How Bands Survive Financially

[monster machine]

I found this on the net and it might put things into perspective as far as concert bookings and tours:



When a band forms and starts to get paid, they will soon see that there are many expenses involved. Rehearsals, transportation, lodging, employees, etc... And before those things are paid the majority of the time a manager, agent and sometimes even a lawyer get a cut off the top of that. Let me give you a situation or two.


Live Gigs: Even local bands have to pay expenses. If a band makes $500.00 to play a club that's 75 miles away, somebody has to pay for the truck, gas, motel, etc... A Ryder truck cost about $ 50 to $ 75 per day, plus mileage and the gas to boot. After a long gig, it's not best to drive home at 3:AM so a motel room (or 2) that everyone shares will cost about $ 25 to $ 50 a piece. How about the couple fat roadie guys who lug gear and run around making the band feel important? On occasion a more experienced guitar technician/soundman (a sophisticated name for ROADIE) will want to be paid $ 50 or more dollars per gig. A better crew or soundman will help make the band shine when it's needed. Remember after a local band establishes themselves, booking with an Agency always makes your band appear to be more professional too. Most will take 10% and have the connections for all the local clubs. They usually are well connected with Radio Stations and even book National Acts. So when a band comes to play your town, if you guys are the local big shots you'll maybe get to open these shows. However keep in mind when playing with National Acts it's usually a low paying or a NO PAYING gig. But making friends with bigger bands from New York or L.A. can open doors for you down the road. Lets take a look and see what we got.

Truck, mileage, gas = $ 100.00
Motel rooms (2) = $ 80.00
Roadies = $ 50.00
Agency 10% = $ 50.00
Total Expenses = $ 280.00

That leaves a little over $ 200.00 for your band to split. Are you a four or five piece? Do you have a monthly rehearsal space? Are you gonna record a demo? Even promo items like flyers, posters, etc... will add up so be prepared. Take this same scenario for a National Band: They might make $ 2,000 to $ 20,000 per night depending on the current status of their latest release. However they will be paying for 1 to 3 buses per week, 5 to 15 motel rooms per night and paying the weekly salary for 5 to 25 employees. And the National Agency and the band Manager will be sure to grab their 10 & 15% of the GROSS PAY (that's before expenses). Take 25% away from $ 20,000 per night and your down to $ 15,000 and all the expenses are still waiting to be paid. Take 25% away from $ 5,000 and your down to $ 3,750. Check this out:

A moderate 12 bunk tour bus is about $ 300.00 per day x 7 days = $ 2,100.00 a week.
Average tour bus driver is paid $ 175.00 per day x7 days = $ 1,225.00 a week.
(Note: If the bus driver drives over 500 miles or more than 8 hours in a single day he gets paid DOUBLE = $ 375.00.)

Now figure a 5 person band and a 7 person crew. 8 rooms per night x $ 50.00 = $ 400.00
(Note: Most bus drivers require their own private room daily, the same goes for a road manager and some band members. However most bands and roadies will share rooms. Sometimes they even sleep on the bus.)

All these expenses and you haven't even filled the gas tank yet. Do you know how much it cost to fill a 45 foot tour bus with premium or diesel gas? Try $ 125 to $ 200 depending on gas prices. You also have to pay for bus upkeep like cleaning & supplies, the oil, washing, tolls, etc...
I guess most National Touring Bands take a weekly salary. Then at the end of the tour after everything else is paid they split up some money. But, most of these bands will continue into the future so they have a band account that will hold funds for future rehearsals, road cases, supplies, etc.... Its safe to say that even "out of style music" members of the world still make about $ 1,000 a week on a good tour, maybe a bit more. However they only tour 6 or 8 months a year, not 12, so they need to make money stretch. The bigger the band, or the bigger your name, the more money you can command.

Historical notes: Bands like Van Halen on the 1984 tour and Motley Crue on the Dr. Feelgood tour had roughly 15 semi tractor trailers full of gear, upwards of 10 buses and well over 100 employees working for them daily! And the band was most likely flying in a private jet gig to gig. Do you know what it costs to charter a jet? Neither do I, but I'm sure its more than a bus!

[CanaMat]

Nice one, Monster Machine!

Hopefully this will cause people to think before ignorantly calling Petra 'money motivated'!

[epdc]

I was thinking about that.

A friend from school told me : you guys have to pay John 2500 dollars PLUS other things?!!!!!!!!!

yeah, 2500 sounds A LOT, but if you think about it, you`ll see that not all is for him.

[Shell]

That does give a little perspective on how expensive it is to tour.

[SamScales]

Yes, it sure does. Even my husband and I are seeing that it's not cheap on the road and we stay in our motor home, but you still have to pay the RV Campgrounds, eat, pay gas and pay for parts when the 1972 motorhome falls apart
We are only two people and when we don't get paid, it all comes out of our pocket.
The only thing that we are thinking about is the eternal rewards when a life is touched or changed.....
Yet when this is your livelihood, it's necessary to make sure that ends meet and you can feed your families.