How Much Money I Earned as a Professional Guitarist - From Pub Gigs to Functions
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- Опубліковано 13 тра 2024
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I hadn't had a gig for about 4 months, and have just this month got back to it, so I wanted to share some of how it works as someone on a "normal" level of gigging - no arenas, no stadiums...Just dodgy weddings with Pasties.
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Great video, glad you’re making it work.
I was a pro guitar player for 22 yrs, cover bands, tribute & function bands.
The best years financially for me were my last 6, where I owned all the equipment. Pa, lights, laptop for dj etc then rent it back to the band per gig.
Make yourself indispensable. Deal with the agencies, run your own website, contract the wedding gigs yourself.
If you’re a hired gun, you’re on hired gun money.
If you’re effectively managing the entire band, you get managers money.
Also, on weddings, do an acoustic duo with the singer during the wedding breakfast. More money.
Try learning a set when you're 71😅 I've already forgotten why I started writing this😂
Tell me about it!
3 things happen when you get old. The first is a deterioration in one’s memory. I forget the other 2.
I have a similar problem: I have no problem learning a new set but I forget who booked me and how to get to the venue! 😂😂
It hit me pretty hard when I found out that my day job paid more than a full-time Nashville sideman for a major act. Sure, I enjoyed those weekend warrior gigs, but I finally understood what my parents were always trying to tell me. Unless it's your name on the marquee, a meager living is all you can expect from playing music.
You got that right.
True. And beyond the meager living is the constant hustle and uncertainty. So yes, you get to play music and you love it but it's no picnic. I've never come close to 25k in a year from music, but I've also never tried to rely solely on it. My old jobs were torture, but they paid way more. Unfortunately balancing full time jobs and gigging regularly isn't really a healthy life plan, I really think it's one or the other, unless you have a really coushy job
In 1983, David Bowie got $1.5million to play the US festival and paid his band $150 each. That's why Stevie Ray Vaughan, who'd played on the Let's Dance album didn't want to join the band for the tour. Bowie also didn't want him doing press for Texas Flood.
@@Scott__C This Nashville guitarist I spoke of was under contract to the artist. So, when he decided to try to make a little extra money doing guitar instructional videos, the artist was on the verge of suing him under the premise that HE owned all of the guitar playing this guy put out. So I completely believe you. I can imagine that we would not know SRV if Bowie had hired him. The music business is despicable really.
@@mikemorgan4774 Jeez, I thought Phil Spector had passed. That whole thing is why SRV didn't tour with Bowie.
I would have screamed like a man burned alive if I had been in the audience when you played that solo at the beginning; fucking amazing!
😂
Justin Ostrander broke down how they get paid as Nashville session players. I will never be one of those, nor a gigging musician, but I still find these videos very enriching. First because I am a fan of both of you and care how things go. But also, because there are takeaways to a bunch of areas of life. Really cool and for what it is worth, I love the behind the scenes stuff.
Love your segments, keep em coming. 👍
It was great of you to do this. Thanks, John
Useful insight - thank you. I always like these clips of you playing live.
Appreciate the transparency. I'd love to see more JNC albums to supplement!
Thanks for sharing. It really helps us connect with you😊
That was a really fascinating view into being a gigging musician. Thanks.
Thanks for opening up about this stuff, John. This is one of your most helpful, and interesting videos among the treasure trove of all the rest. Cheers!
Excellent openness. Thank you. UA-cam is surely more lucrative than gigging? and you get a far bigger audience, but none of the instant feedback from playing live. I'm reminded of the Stranglers -
"
Begged and borrowed sometimes, I admit I even stole
The worse crime that I ever did, was playing rock 'n roll
But the money's no good
Just get a grip on yourself
..."
We are 4 members in the band + sound guy, technically 5 man. We are making 250-300 euros each with 4 set gig (weddings, parties). Basically we are a no brand band - like a hobby band, with no marketing and all that stuff. All the gigs we get are through good reviews in venues we have played. In a year we get around 20 gigs.
Damn that's kinda low. I assume this is only band fee? You don't offer PAs/lights etc?
@@rovenordiales Our sound guy has everything - high quality lights, speakers, sometimes we even use smoke machine. Depends what the client wants and how big is the venue. Total budget is usually is 1.5k - 2k euros with tax included.
@elgars123 yeah the sound/lights guy gets chunk.
Really interesting, thank you for being frank and honest about what you made playing gigs.
Really refreshing that you're sharing that with us.Most people wouldn't. I live in Germany and after a long and relatively successful Career as a dancer the only alternative for me was to teach and work as a Performance Coach and Choreographer.The income from this is pretty OK.I have friends who work in the Music business here and even though they are busy doing gigs and shows some even have CD,s , they still have some other Job because their income from Music just doesn't bring in enough cash to survive.I recently went to a wedding in Britain and the band that played was fantastic. I discovered from the Bride that they cost about £13000 for the gig, like 7 musicians. The most amazing aspect of of being involved with the Arts- Music etc. Is that I am not rich in the bank but on the inside. Its clear from your Videos that you are too !
Bro, thanks for sharing. Totally interesting stuff.
