I can make money playing originals?! WHAT?!?!?!?

#21
It's great you're recouping some of your sunk cost, but kinda sad that a thread like this can't exist without the need for some to take a few swipes at the idea of playing covers. OP even hinted that the only reason we play covers is to make money.

I could rehash several tired diatribes mocking the originals scene but I'll refrain. :beaver:
 
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#22
ChrisB2 said:
It's great you're recouping some of your sunk cost, but kinda sad that a thread like this can't exist without the need for some to take a few swipes at the idea of playing covers. OP even hinted that the only reason we play covers is to make money.

I could rehash several tired diatribes mocking the originals scene but I'll refrain. :beaver:
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Thank goodness I play covers. Those 150 gigs a year in a variety band help pay my bills!!!!!

I mean, yeah, I might tell someone the band doesnt know brown eyed girl :)
We are still working on that one. Sorry bout that. Next time.
 
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#23
Neil Folkard said:
So. I'm that guy who took up bass playing pretty late (at 50) and have worked hard to become at least a passable player. As I do okay with my day job, and I'm just wired that way, I've only ever been interested in playing originals.

Now, I just got used to the fact that this would always equal zero to very little money and a free drink, maybe, at best and I have been completely okay with that. What makes it satisfying to me, is to hear people actually cheering (more than polite applause), even wanting encores for music that I helped to create. It's an amazing feeling.

The fact that many here like to play in cover bands and make money is very cool, and IMO anyone playing live music is winning.

Lo and behold, I recently joined a new power trio and we are actually getting paid, so far, at gigs. Not that much, certainly...$60 here, $80 there, but at least enough to cover the gas to get to the venue.

And people have responded really well to our material, to boot. I guess that I just want to say that I feel lucky and happy about this. And quite surprised, haha.
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Yup. I'm getting paid playing OGs too. 100 (minimum, depending on my negotiation skills) + my cut of the tips. But, we're also playing 2 - 3 hour sets.

Opening acts don't get paid
 
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#24
Neil Folkard said:
So. I'm that guy who took up bass playing pretty late (at 50) and have worked hard to become at least a passable player. As I do okay with my day job, and I'm just wired that way, I've only ever been interested in playing originals.

Now, I just got used to the fact that this would always equal zero to very little money and a free drink, maybe, at best and I have been completely okay with that. What makes it satisfying to me, is to hear people actually cheering (more than polite applause), even wanting encores for music that I helped to create. It's an amazing feeling.

The fact that many here like to play in cover bands and make money is very cool, and IMO anyone playing live music is winning.

Lo and behold, I recently joined a new power trio and we are actually getting paid, so far, at gigs. Not that much, certainly...$60 here, $80 there, but at least enough to cover the gas to get to the venue.

And people have responded really well to our material, to boot. I guess that I just want to say that I feel lucky and happy about this. And quite surprised, haha.
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Glad you found a niche. Easier to market with a 3 piece act.

Finding venues when you have 12 mouths to feed + a sound & light company is a challenge. To get an decent sized venue to even have an interest, you need to produce an average attendance of between 250-300 people in the seats at a minimum. Anymore, we have to partner up with one or two other acts and hope for the best.

Congrats on the gig and best wishes!
 
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#25
Lance Bunyon said:
I've done it all in the past 30 years. I remember a show in upstate NY where we were opening up for ReignDance. Our drummer/BL was an affable sociopath and we were going "straight to the top". The venue owner basically didn't pay us, he offered us food then took it off the "pay"...original hard rock band.

I had a drummer a few years later who was a jazzhead. Came into rehearsals one Sunday night on cloud 9. "I just played the Blue Note!"
"What did you make?"
"$40"
...
The gas for his truck was $20 roundtrip. The tolls were at least $10 back then (GW bridge).
He got a sandwich.
Music business is hard.
I'm glad your recouping some of your expenses.
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Couple years ago I was doing a side gig from my cover band with a country band. We opened for Junior Brown. Great venue, great crowd! I got paid $14. I made the mistake of telling the story to my BL. She still teases me about it. "We're going to give you a raise! How does $15 sound?" Etc.
 
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#26
I was in an originals band and we opened for Reckless Kelly 2 nights on a west coast tour. We each got $100 bucks and an invite on the tour bus. I could smell the aroma of success. Or maybe it was their dirty laundry, hard to tell. Either way, it’s a tough road. We made some money along the way but it got shoveled right back into studio time. Yea, I’d probably do it again.
 
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#27
Bunk McNulty said:
Couple years ago I was doing a side gig from my cover band with a country band. We opened for Junior Brown. Great venue, great crowd! I got paid $14. I made the mistake of telling the story to my BL. She still teases me about it. "We're going to give you a raise! How does $15 sound?" Etc.
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It's tough all over.
LBS-bass said:
It's not quite as bad as everyone makes it out to be, if your band is good. A lot of what you hear comes from people who are grinding away at this when they probably ought to be doing something else. I think if you assemble a tight group of competent players and you write good songs, you'll find your audience, and you'll find that they'll reward you.
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That's like saying if you're Taylor Swift you will fill arenas. I don't find it easy at all to find an audience playing originals. If it was easy everyone would be doing it.

Mastermold said:
My band is an "originals" band. We write our own songs, produce our own recordings, and make a little money when we play out. I agree it's much better playing concert venues than bars, but we do both.....
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You play bars doing all originals?

