $35/man they charge. No, I'm not kidding. And your average Joe and Jane can't tell the difference between a hobby band and pro band.

I don't play for money, I do it for excitement and the endorphins. In the early 90's I was making $550 to $900 a show but they were 2000+ audience. If I get paid enough to cover my gas, I'm ok with that.

I understand where you are coming from, but I still do $100. gigs. Why? In the first place, I refuse to rehearse unless the rehearsal pays (which it often does. I play in two professional orchestras and the rehearsals always pay.) Secondly, I don't have to learn 30 songs for a $100. gig, because in most cases I know 100 percent of the material, or if not, charts are provided and I can read. When there are no charts, I can play at a level that the leader calls me by using my ear. My view is unconventional, but I like the idea of "Surplus Value" when it applies to gigs. If you're worth $500. and the gig pays $100., then you have invested $400. of your value in the experience. What did you invest that $400. in? Was it to build community, or because you wanted to help the venue? Or could it be viewed as an educational experience? A friend of mine says that the model of restaurants and bars supporting live musicians is practically dead, because of the narrow profit margin that restaurants face in this difficult economy. My answer is that you need to think of alternative revenue streams. First and foremost is a tip jar; if you build a close relationship with your listeners, the tip jar will often surpass what the venue is guaranteeing for the gig. It's also possible to crowd-fund a performance using the equivalent of a digital tip jar. Other comments on this video have pointed out that if you refuse $100. gigs you will miss many great opportunities, and this is true. Most of the best gigs I have done have come about because someone heard me playing a gig that paid $100. or less. I'm not saying this is for everybody, but the old saying is that if you sow sparingly you will also reap sparingly. Refusing $100. gigs is kind of like a farmer refusing to plant seeds unless a third party guarantees the harvest. In practice, the person who guarantees the harvest will be the one who reaps the profit. So it may be worth viewing $100. gigs as an investment of your time, and make sure to say "No" to the gigs where your time is not invested wisely. Sometimes you will take a gig that you wish you hadn't, but you learn from these kinds of experiences not to take those kinds of gigs any more. But to have a policy of refusing all gigs that pay $100. or less is like shooting yourself in the foot in the current economy for working players. If you want to sell digital books instead of playing gigs, that is a choice that you are entitled to make, but you are giving up something in the process.

Just subscribed. Great video

This was my policy about my work as a real estate agent. I knew how much effort I was going to put into marketing a property. I knew what my company would do to give listings the widest possible exposure. I knew that after procuring a ready, willing and able buyer that I would continue to service the transaction to closing. This was during the late 90s and into the 2000s. I always asked for 7% after my listing presentation that would show all that they were getting for their money. I was regularly recognized for procuring the most such listings each region in my quarter. This was during the period when Foxton's was touting their 2% listing commission rate. Foxton's was heavily capitalized and their salespersons were salaried employees versus the rest of the industry, nearly all of which employed their salespersons as independent contractors, sharing sales commissions on their work with their brokers. My manager at the time kept telling us to not sweat the threat. He explained that a brokerage breaks even operating with an average 5% commission. This was without the amount of investment in marketing that our company gave. Eventually, we began to love when Foxton's got a listing, because when the listing expired, the sellers almost always turned to us or brokerages similar to us. One major difference was the quantity and quality of service. Just a few, less than five years later, I was at a different company, and received an email from my manager at the former brokerage. It included a picture of a flat-bed tow truck fully loaded with the green and yellow Cooper Minis that were Foxton's trademark being hauled off to bankruptcy auction. A quality venue who wants to grow their clientele will recognize the correlation between the quality of entertainer and the quality and quantity of venue patrons. They will already know that one gets what one pays for and will be ready to pay for what they want. Yes, they will try to get it at the lowest price possible, but they will not let what they know to be higher quality entertainment go down the street to their competitor and grow that business. Did I take listings at less than 7%? Yes. Did I take some at 6%, my brokerage's standard minimum? Yes. Did I take some at less than 6% with my manager's approval? Kicking and screaming, and rarely, yes. However, what would I get if I joined the chorus singing, "I'll Do It For Less!", and started at 5% as so many of my competitors did? It was not always easy, but I knew what my services were worth. By the way, low priced properties were listed at a flat fee to ensure that the transaction would be worth the while of agents who would bring a buyer. In the big picture, I was not only placing a high value on my work, but on my competitors as well.

I’m in a 4 person cover band. We play the local bars…. The going rate is $400 for 3 sets for 4 hrs including breaks. Each of us gets $100. If we don’t accept these $400 gigs there are 30 bands behind us that will. So how do we increase our worth/pay?

Hey man great video and I subbed. It would be cool to see you make a video for first timers. How do I know if I’m ready to pursue my first gig? Where should my skill level be at? Should I start solo and use backing tracks or join/start a group? Stuff like that.