This was really interesting John, thanks for sharing. I’m a guitarist who never escaped the supermarket/9 to 5 thing and took the leap into the world of being a pro musician so kudos to you for not only doing it but doing so well at it 🍻
Refreshingly candid.
Very interesting. I did wonder what sort of job you had. Should have known that you were full time muso! We were a 7 piece function band 1989 to 2012 with day jobs and were happy to cover the expense of keeping our minibus on the road and beer money. More videos like this please!
Fantastic video John, please do a video on in ears and your experience with using them 🤞🏼😊
Interesting! Enjoyed it
This was great. Open honest and very helpful.
It would ce great to see some of your live gigs on youtube
I gigged, even toured and did "okay" as a professionals musician. I was a drummer...but that was from 1970-1990. Today, it's a whole other thing. I stopped playing professionally in 1990. Fewer clubs that are willing to pay...and most of today's gigs are basically duos or trios. Club owners simply don't want to pay. Best to try to be a session player which means your reading chops need to be top notch....or teach in a school environment. Private lessons won't pay as well....OR lastly if you're good try and find auditions through an entertainment agency for a name artist who tours.
Great vid mate
Great to hear that current breakdown. 30 years ago I was working West End shows often touring for 12 to 18 months a show, playing what we called No1 venues which were essentially the main theatre in cities throughout the UK. We used to get paid between £400 - £800 a week plus Per Diems. After renting a room and paying an agent it was sometimes not enough to be away from your loved one doing 8 shows a week for up to 45 weeks a year! It’s a tough and often lonely job being a professional muso! Wishing you all the best for your career.
Great vid with useful info. Can you give an example of a typical set list or 2 or 3 bands that you'd need to learn? Eg, rock cover band, wedding/function band. Sounds like a lot of material to learn!
As people have said......nice to have an honest open talk about it. It's definitely about making the weekdays as a source of income alongside the weekend, whether that's teaching/more gigs or an entirely different job. At the start, it's good to get into that mentality, and if the work isn't there yet, treat those weekdays AS a job.....learning the songs/sets you need to get down, or general practice and shedding the skills for those gigs that will eventually be there.
Hit the nail in the head when talking about set lists etc etc. I often do 60-100 gigs a year. However, I work full time as well as a supervisor in a construction yard, making similar to what you made in year four. It’s a step I’ve wanted to take for a while, as I take on far too much with learning set lists, accepting gigs, and rehearsals, whilst working full time. It’s having the confidence to do that. Especially with a mortgage.
Fascinating, I was never any good at playing other people's songs and knew it would be a miracle if I could make a living playing my own. Musicians are definitely underpaid and it's very difficult to get people to go out and pay to see a local band any more although there does seem to be a bit of a comeback of cover bands playing around these parts.
Cool video. I wonder if youve tried to join many other bigger bands like the rage cover band?
Oh I got a shout out!
Jonh you are worthy a lot!!!
i like the clever solo you put in Don't Look Back in Anger at the end of the video ;) cheers from a London-based fellow agency-guitarist/pit-musician/peri-teacher/give-me-more-hours-in-a-day-pls 🤘🏽🎸
Very enlightening video about your gigging economy. Could you maybe do a video on how you handle the repertoires of all of those gigs, memory aids, tools and techniques? I could imagine there is a lot of songs, but if you're with an agency I could imagine you don't meet for band practice, so how can you prepare for it all? The backstage stuff..
I can try....It's definitely a challenge and early on when you're trying to do as many gigs for as many people as possible...It seems like ALL of your time is spent learning setlists
interesting video, and thank you for being open, BUT, what were your expenses during the years you mention ?
Lol I used to have to play Rock DJ. Wish i had learned licks i NEED back then in my cover band days.
I started pub gigging in the early 90s and there used to be pub gigs to be had on every night of the week if you wanted them. Pubs used to host bands on any night with thurs to sun being the busiest, but mon to wed gigs were there. I took a rest from band gigs 1999 to 2005 (did the solo circuit) but went back to band gigging seriously in 2006/7 and it had shrunk to fri and sat only…… occasionally on a sun afternoon. That’s still the case now really around this area (Hampshire). What a young serious player could do is fri to sun band gigs and try to build a side hustle doing solo gigs mon to thurs. That could work?
I found that really interesting.
Although I try to earn money from cover bands, I can't let go of the feeling that I am 'selling out' when actually what I really want to do, is play original material. The trouble is there is simply no money in original material and it's only getting worse! A good compromise is to arrange contemporary songs but in your own style, which seems to be working well at the moment. The other consideration is work/life balance - is it really worth it to spend so much time away from loved ones, for something you often might not even enjoy? To me, no it's not. Thank you for opening up this conversation, it's very helpful.
I do a fair bit of weddings and gb in the states (i think i did around 70 last year with the same band). Mostly playing guitar, singing backgrounds, and doing lead vocals on a few tunes. Base pay for me is $475. On most nights out with this band I end up doing an acoustic cocktail hour where I sing some songs and accompany myself on acoustic. That nets an additional $125 so i usually walk with $600 a night. I’ve heard of other bands where I live that make more and aren’t booked a lot, and bands that play more but make less. Overall it’s a pretty nice source of income that with my teaching gig allows me to live a comfortable life, play my own original music with a band on the side, and not have to underpay anyone…except myself if merch doesn’t sell 😂
Could you share your earnings from Truefire or UA-cam also? Interesting to know vs what Mary Spender shared
I got 3 gigs coming up with 3 different bands. After I said yes, I always question myself why I made that decision. The work involved is what I wish I said no.
