DJing at a fundraiser / charity event?

sideways mary · 17-09-2011 12:54am #1

quick question here, i have been asked to dj at this fundraiser by someone that lives near enough me, agreed to do it coz i happened to be free that night but just wondering what is the general thing to do at these things with regards how much money to charge?

want to do a pretty good deal coz obviously its for charity and dont wanna take too much of their money, normally charge 150 - 180 or thereabouts, thinking 100-120 for this?

just wondering what other people do in these situations as this is my first charity gig!

leggo · 17-09-2011 1:23am

Tricky one. I try and steer clear of them unless I know the people organising and want to do them a favour or have a personal attachment to the cause. Otherwise, you'll have a calendar full of dates but an empty wallet because everyone gets uppity like you're obliged to care about their specific cause. I care, but I also have a livelihood to earn in a recession...

In this case, charge whatever you feel is worth your while but still gives you peace of mind that you're not ripping them off. Make sure you're not losing money, anyway, or wasting your own time. Remember the bar staff there will still be paid the same hourly wage, charity or not. Just because you enjoy what you do and have negotiable rates doesn't mean you should get shafted.

sideways mary · 17-09-2011 1:28am

leggo wrote: »

Tricky one. I try and steer clear of them unless I know the people organising and want to do them a favour or have a personal attachment to the cause. Otherwise, you'll have a calendar full of dates but an empty wallet because everyone gets uppity like you're obliged to care about their specific cause. I care, but I also have a livelihood to earn in a recession...

In this case, charge whatever you feel is worth your while but still gives you peace of mind that you're not ripping them off. Make sure you're not losing money, anyway, or wasting your own time. Remember the bar staff there will still be paid the same hourly wage, charity or not. Just because you enjoy what you do and have negotiable rates doesn't mean you should get shafted.

Yeah i know what you're saying, im booked up every other saturday night until end of october otherwise, so said id do it, get a bit of money anyway. ah its on local so wont be losing money in terms of travel regardless, and i dont even know the people that well so not gonna be a freebie or anythin like it.. only work i can get at the moment is djing so its my only source of income!

leggo · 17-09-2011 8:53am

Fair play mate, I've been there. Good luck with it!

Riesen_Meal · 17-09-2011 11:54pm

Tricky one... if its for a cause I give a **** about, then I would do it free....

I have done before, for a charity close to my heart....

Then again, if its its some random thing I dont have much interest in then I dunno how I would feel about it...

dubsbhoy · 18-09-2011 8:40am

do it for free = charity

sideways mary · 18-09-2011 4:08pm

its not so much a charity gig really, its more of a fundraiser to raise money for someone to go to south africa for a month or two.. ah i dont know what to do haha..

jtsuited · 18-09-2011 4:14pm

If you believe in the cause, do it.....for free.
If you're not too bothered, don't do it at all.
The reason bar staff still get paid is because they probably weren't specifically asked to work at a charity event, it just happens to be in a pub where they work every night. You've been asked specifically to work at a charity event. Someone can take your place for free if you don't do it. The same can't really be said for bar staff.

Fran1985 · 20-09-2011 9:57am

If i know the people, and need a favour, then i'd generally do it for free. But if its just someone who lives near you, and you don't really know them, then, because its charity, get yourself a 100quid, a bit of pocket money for the week. There was a phase last year where all i seemed to be doing was charity fundraisers for this and charity fundraisers for that. At first i was doing them for nothing, but after a while i had to stop. I got about 6-7 in a row, so had to get a bit of money out of it somehow.

Poster Fish · 20-09-2011 11:43am

If it's a charity you really care about then do it for free cos generally that's what people expect when they ask you to play a benefit gig, but be careful not to get sucked into playing benefits every second week or you'll end up losing out on paid work. . .

run_Forrest_run · 20-09-2011 2:07pm

should this not have been settled up front before you agreed to do the gig?

pad180 · 23-09-2011 5:48pm

i was asked to do a gig last year by the manager of a pup that i play in regular, for a benefit night for a family that lost a young son in a tragic accident that i knew , anyway at the end of the night i was packing my gear away when the mother of the boy that had died came up to me and asked how much she owed me for the gig ,:eek: i said no way would i take money of her that it was ok . obviously she must of said it to the manager that i didnt take money of her for the gig . but hey presto the next sat i was handed double money for the sat night by the manager who said fair play and he paid it personally ,
so i would say for the type of fundraiser that it is i would,nt go to mad on a price ,prob half price and tell them that its half your price they should be well pleased .
plus it can work to your advantage you could get some work out of it .
thats my 2 cent anyway

DJing at a fundraiser / charity event?

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