[Dixielandjazz] Pay scale

[Ministry of Jazz]

Shalom David,

After a number of years of getting started, I finally came up with a price
list and published it on our website. You can see it on the site. Prices are
in Israeli Shekels, which are now about 4 to the US dollar.

We start with $100 per player for a minimum gig of 1 hour, for the first two
players. $150 for 2 hours, and $250 for 4 hours. In order to encourage
hiring the larger band, I take off 20% for each additional player after the
first two. I also posted a travel fee of $25 for each 30 miles (50
kilometers) round trip from our base in Jerusalem. Then there are a few
optional extra services we do for an additional charge. The list is of
course a starting point, and we will in the end price each gig on its own
merits. But it gives customers an idea of what we will cost them even before
they call. Some have already figured out the price from this chart before
they call us, and accept it without argument. How the total gets divided up
among the players is our business, and will depend upon the skill and
experience of each player, how long and how often they are playing with us,
and so on. And since we take gigs for 1 or 2 players, as well as for 4-6
players, I cannot post a simple list of prices for the whole band. This
approach has been working for us.

Now these prices are for Israel. And I also still price us on the low end,
mostly because we do not use sound equipment, and so our overhead is much
lower than many bands. I hear of party bands that get $2000 for a 4-piece
band for an evening. I would imagine in the US and Europe one can do much
better than we do here. But these are prices that we actually get much of
the time.

For so-called charity gigs, I tell the customer that we will discount our
price, or in certain cases, we will play for free, if the other service
providers are doing the same. I've done my time playing for free when
everyone else at the event is getting paid. No more.

We try to be flexible and work within people's budget. My guys and I for the
most part really want to be able to provide live bands for average people's
events, rather than see them hire a DJ or use someone who is not
professional. So we are willing to lower the price accordingly if there is a
good reason and if we want the gig. We try not to make a habit of it,
though.

Note that Israeli salaries are often still in the 3rd world. A couple of my
players are in grad school and working internship jobs in their professions,
and often we can make more in an evening than they make in a week at their
day jobs. So far I have refrained from trying to convince them to jettison
their MA's and become full time jazz musicians.

I must add that we always make a point of being upbeat, friendly and
personable with the customers, and we do a high-energy show with audience
participation and interaction. The show starts when we arrive, I tell my
players, not after we've set up, and it's not over until we leave. I do not
tolerate players who show up like plumbers, grudgingly providing minimal
work for the available pay. I know players who are technically excellent,
but they look like they'd rather be having a root canal during the show. I
don't hire them for our gigs. We do our best to ensure that every customer
is satisfied. And we leave them with a CD and a smile.

Hope this is helpful.

Elazar
Dr. Jazz Dixieland Band
Tekiya Trumpet Ensemble
Jerusalem, Israel
www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
+972-2-679-2537


-----Original Message-----
From: David Washburn [mailto:tootn4u at gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 1:40 AM
To: DJML
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Pay scale


So what does it cost to get a good band for the evening. Let's
hear some numbers and then we will all know what to charge, thereby
maintaining some standards in the industry.