How much to hire a band?
July 19, 2023 8:43 AM Subscribe
I've been tasked with sorting out some entertainment for a well liked colleague's leaving function. There will be over a hundred guests and someone has suggested getting a band to play their fave tunes and making it into a more of a party. With so many listings of bands for hire I am unsure about what is a reasonable cost for different types of musicians and bands?
How long will they be expected to play, and how many musicians would be involved? For a band, I’d suggest thinking about how much the rate would be per person per hour. Often the rates bands are paid end up working out to pretty miserable amounts per person per hour.
posted by music for skeletons at 10:59 AM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by music for skeletons at 10:59 AM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Here's the UK Musician's Union rates to give some kind of idea.
posted by quacks like a duck at 11:10 AM on July 19, 2023
posted by quacks like a duck at 11:10 AM on July 19, 2023
Union rates
UK
US
If you want any clarity, just call your local musician's union office. If you call the union they can also refer you to which bands are most suitable for your purpose, as the band may need the work enough to not mention another group might be more suitable.
posted by Jane the Brown at 11:11 AM on July 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
UK
US
If you want any clarity, just call your local musician's union office. If you call the union they can also refer you to which bands are most suitable for your purpose, as the band may need the work enough to not mention another group might be more suitable.
posted by Jane the Brown at 11:11 AM on July 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
Just a thought, my sons drum teacher plays in bands here and there. So if you can’t find an official band or it’s too expensive, consider asking drum or guitar teachers in the area if they have any informal bands that could play? (Depends how much stage presence you want !)
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:44 AM on July 19, 2023
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:44 AM on July 19, 2023
I'd expect to add at least a zero to those scale rates.
A band good enough to rate a $15 cover at your local club that fits 100+ people is going to have a base rate along the lines of ~$7500. My daughter's school had a 8 piece band for a recent fund raising gala and they were more along the lines of $12k.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2023
A band good enough to rate a $15 cover at your local club that fits 100+ people is going to have a base rate along the lines of ~$7500. My daughter's school had a 8 piece band for a recent fund raising gala and they were more along the lines of $12k.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2023
The American Federation of Musicians offers a quick quote option on its website. It also allows you to search for bands.
posted by sardonyx at 1:08 PM on July 19, 2023
posted by sardonyx at 1:08 PM on July 19, 2023
Are you in the US?
posted by soundguy99 at 2:11 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by soundguy99 at 2:11 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think your question needs a lot more details about what you want in order to get good answers. Yes, what continent/country are you talking about, but also are you in a metropolis or in the burbs or something else? Are you thinking of a rock band or an R&B group or a jazz combo or ... a brass choir? Yes I get you probably don't want the latter but there's a huge variety of what "band for hire" can mean!
Another thing to consider is the repertoire. Do you expect them to mostly play covers of songs this person likes? That's kind of a wedding band type territory, and different from the kind of band that can set a $15 cover charge to fill a small venue, though there are band that happily split the difference.
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:38 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Another thing to consider is the repertoire. Do you expect them to mostly play covers of songs this person likes? That's kind of a wedding band type territory, and different from the kind of band that can set a $15 cover charge to fill a small venue, though there are band that happily split the difference.
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:38 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Re. How much to hire a band?
Lots of interesting thoughts and ideas here - appreciated.
Thanks for the Musician's Union rates to give some kind of idea of costs to hire musicians - that is helpful.
And I agree - more thought about the type of band so will need to probe for suggestions of genres etc
posted by jallypeeno at 3:38 AM on July 20, 2023
Lots of interesting thoughts and ideas here - appreciated.
Thanks for the Musician's Union rates to give some kind of idea of costs to hire musicians - that is helpful.
And I agree - more thought about the type of band so will need to probe for suggestions of genres etc
posted by jallypeeno at 3:38 AM on July 20, 2023
A band good enough to rate a $15 cover at your local club that fits 100+ people is going to have a base rate along the lines of ~$7500. My daughter's school had a 8 piece band for a recent fund raising gala and they were more along the lines of $12k.
Local cover bands typically make hundreds of dollars per gig, not thousands. One of my friend's husband is in a fairly talented and well promoted cover band and just played their biggest ever show. They were ecstatic to get somewhere close to $1K. Their next show will probably bring in $200-300. Good on that band for getting $12K but that is not the norm for local or regional bands, particularly cover bands.
(The slight exception being bands that specialize in weddings, but they typically bring their own PA/lighting system, provide specialized MC type services, and frankly, playing 98% of weddings sucks so you charge more for dealing with them.)
Think about your math. If a band is able to sell out a 200 person venue at $15/person, that's only $3K, and it's very uncommon for a band to get 100% of the door. How many 200 person venues are there in your area? How many bands are there? Competition is fierce.
And it's unusual for a cover band to get more than 100 people unless they're a specialized tribute band like Cosmic Charley.
posted by Candleman at 8:36 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Local cover bands typically make hundreds of dollars per gig, not thousands. One of my friend's husband is in a fairly talented and well promoted cover band and just played their biggest ever show. They were ecstatic to get somewhere close to $1K. Their next show will probably bring in $200-300. Good on that band for getting $12K but that is not the norm for local or regional bands, particularly cover bands.
(The slight exception being bands that specialize in weddings, but they typically bring their own PA/lighting system, provide specialized MC type services, and frankly, playing 98% of weddings sucks so you charge more for dealing with them.)
Think about your math. If a band is able to sell out a 200 person venue at $15/person, that's only $3K, and it's very uncommon for a band to get 100% of the door. How many 200 person venues are there in your area? How many bands are there? Competition is fierce.
And it's unusual for a cover band to get more than 100 people unless they're a specialized tribute band like Cosmic Charley.
posted by Candleman at 8:36 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by jonrob at 8:52 AM on July 19, 2023