How much to charge for playing solo (unaccompanied) tuba?

[emcallaway]

Here's something that's hugely out of my area of expertise: I've just been asked to play solo tuba (no accompaniment) at a bar mitzvah for an hour as guests arrive. The music can be entirely of my choosing. Needless to say, this promises to be one of the strangest gigs that I can ever expect to play.

How much money would you ask for for an hour of unaccompanied playing?

Thanks in advance.

[bill]

In my jurisdiction, It would cost $179 for me to play this gig. We have a 2 hour minimum, at $50/hr. and a 40% uplift ($40) for a solo gig with pension and work dues added ($39). I do solo gigs on Native American Flute, rather than tuba, so Cartage (also a compensable service) does not figure in to this quote. That would be another $15.

If your buyer thinks this is expensive, ask him what he paid last time he called a plumber. Get what you are worth, not what people think a CD or playing the radio is worth.

[eupher61]

$39 for work dues? WOW! That's what, roughly 20%? I've never heard of a local with dues that high. 2% maybe.

$150 is certainly fair. Take your Rochut, Blazevich, etc...and look at them before hand at least once.

[NCSUSousa]

I realize I wouldn't be the one asked to play such a gig, but I'd expect to pay $200-250 for an hour of solo piano or organ time from any of the local musicians here in Raleigh, NC. I would expect rates are similar (if not higher) in the Boston area. On the tuba? You decide if there should be a difference.
As part of an ensemble, I'd expect that $ to be around the same - but with a rehearsal included in the time expectation.

[Dan Schultz]

I'd be more concerned about having enough Klezmer tuba solo music to last an hour!

[ghmerrill]

I have to say that I'm shocked by the rates that people are talking about here.

I have no idea of what the "going rates" for such performances in various parts of the country, but when I saw the original question my immediate reaction was "That should probably be around $500 or so." $200? For an hour of solo performance at a major social/family event? Really? Small wonder that musicians have trouble earning a living from their trade.

(In fact, I'm pretty sure that within the past year I've heard two or three people say that the one of the major universities commonly has paid $200 to have a low brass player sit in with the orchestra for their commencement exercises. Of course, maybe that includes a rehearsal -- in which case I'd also regard that as pretty low.)

[bort]

Related question -- How much would a brass quintet charge for 1 hour?

[emcallaway]

Well, this is turning out to be quite educational! I guess I have strong self-critical streak, but it wouldn't have occurred to me to charge quite so much.

Related question -- How much would a brass quintet charge for 1 hour?

Would that be the same answers as above ($150-500, whichever number in that range is correct) multiplied by 5?

[Cthuba]

Open Bar?

[bill]

In my jurisdiction, It would cost $179 for me to play this gig. We have a 2 hour minimum, at $50/hr. and a 40% uplift ($40) for a solo gig with pension and work dues added ($39). I do solo gigs on Native American Flute, rather than tuba, so Cartage (also a compensable service) does not figure in to this quote. That would be another $15.

If your buyer thinks this is expensive, ask him what he paid last time he called a plumber. Get what you are worth, not what people think a CD or playing the radio is worth.

Are you in Local 99? They normally have 3% work dues, which would come to $4.20. So you are claiming you have to kick in an additional $34.80 in pension payments for a gig that nets you $140? That does not sound right. And a tubist should NOT be charging cartage. That is a very specific fee that we do not qualify for unless we are lugging mains, monitors, a board, lights, timpani, etc. We cannot charge for it here as the tuba is portable and simply sits in your lap.

Here is some fee info from Local 99...

http://afm99.org/wp-content/uploads/201 ... letter.pdf

You can do a buy-out in 99 for a flat fee. Again, I don't know whether you are in 99 or some other Local in Oregon. But they are charging you too much, I think.

You see, the quote I gave was exactly what our Union President, Bruce Fife, worked out for me for my last gig so, I refer you to him for the justification. Pension is only one part of the $39. People are surprised at how many dollars they have to pay out because we are in an electronic age but the goal is to have a career, with pensions, like real human beings have. I am a life member of the AFM and have been playing professionally since I was about to turn 12. I turned 74, yesterday. I have seen a lot and I rely on the Union to set minimums. This is what was set.

Are you a member of Local 99? Have you gotten the new rate book? btw, while I live in their jurisdiction, most of my playing does not occur here. As for cartage, that varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and, in some places, there is a list of instruments which require cartage to be charged.