Great videos that shows the limitations of what a gigging musician can earn. I would guess that UK has more opportunities as France for example. I have never seen a wedding band ever, only DJs. And I have been attending many weddings. But I come from a low middle class background, so this may have a bias on my experience as well. Also live bands in pubs is not a thing in France, I mostly see DJs once again.
Interesting!! There are quite a lot of weddings down this way - rural Devon and Cornwall are "destination" weddings for some reason....
Is that Lennie Cordy singing in that Gig. she has such a great Voice.
Super interesting. What about rehearsing with whatever band you will be playing with ?
It might be surprising - but typically in the wedding agency scene - you don't get a rehearsal!
Of course it was interesting!
Would love to see a How much you get paid as a UA-camr video in comparison
I doubt he'll share that!
@@steviesavage maybe , other similar Chanel’s have been open about it and it’s been their biggest video
Would be very relevant to working musicians
Is the agency booked band a band or do they just call up and fill a band with people for different dates? Meaning, do you show up and maybe you've seen the players before, maybe you haven't?
Any wedding here in the US I've been to with a band, the band is a band that is an entity and play regularly as a band. It also costs quite a bit to have a live band at a wedding here.
These are actually impressive, I wonder how it applies to other countries in Europe, I feel like the UK is pretty much the place to be for gigs/jam nights, making connections etc.
As far as I know in Italy it's pretty terrible, not a lot of open mic nights, not a lot of jam sessions, not a lot of actual available gigs, but quite a lot of talented musicians, also making actual money with bands seems very unlikely.
No,this is not really true.More or less that’s the same situation ad in the UK
Interesting topic. You might follow up with your income from online activities?
Years ago, I had a day job that paid £14k, and I played 98 gigs as a weekend warrior one year, earning £6k, so in my experience, it's extremely difficult to make a decent full-time income from gigging, but it can be quite a lucrative part-time job.
❤❤❤
Thanks for sharing. Sadly I assume the figures given only reflect income from gigging and do not take expenses into account. Owning and maintaining several decent guitars, keyboards and amps, regular string changes and setups, a reliable car, insurance and petrol to name but a few.
Wow. What is the rent and/or cost of living out there?
Hopefully, much much lower than the US. But i'm pretty sure that's not the case..
Because I could not live on that salary.
Gigging all over UK? If so, transport cost must be a lot to subtract your income ?
Best regards from Denmark
100% this is JUST income - not expenses!
@@johnnathancordy there can be so many hidden costs by gigging around. It is even worse in DK as the overall market is smaller.
Also time is money as they say. All the time spend on reheasals for new sets. Rent of a place. Instrument and amp costs etc etc etc
Cheers mate
This is why it’s just my hobby now, you need John’s level of skill to only just start break even…. And then the audience are just chatting away during solos. Ironically I have been seeing more and more solo guitarists (who sing) with backing tracks at weddings I have been to recently, and they DJ in between sets. One way of boosting cash from gigs - cut out the band 😂
Theres the systematize again! Word of the day. Week!
Best I made for a gig was $600. Its cool as I have regular job on top of it.
That level of income would be a challenge in a country that doesn't have 'universal healthcare'... Health insurance alone would consume everything one makes in the USA.
Imagine if you cover more famous songs with more investment in videography, I think you will have maybe millons of views, you really got good taste in music dude.
Trying to make it as full time guitarist, be versatile, be friendly, learn how to sing. 🤙🏼
You have to swap time for money in a job, in music, you swap time for music, music is the payment for your time
Okay, what!? How can there be so much more money in classical music? You are a way more accomplished guitar player than I will ever be a classical singer AND you're performing in much more popular genres. Most people don't like opera at all!
That is interesting! Where are you located and how is your opera company funded?
I'm so American. I thought you were Australian. LOL
Yes…learn to sing!! 👍🏼😅👍🏼🎸🎸
I got a job at Morrisons 😂
Guthrie Govan worked at McDonalds...
Professional guitarist or working in a supermarket isn't a valid either or rather than professional income comparison.
"real job" lol
I've been there. It's still a "real job".
Clearly can afford at least 3 t shirts
Now you must tell us how much money you make with UA-cam 😂. There are a lot of contradictory versions on how much money the people on YT make.
free Palestine
Excellent insight into this weird world that we inhabit of the full time gigging musician. I live in rural North Carolina, about an hour away from the Outer Banks. That's where I do a lot of my gigging during the summer, as it's a tourist area. A lot of solo gigs during the week, band gigs at the weekend (I'm in 4-5 bands), and a music director for a small church as well. Cobble it all together and it's a living. Like you, COVID hit me extremely hard and the church gig and weekly music live streams were the only thing that pulled me through. Keep on playing, and keep up the good work!