rate of pay around the country.

[alanross]

I have found that the minute you allow someone to pay you less than you're worth, it is an uphill battle to get what you deserve. Hold firm to the idea that you deserve $200/per show and, if you have to, be willing to walk a way from a job.

It means that you'll have to do a little more knocking on doors to get your foot into other bars and nightclubs, but eventually - if you provide a high quality show - they will beat a path to your door.

The hardest thing to do is turn down a job, but if they can't pay you what you require, you MUST WALK AWAY. To do anything less than stand up for what you need, sends a signal to the person with whom you're negotiating that they have the upper hand, not you.

The truth is, WE as Karaoke Hosts are in the driver's seat. We can do the nightclub circuit and do very well in that venue, but they need us more than we need them. They cannot find a cheaper source of revenue than what we provide, but we can get much better pay from venues like nursing homes, retirement villages, planned communities. These venues provide a different source of revenue and usually allow the Karaoke host to do much more than babysit a bunch of drunks all night long.

Is there even one Karaoke Host out there that doesn't love to sing and perform? I doubt it. I've never met one. We do this because we love the performance side of the show, enjoy the people we love and tolerate the rest of them. Resort communities, retirement villages and nursing homes are purely performance driven shows. It's almost entirely impossible to get nursing home people up to sing - and you wouldn't want to try. But they are the most appreciative audience you can find.

It means doing some more work... putting together a few compilation disks of songs you're able to sing; tailoring the shows to the particular audience; learning how to perform one song after the other in a rythym that flows and keeping your volume levels a little lower. But the rewards are wonderful.

You usually get paid better per show (although it's hard to get a weekly gig), you make fantastic contacts for bigger and better venues, you meet the families of people from whom you can get other great parties or even contacts to venues you haven't even discovered. AND you get to perform for an audience that will love you and appreciate that you're there for them.

Of course, if your strong suit is heavy metal, I would stay away from the nursing homes, but if you can create a set of songs that relates well to an older audience - you can be the cat's meow.

- Alan

[tiggallen]

Originally posted by SteveWalker
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

I Have that prob here in virginia i have well over 15000 songs and a 3000 watt system i built from the ground up i use shure wireless. i wont even think about unpackin unless i get 200 a show but we have people here playin for 50 bucks oh well u get what u pay for

[tonedeaf]

I live in Wisconsin, the going rate here for a 4 hour show is $150.00 to $300.00. I base my rate on where and the day of the week, week days mon. thru thur. ussually $150.00 to $200.00 and with a tip jar out on the table I make up the difference + more. Some bars just can't whip out the big bucks so ask if you can take tips 95% say yes.
Jeff

[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.

[gotrich]

700 A NIGHT???? What kind of place is this. I live in NW Indiana USA and 200$ a night is good average is 150$ There are so many KJ's and its just not as popular I guess ..Wedding will net 600$ for a 5 hour reception.

[flipper]

Kroners is a Danish Currency I did a search and used a currency calculator and it said the following:

Converting 127.75 U.S. Dollars to Danish Kroner will yield 700.00 Danish Kroner.
(Derived rate = 5.4795)

So we are talking similar dollars here in the US



Flipper

[jlmer]

I have a different type of service but the same question about pay. My little burg is around 18,000 and I have karaoke but I don't do karaoke. I use a Peavy XR800C stereo mixer/amp and good speakers but I do the singing. In other words concerts, but I have no idea what to charge. I used to do them for tips but you all know how that goes. Any ideas of a price for either a 2,3 or 4 hr. concert would be welcomed.

[G-Force]

I am in the Chicago suburbs, and my pay ranges from bar to bar. My cheapest club is at 150 for four hours on a week day. This was the price I set 4 years ago when I started, and I am planning on raising the price very soon. Thing is the club has their own sound system. I just bring my discs, player and lights with me and plug in. Most of my other clubs pay 185 or more. I have a couple that pay 275.00 on a Saturday night and 225-250 on a wednesday. It truly varies on the town and the club.

[alanross]

jlmer,
The only suggestion I can offer for the type of service you provide is to check with other local performers - primarily acoustic acts. If you know of someone who plays small venues (i.e.-coffee houses, little pubs), ask them what they make for what they do. Then you can set your rates accordingly. Just remember to factor in your experience as either a way to charge more or less than acoustic acts. You don't want to undersell yourself, but you don't want to price yourself out of gigs either.
- Alan

[jlmer]

I had a 4 piece band playing country, country rock and classic rock and top pay in middle and southern Illinois was $400 but was usually paid $300 by the large clubs and $250 from the small bars, etc. Weddings were $300-400 and these were usually 4 set jobs. 9pm-1am. Now that I'm starting on my own, by myself and using karaoke for my music I wasn't sure of what to charge. I don't think anyone is doing solo work in this area although there is a trio doing the same thing but they wouldn't tell anyone the time of day let alone how to be their competition.
I furninsh my own equipment and have a 3 drawer JVC karaoke machine programable up to 10 songs. Any suggestions will be more than welcome. email is kb9hqi@juno.com

[alanross]

If you can, I highly recommend user MTU's Hoster program. With it, you can load all the songs for the night into the playlist and it will automatically advance from one song to the next so you can focus on performing and not the mechanics of handling the equipment. Go to the Hoster information on MTU's main page and you can get all the information about it.

As far as pay, I'm just shooting in the dark here, but try asking $200.00 and see what kind of response you get. If people are snatching you up without question, you're not charging enough. If no one's biting, you're charging too much.

[jlmer]

I just got the MicroStudio and the Plex drive so it'll be awhile before I get into any more software. I carry a Peavy XR800C stereo mixer/amp, 20" tv, 3 speakers (2 mains and 1 monitor) so carrying and hooking up a computer sounds like a lot of work to add to what I'm already setting up. I would have to do without the tv and go to the 17" monitor so would be trading there. I guess a person could get a "dedicated" computer so it wouldn't have to be unhooked each time it was to be used.
With the CD ROM I have I thought I'd put all of the songs on 3 CDs since it'll copy the words and just let them go from 1 tray to the other. It's harder to find out everything you need to start with than I thought. I have Peavy stage lights from the band but the computer doesn't work right so will have to fix that if I decide to use them. I also have a couple of spots.

[SteveWalker]

I posted a message here this morning and it was deleted by the administrator. Please explain to me why you deleted a post that I took great care in creating and was 100% accurate and within the policies of this forum.

Steve

[jwear]

Nashville market has become flooded over the past few years with new comers, and they have driven prices down consistantly here. They average for KJ's that I personally know here in Nashville, is around $100-$125 during the week, and $125-$200 for weekend shows.

[SteveWalker]

I hesitate to tell the truth on this forum about the ups and downs of starting a karaoke business because my last post was completely deleted.

[Digital Party]

I just started a show for $175. It's 5 hours long......I don't like that, but....
It's on a military base, the crowd is smaller, lot's of music is played, the same people every week (so far ...looking to change that), and it will lead to the higher paying gigs when the various Commands have their big holiday parties and such....