[Dixielandjazz] Pricing your band for Charity Events?

[Larry Walton Entertainment]

I do play free or at reduced cost for organizations that I am a member of 
but there are rules.  If they are paying other entertainers they pay me too 
or I simply decline.  I also limit the number of free or reduced cost things 
that I will do in a year.  The next big rule is that I never expect guys 
that play with me to play free or at reduced cost.

Tuesday night I am playing at a reduced fee for an organization that I 
belong to.  I only expect about half of what I usually get.  I left it up to 
them and if they don't pay me at least half I won't do it next year.  They 
do know how much I charge to do a show.  They might actually pay me the full 
price too.  I will get a nice meal out of it and that's worth something.

You have to come up with some guidelines that you can live with.  In a way 
this is how it works.... I personally like performing Christmas music but 
since I sell to a lot of Senior Citizen homes the business really drops off 
at Christmas.  Why?  Because there are dozens of groups performing at those 
places for free.  So do I, because I like it, perform at Christmas for free 
too?  Not!  Free kills pro musicians trying to make a buck and even if you 
aren't making your living from music you shouldn't muddy the waters.  I know 
several guys that are retired that the money they make playing makes the 
difference of having some spending money or not.  So while a musician may be 
flush now you might not be after you retire or maybe get out of work.

I suggest setting up some personal rules and then follow them.
Larry
St.L
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim O'Briant" <jobriant at garlic.com>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, March 11, 2011 10:05 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Pricing your band for Charity Events?


> My band, the Zinfandel Stompers, is becoming widely enough known in our 
> area
> that we're getting more inquiries about performances. Some of these are 
> for
> charity events, and of course they are always "on a very limited budget" -
> meaning that they want us to contribute our services for free, or play for
> very little money.
>
>
>
> I'd appreciate hearing from other band leaders on the DJML, either 
> publicly
> on the list or via private email, how you handle such inquiries, whether 
> you
> have special pricing for charity events, and what sort of pricing you give
> them.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance for any information, as it will help me formulate my own
> policy on this.
>
>
>
> Jim O'Briant
>
> Gilroy, CA
>
> Tuba & Leader, The Zinfandel Stompers
>
>
>
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