rate of pay around the country.

[SteveWalker]

Originally posted by jim in ohio
......... I don't care how large or small it is the rate is 150 per hour of play time..................We do four bars five nites a week 175 to 225 per nite Jim

You said its $150 / hour but get paid $175 to $225 per nite. Do you do 1 to 1 1/2 hours per nite?

Steve

[karaokeking]

Hi!
This is a problem all around ,I see. I get about 700 Dollars a night incl. equipment, and I keep getting more work. I've been in the karaokebusiness since 1991.I run a guite good show.

[alanross]

Karaokeking:
Are you getting $700.00 a show for private parties or regular weekly gigs in a bar or nightclub?
If in a bar or nightclub, in what area of the country are you doing this?

[karaokeking]

I get the same rate in both private parties and in clubs/bars, this is in Norway.

[SteveWalker]

Originally Posted by alanross

Karaokeking:
Are you getting $700.00 a show for private parties or regular weekly gigs in a bar or nightclub? ?

How much is that in Kroner?

[karaokeking]

That is 5 000,- Kroner pr. night.

[dschwark]

A self employed person has to make at least $50 an hour don't they; otherwise it's not worth the time, gas, and money. If your legit, you have pay your own taxes, and you still need to get medical insurance someplace. Hopefully you have a spouse with a good job.

KJ'ing would be a dream I'd like to pursue. I've been doing it for a couple of years for family and freinds and at parties. I've spent about $4000 on equipment and CD's. and I'd like to start getting a return on that investment. It's a hobby for sure, but It's not cheap, and it is a job. People who do this deserve a decent buck.

[Digital Party]

Well said dschwark.......my karaoke hobbie grew into a job, back into a hobbie and now......trying to grow it back into a job. Lots of work and sore backs.

[jim in ohio]

Steve,
I thought I made it clear, we have 4 bar gigs that we charge from 175 per night for the low one to 225 per nite for the high one, four hours a night five nights a week.

What we call custom shows, company parties, and other one time gigs we charge 150 per hour for play time with no set up or tear down charge on top of that. We don't care if it's just DJ or KJ or mix, we do the light stands, mirror ball and tux for the night. Christmas parties are big for us.

The bars allow us to leave everything in place, we just pull the books and discs out each night.

[WallerMan]

I definitely agree with Jim... Depending on the venue size...In our small Gig at a local Ice House here in Waller, TX We can only Justify based on the size of the place and what the Beer costs to charge 150.00 for a show. The owner just can't remain profitable if we gig him for more money just because we get that at our other shows which are in larger facilities, in a larger metro area, with Beer and mixed drinks.
I also have to identify with the poster that said he has more fun doing the shows than some of the participants... As I have said many nights at our shows when the audience is really into it, "I love my Part time job! Where else can I drink beer, smoke cigarettes, listen to good music, and look at hot looking women! Beats the heck out of a partime job at Target Skippy"!!
I have to disagree about parties and weddings though.. They pay great but I have been treated worse at those types of shows than at the bars... Maybe it's just in our area...

...WallerMan

[jim in ohio]

Need to agree with Wallerman about parties, they for the most part treat you like hired help, at least the drunks in the bars treat you with respect, and buy you drinks...

Jim

[WallerMan]

Yeah the drunks do buy you drinks... Never really had anybody treat me with disrespect at the bar... Did have a drunk do a swan dive into my monitor stand one night... I honestly thought the old guy had a stroke... Was walking up to the stage and kinda just crumpled face first into the equipment... Thankfully we called 911 and they took him to the hospital... Turned out he was just way way intoxicated... We continued the show that night... Good thing the monitor stand had wheels.. When the Guy fell into it... It just rolled out of his way and miraculously didn't turn over..
No Harm No Foul..
Weddings are Brutal.. I charge $100.00 per hour minimum 4 hours for that very fact... Everybody's always stressed out at the beginning of the night... I actually have gotten my only bad check from a bride... The guests treat you like dirt if you don't have their special obscure song...
Like I said, they pay good But I'd rather work the Bars..
..WallerMan

[TraxMasterDJRob]

I like what I'm reading. Seems to me most of us KJ's/ DJ's got the general idea of what's going on. I live in SW Michigan, and all of your stories have rung true. keep up the good communication, Merry Christmas

[pelletmon]

