How much do pub cover acts get paid in UK?

DrFroggies

Hi Guys,

Has anyone here ever played solo/duo cover sets in UK and if so could you give me a guide on what to expect when offering my services over here.

I know the usual rates in Ireland but I've no idea over here in UK and I don't want to price myself out of any consideration...at the same time I don't want to be offering to work for peanuts.

Also is there a UK site where I could check out similar to boards.ie musicians here?

Thanks
Dr F;-)

DrFroggies

Anyone got any pointers on this???

Either a rough price guide from someone who's played gigs in UK or if even if someone could direct me to a good uk site for musicians I'll pop a post up there...Anything at all as I seem to be able to find stuff from Ireland and the US but nothing from the UK...won't be back home to Ireland for another 7 or 8 months so if i can get a few (solo/duo) acoustic gigs here in UK it'd make things a little easier.

Thanks again...if anyone replies;)

Roger The Alien 1974

Hiya

I'm a gigging bassist in Kent - times are tough for bands here as well, and in this part, as a 3-piece we go out for £150.

Some established do command more, and maybe there's more money elsewhere....it is a rural area. You can get closer to £175/200 if you really push/bring support, but to get booked comfortably, go for the £150 and that seems to work!

A few years back, you'd get £250, quite easily.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but as a soon-to-be-back in Mayo resident, what's the going rate over there right now?

DrFroggies

Hi mate, thanks for the information.

When you say £150 do you mean between the 3 of you??? £50 each??:eek: Or £150 each (i.e. £450)?

So for example if i went out as a solo act should i offer to play for £150 or are you thinking it'd need to be £150 for a duo in which case then maybe £75 solo?

On the Mayo thing well there was a thread on here a while ago and i know someone mentioned that the pay in Ireland outside Dublin is much better than in Dublin where the rate is (or was last time i played) usually between €100 - €150 but i know there is some controversy over people offering to gig for less and bringing the price down a bit - though someone else here might be able to give you more up to date info on the situation in Ireland or the Mayo area etc.

Oh...just wanted to check one more thing...as a rule over here in UK do bars expect acoustic acts to bring pa or are the pubs rigged up themselves (brought over mics and stands and cables etc but i'm back over to Ireland every few wks so i can grab my pa next time i'm home if necc) - Cheers!

Roger The Alien 1974

Happy to help, my pleasure.

As for the rate, yep, it's £150 between us when we play....that's why I play in a trio! As I mentioned, some places may pay closer to £200, but that's quite rare around here at the moment.

A new trend for some places is to pay, say, £100 - and then you are given a 'percentage' of the takings. Of course, you have no idea what they've taken, so it's bit of a con. Unless you're a solo act!

I'm not sure what pubs elsewhere in the country pay - but at a guess, it's not too different. There are some bands around here that will play for whatever they can....which can drive prices down even further. I know a 5-piece that recently took a gig for £100. I'd say go in for £150, and if it goes well, try to up it for next time!

You'll need a PA, as 99.9999% of places don't have any gear, as they are just drinking dens!

Thanks for the Mayo advice - I'll do some more searching here on the site - but the situation seems pretty similar to here.

Good luck, and if there's anything you want to know, ask away!

DrFroggies

Roger The Alien 1974 wrote: »

Happy to help, my pleasure.

As for the rate, yep, it's £150 between us when we play....that's why I play in a trio! As I mentioned, some places may pay closer to £200, but that's quite rare around here at the moment.

A new trend for some places is to pay, say, £100 - and then you are given a 'percentage' of the takings. Of course, you have no idea what they've taken, so it's bit of a con. Unless you're a solo act!

I'm not sure what pubs elsewhere in the country pay - but at a guess, it's not too different. There are some bands around here that will play for whatever they can....which can drive prices down even further. I know a 5-piece that recently took a gig for £100. I'd say go in for £150, and if it goes well, try to up it for next time!

You'll need a PA, as 99.9999% of places don't have any gear, as they are just drinking dens!

Thanks for the Mayo advice - I'll do some more searching here on the site - but the situation seems pretty similar to here.

Good luck, and if there's anything you want to know, ask away!

Cheers for that...at least now i have some idea what to throw out there when i bring the pa over!

Oh...just to clarify re-the situation in Ireland...when i mentioned €100 -€150 that would be for a solo act, so you should get more if you get another trio together if i remember correctly a lot of the bands mentioned around €100 min per man so that'd be €300 if you were in a trio in Ireland and again some would get more and others would accept less. If there are any active gigging cover acts reading this i'm sure they'll correct it if the info is out of date

Incidentally do you know of any UK site like this one...with this kind of musicians forum?

Cheers again mate and good luck to you too!

harney

Hi DrFroggies

I'm not in a band, this thread just popped up on the main page.

I am not sure if this site will be useful to you or not as I am not a member of it, but I generally find it useful for locating gigs on in a particular postcode so it might help you track down venues in your area to ply your trade.

http://www.lemonrock.com/

Roger The Alien 1974

Good site to find others by area is -

www.joinmyband.co.uk

There are regional sites (depends where you are going?) but this is quite a good nationwide one.

There is an Ireland section, but it's not very active!

Good news about the money over there - if that's the case, I better get back sooner rather than later!

DrFroggies

harney wrote: »

Hi DrFroggies

I'm not in a band, this thread just popped up on the main page.

I am not sure if this site will be useful to you or not as I am not a member of it, but I generally find it useful for locating gigs on in a particular postcode so it might help you track down venues in your area to ply your trade.

http://www.lemonrock.com/

That's great mate I'll check this out!

Roger The Alien 1974 wrote: »

Good site to find others by area is -

www.joinmyband.co.uk

There are regional sites (depends where you are going?) but this is quite a good nationwide one.

There is an Ireland section, but it's not very active!

Good news about the money over there - if that's the case, I better get back sooner rather than later!

Ha, ha...well hope it all works out when you get back to Mayo mate...will check that link out too - cheers!