Vincent Van Low said:
...playing the blue note...priceless...(sounds like to him)
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I played The Blue Bird in Nashville a few times with a singer/songwriter's showcase. I didn't even make gas money.

Scott Bland said:
Thank goodness I play covers. Those 150 gigs a year in a variety band help pay my bills!!!!!....
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Same here, except I use my gig money for new equipment.

JeezyMcNuggles said:
Yup. I'm getting paid playing OGs too. 100 (minimum, depending on my negotiation skills) + my cut of the tips. But, we're also playing 2 - 3 hour sets.

Opening acts don't get paid
Click to expand...
You play 2-3 hour sets of all originals?
 
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#28
So, are you saying the your music is better than everyone else's music and it is beneath you to play it?
Most artists, regardless of media, learn from others and use the techniques they learn to create even better music.
Name a major band that didn't start out playing covers.
 
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#29
BTW I was recently in an all originals band (in addition to the two other bands I was in at the time). We never played a bar gig, but we did play several festivals and had some moderate success doing that. Too bad there aren't local festivals every weekend. We tried incorporating covers a few times (all of us had previously only been in cover bands) but the motivation wasn't there (for all of us) to make that our thing. We just kinda floundered for several years and never did fulfill the potential that I think we had. We self produced a CD and had enough original songs for a second CD which we never recorded. Well, at least we tried.
 
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#30
Neil Folkard said:
So. I'm that guy who took up bass playing pretty late (at 50) and have worked hard to become at least a passable player. As I do okay with my day job, and I'm just wired that way, I've only ever been interested in playing originals.

Now, I just got used to the fact that this would always equal zero to very little money and a free drink, maybe, at best and I have been completely okay with that. What makes it satisfying to me, is to hear people actually cheering (more than polite applause), even wanting encores for music that I helped to create. It's an amazing feeling.

The fact that many here like to play in cover bands and make money is very cool, and IMO anyone playing live music is winning.

Lo and behold, I recently joined a new power trio and we are actually getting paid, so far, at gigs. Not that much, certainly...$60 here, $80 there, but at least enough to cover the gas to get to the venue.

And people have responded really well to our material, to boot. I guess that I just want to say that I feel lucky and happy about this. And quite surprised, haha.
Click to expand...
Register with USA answer to Performing Rights Society, and you can get royalties for playing your own songs.

Both of my bands play only our own songs. We earn every clap and cheer, being liked for what we do. Cover bands are liked for what someone else has done.
 
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#33
Congrats and I am happy to hear a good success so far in your journey! I agree, I don't mind and I do love playing covers or standards, mostly Blues or Jazz etc. but I do enjoy more when putting my own spin or at least giving my own material a try, there is more freedom to me at least. I am glad you are having fun and making a little bit and being your own sound!

Have a great day and week!
 
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#34
My last band played a few originals, some got local radio airplay. Ironically, after playing in this band for nearly a decade, my wife tells me her favorite original was "Fall down"... (by Toad the Wet Sprocket).

Nothing better than when an original is appreciated.... nothing worse than when it isn't.
 
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#36
That's awesome. One of my bands is an originals act and we have reached the point where we can do four hours of music that is about 80% originals and three hours of all originals. We only play for guaranteed pay and not a percentage of the door. It's been a lot of work to get here (we've been together for 5 years so far) but it's been a really fun journey.

The caveat as others have mentioned is that you need to be good at what you do. If you're a tight band with good vocals and quality musicianship, people will hear that and respond to it. Sounds like your band is exactly that.
 
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#38
The problem with playing all originals, IMO, is you must have a following that’s ready and eager to hear them. That’s the hard part. Anything is possible, of course. But the probability of achieving serious success is small. Because the songs have to be good AND you have to have plenty of them—as well as a band that’s willing to play them.

I once helped a local singer/songwriter record an album of his originals. They weren’t terrible, but they didn’t swing enough for me to commit to playing them every night in his band. Moreover, there was a sameness to them that I could not get past.

He also insisted on being the only songwriter for the band, which was a total non-starter for me.

I’d rather play entire shows of carefully curated covers. Until you have that many truly good songs, you’re only swimming upstream, especially if you aren’t amenable to some level of collaboration.
 
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#39
IMO, good music is good music...period.

The inundation with countless musicians (old and new) marketing their material makes a lot of people unreceptive. Also the romance of the concert experience isn't as compelling as it used to be (from what I see). If it's the right genre and the right crowd, I'll wager a riot won't ensue simply because it's music people have never heard before.

Some of the new indie and alternative artist I've recently heard got me to actually buy CDs and consider seeing them live. Here's a few such artists:



 
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#40
51PRI said:
BTW I was recently in an all originals band (in addition to the two other bands I was in at the time). We never played a bar gig, but we did play several festivals and had some moderate success doing that. Too bad there aren't local festivals every weekend. We tried incorporating covers a few times (all of us had previously only been in cover bands) but the motivation wasn't there (for all of us) to make that our thing. We just kinda floundered for several years and never did fulfill the potential that I think we had. We self produced a CD and had enough original songs for a second CD which we never recorded. Well, at least we tried.
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You asked above about my original band playing bars. Lots of bar owners around here only book cover bands or tribute bands, but some also book original bands. Since Covid there aren't as many venues now so options are fewer. It's been interesting trying to find new places to play.
 
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