Hi yall,For the last 2 plus yeas,my wife and I have been doing something a little different. I've been a one man band type singer /musician in the Gulf Shores al. area for 16 years. I must be honest,I was never a big fan of karaoke.My thoughts have always been "if I need a plumming job done in my house i'll call a pro right? If i'm gonna be entertained, and pay top doller for booze,I want the same.Not to mention over the years I've watched the karaoke trend put quite a lot of my musician friends out of work.(not me ,I was lucky).I began to wonder about my musical future with the stage now more and more becoming a place of public domain.Then it struck me.What If I could find a way to Fuse karaoke with live instraments together. After talking to my wife Delaine about it, we took the plunge. I bought all the stuff(with the help of MTU,)the sound system I already had.The big question was did I have the musicial knowhow to be able to learn 20,000 plus songs at the speed of music and would the singers like the concept? What do I charge for this prototype? What do I call it? One thing I knew for sure,it would do really well of it would really BOMB.Not much room for in between.Anyway its done well.Not well enough to retire anytime soon but we make 200$ a night 4 nights a week, 4 hours pr night with an extra 50 bucks for a fith hour.free food and drinks,and we get to leave the equipment.Pluse I still get to play my instruments witch is my first love (besides my wife).The down side is a lot of set up and tear down.But man you should see their faces when they sing devil went down to go.and they look behind them to see their KJ playing the fiddle parts.And I never know what song I'll be playing next,or what instament i'll be playing it on.Talk about streching excersises! It has made me a better player though ,and forced me to learn some things I never would have otherwise.Anyway if any of yall would like to check out my page go to mudbugsclub.com Thanks for letting me rant.Billy P.S. If anyone knows of anyone els doing this sort of thing could you please let me know.

[WDEWDAD7]

There was a band that did live karaoke in Spokane, Washington at a Chinese restaraunt/bar. The band played along with the karaoke music. They were the house band on weekends, and did this on the weeknights. They did this for a few years. It was ok, I guess. The place was usually busy, but, no one I know went there for that reason.

[pelletmon]

Thanks for the reply.Can you remember how many piece band it was? Its just hard to imagine a guitar player,bass player ,drummer, etc.. being able to seemlessly jump in with those hundreds/thousands of karaoke type arrangements and still be able to complement the singer.If they are that good,they should be recording in Nashville, not giggin at a Chinese restaurant.

[SteveWalker]

Originally Posted by pelletmon

If they are that good,they should be recording in Nashville, not giggin at a Chinese restaurant.

Very true! I see lots of problems with this idea: First, you have to divide the money with 3-4 people. Does this gig pay $400-$500 a night? Second, the band needs to know thousands of songs played in different keys. And what about doing key changes?

[STE4funguy]

It just blows my mind that people are willing to work so cheap. As a company, I have overhead ie: TAXES, INSURANCE, ADVERTISING, RENT, ETC... Let alone the cost of equipment, music, gas, employee's. Even if you are a hobbiest and are not paying taxes, you should have insurance and vehicle expenses. $200 is the lowest price for a 4 hour show and thats only on weekdays and if they book weekly for an entire year! Just think of the time you spend buying your music, importing it into your system, printing books, and all the other little things it takes to do this. So if you are only charging $100 - $150 for a show you end up working for $3.50 an hour after expenses... You can make more as a greeter at WalMart!

Yes, Karaoke is fun and it is a good time type job, but as a professional, stop selling yourself short.

[gotrich]

150 -175 a week day and 200-225 a weekend is it. mot bars wont pay more than that. i wont work for less than that..and where I am from som of the bars only make 400-500 a night on the register so when you pay 150 and only bring in 400 thats not much left to re buy booze or order more food... lots of small corn filed towns..ecinomics plays a big part

[bryant]

Originally Posted by STE4funguy

It just blows my mind that people are willing to work so cheap. As a company, I have overhead ie: TAXES, INSURANCE, ADVERTISING, RENT, ETC... Let alone the cost of equipment, music, gas, employee's. Even if you are a hobbiest and are not paying taxes, you should have insurance and vehicle expenses. $200 is the lowest price for a 4 hour show and thats only on weekdays and if they book weekly for an entire year! Just think of the time you spend buying your music, importing it into your system, printing books, and all the other little things it takes to do this. So if you are only charging $100 - $150 for a show you end up working for $3.50 an hour after expenses... You can make more as a greeter at WalMart!

Yes, Karaoke is fun and it is a good time type job, but as a professional, stop selling yourself short.

Yes, BUT,if you are working in the same place and guaranteed a gig or two every week in the same place and can store your stuff there, or even use their stuff,
you may NOT be working that cheap at all.
I think most of use do charge a bit more for one-time engagements for those special functions( 300 - 500 dollars). If you average this in, yes, my average price along with the 150 guaranteed on tue and wed added in most likely comes to a 200-250 dollar show.
So it all depends how we are answering the poll question, and which type ogigs we are figuring in.
For example, I have a gig on Sun, and wed. that both pay 150. Now is that cheap in a poor depressed area such as Central Maine, maybe, maybe not. Please keep in mind both places are within a mile from my home, I don't play after 12:30 am, one place I use all their equipment, and the other, I leave my stuff there, I get all their extra functions, all my wedding gig recommendations from all their clientele.

NOW THAT IS WORTH IT, ANYONE DISAGREE.
Also, in central Maine you can rent an apartment for 250-350 dollars, and get car insurance for less than 300 dollars a year. Just a measure of the relative cost of living.

I don't work cheap as I also have a regular job that pays a lot more than this, as well. Consider me a hobbyist.