[tofu]

You could charge an average of what most people are paid to play unaccompanied tuba solos.

Well yeah...but you make all your money on the $200 cartage fee!

[Tim Jackson]

BEWARE- Rambling PsychoBabble ahead!

I own an entertainment agency and have been booking acts for 15 years. Generally, the few musicians that might command a high scale for a solo appearance are the folks that are already out there doing it PROFESSIONALLY. Getting a once in a lifetime invite to play a solo tuba cocktail gig would not be a time to charge the highest wage imaginable… which is usually what happens when I call on amateurs. On the Gulf Coast a seasoned soloist might expect to make $275-$600. If you are the only tubist available for the solo gig you could move your estimated value up 15-20%. Tell them what your normal rate is (say $250) and does that fit their budget. If they expected more maybe you’ll get a nice tip for playing Kraft Encounters without missing a note… you could charge $275 and promise not play any modern tuba literature. If they say $150 say thank you and go show ‘em having a tuba soloist is the coolest thing they could have done. Maybe you’ll get more gigs. The best thing is you might create more interest in live music. If you want to do it right… bring a fake book and play tunes from Fiddler of the Roof. The New Real book has a Jewish section. Figure out the tempos on the Horas and play a few. These are things a pro would do even when the client says play whatever you like.

…ranting beyond the spot gig question,
For those that wish to make $500-$2500 very easy… rent a hall, promote and sell tickets. We will all be interested in hearing of the real value of a tuba solo performance in every day small town America.

… more rambling,
Too many arm chair musicians have no idea how shaky the profession of music performance is these days. Yes, I used to think I needed XXX to open my case. Now at my age I think if we don’t all put a lot of thought into creating interest and value in live performances the chances of getting paid a faction of what we are speaking of here will go away completely. And while I’m on the rant… when I hear a classical player say… “I hate playing weddings” (mostly section violinists that can’t function by themselves) I just think how stupid! here is an opportunity to bring beautiful music to people that may never consider attending a symphony concert. You go and play your heart out and maybe you will move someone in the crowd to think “ I never liked classical music but that was so wonderful.. I may try the symphony or opera. And finally… the real frontline of our future- the lowly elementary music teachers. This is where the love of music starts. Please thank these teachers and understand their importance in the future of music. With their help we may still have a few orchestras in 20 years. Next time you can volunteer your time to a local music teacher run and give a demonstration on brass instruments. For those of us that are so up tight about what money we deserve as players… you better figure out how to build the value of music in the general population.

It feels good to rant! Today I got nailed by the IRS. They didn’t want to hear my opinions at all. So I found something ramble on about on my favorite site!!!

Last word… I could agree with ZILICH!

Signed, Tim –with more tubas than gigs will ever pay for!

[PhilGreen]

In the UK, if this was a quintet booking and an amateur group, such as my own did it, we'd be lucky to get £300 for an hour. Four x 20 minute slots in a concert as 'guests' might net us £450. Of course there are groups such as the Fine Arts who go out for much more but wouldn't do this kind of job (I'm guessing).
I paid £200 for a pianist to play at my wedding for 90 minutes and that included expenses for his 90 mile roundtrip. If I treated this as a 'gig' and related our Musicians Union rates I'd get somewhere between £80 - £110.

Not sure if this helps much....

[TubaRay]

To Tim's post(above): Two thumbs WAY up!

[windshieldbug]

How much money would you ask for to listen to an hour of unaccompanied tuba playing?

[Rick F]

The so called "rambling" post by Tim Jackson is spot on! Very well said.

[eupher61]

I guess the rest of the answer should be based on YOU. Are you a pro=level player who can make anything sound amazing and appealing, or do you have trouble keeping up with pick-up community band charts? I'm not demeaning anyone, but there is a bit of difference between Joe Schmoe in the Knob Noster Concert Band and Gene Pokorny.

Gene could demand a lot more than me. I could demand more than Joe Schmoe. Will any of us get what we demand? Maybe not, but none of us should play for less than what the market says we are worth, and *usually* not for less than what we ourselves are worth.

50 bonus points to anyone who gets the reference above.

[ppalan]

...don't know if this is the reference you had in mind but...
http://youtu.be/CfIoc_Sg8ew

Pete