I knew he was going to start with the numbers. Applying logic to the music business is like trying to teach a pig to sing. A complete waste of time. I used to work a steady gig when there was an actual Musicians Union here in SoCal. Those days are long gone and the cutthroat mentality of the clubs,restaurants and bands coming up is definitely a hill to climb. What I've learned from fellow players is take any gig you can. Playing music is a war of attrition. Which means keep playing no matter what. As they say talent + opportunity equals success. Eventually as I have you'll come across a lucrative gig, perhaps on a steady basis. As a band leader I built a relationship with the city here and play and will be playing the harbour & beaches when the lockdown is over. So if you're expecting the music business to be fair you're in the wrong business. Be a Warrior and play no matter what.

Indianapolis and Florida are still at 100 per man for the last 20 years! Club bar work has never paid well.

New unknown local bands that are just starting out are not exactly in a position to command top dollar for gigs. So we play for whatever we can get until we have a solid reputation. We can then ask for the kind of money that we want to make. Having a large number of bands in a small area with a small number of live music venues, we can’t be too picky about what we’re paid with the competition.

Good ebook tips 🤟🏽

I was asked to play at a church for the anniversary service....they had two long services after the service the pastor and his wife gave me a check for 50 funky dollars and had the nerve to smile like they was doing something

I remember reading about Buck Owens and Merle Haggard making 50$ a night in 1962 at their first gigs in Bakersfield. I'm like, that's $400 bucks in today's money!

great stuff!!

great topic. even today I got into a sad argue with a friend musician about this..and unfortunately sometimes there just no way of changing someone's mind.

Great content. Love it.

Fantastic vid, thanks for sharing. It strikes me that the "market" discussed here is mostly the working cover band. What should an "original" music project fee be then? Do the points being made here apply to that market as well?

@8:30 that’s gotta be experience talking because I know that pain too well.

I work in and out of O.C. Ca.All club managers care about is your following. HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN YOU BRING IN. Dosen't matter how good you are are how much time you put into preparation. That,is the bottom line.

Well said.... I believe that anyone who is trying to make a go at being a musician should understand their value and not let venues that can afford to pay, take advantage of you. I think that there are other factors to consider. sometimes there are musicians, like me, that just want to play a gig and not want to play for a living or make money, I would be ok with taking the $100 gig. I use the example of... playing drums for me is a hobby as is going canoeing. I don't expect to make money doing either as that, for me, is not my goal. Those who want to try to make a go of it in the music industry, in my opinion, should play every gig like it was your last, take pride in your craft and who you are as a person, and enjoy life to it's fullest potential.

If someone offered me $100 to play shaker for a short 3-song set at the coffeehouse down the street, I'm taking it! 😁

This is a great video. Maybe you can release one that explains how to assess personal value, this is the rub. Some musicians, might only be worth 100 dollar gigs and might end up pricing themselves out of work, by overcharging. It can be very difficult, to accurately self-assess worth.

Also, I just did the math and 100 dollars divided by 13 hours is about $7.69. In NYC, the minumum wage is $15 dollars per hour! So that means you would be being paid half of minimum wage!!! Wow. When you probably been a musician for over 20, maybe 25 years or more..... that's so crazy :( What you said about how accepting low paid gigs also affects musicians is soooo true. It's like, if we ALL started saying no to low paying gigs, venues, clubs, etc... would have NO CHOICE but to pay us more.... And since when do artists look at the status quo and just say, "yeah ok, that's fine...". If anything, we of all people should be trying to change the status quo if we don't agree with it! :)

the problem in my area is there are many "artist/musicians" that are willing to either perform for free or for free beer to get exposure for their music which is quite, blasé and/or media-Oka. i come along and get the line of bs from the club owner that this other guy performed for free so i should too. so usually my closing line is they should get that other guy and stop wasting my time. another sleezy move club owners make is, at the conclusion of the gig, they lay the line of crap that we didn't draw a big enough crowd and therefor pay us less - a lot less than what was originally agreed upon. me: "do you do that with your bar tenders and waitress too?" btw, if you mention contract they won't hire you. but, yea. the artists who are willing to perform for free are a big problem. it screws everyone else.

Truth, thank you T. Fisher.

We were doing 100 per band member gigs back in the early 1980's when premium cocktails cost 2.50-3.00.My opinion,the reasons why bands starting getting less work and money is this.D.J.'s took over because they starting playing the cover songs that people wanted to hear,and bands couldn't or didn't want to play those songs.Also,the performance quality of bands went down so there basically was no difference between watching a live band and listening to a D.J.The D.J.wins because he/she has less personnel overhead and a lower act cost...

I do agree with that opinion.. But some musicians are different.. like if you love music and your passion is to serve or play, sometimes money doesn't matter..

Most of great musicians all started playing for free, for $100 or even $50 (Lemmy many times said he god paid with a bottle of whiskey for each band member), and this is how you get known........the issue is when you are FOREVER stuck into $100 gigs, and you don't progress (either cos you are just plain bad, not proffesional or lazy, or you just simply don't have it)........if you sit on your ass waiting for the $10.000 gig you will never accomplish anything.

And plus people need to stop talking about music like its plumbing or electrical work or being an I.T. specialist. It's not. Good luck to you.