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Besides New Years Eve and Halloween, I haven't ever charged more than my regular rate for bar gigs if a holiday happens to fall on one of my regularly booked nights.

The other day I was talking with a DJ and he was telling me he was looking for a 'Thanksgiving Eve' gig because his regular Wednesday night club was unwilling to pay his premium price for that night.

Some may or may not be aware, but the night before Thanksgiving is a pretty big bar night in many areas.. some would argue one of the biggest nights of the year.

I told the dude I hadn't intended on charging my regular Wednesday night gig any more for that night, and he looked at me like I was crazy.

So that got me wondering how many other people charge more for that Wednesday?

Maybe I *am* the crazy one.. haha but he's the one who just priced himself out of his own gig.

If the bar is advertising any type of PARTY or EVENT for the "SPECIAL DATE"
you should ask for MORE as a HOLIDAY PARTY

Generally the BIG Holidays should pay more .... day before Thanksgiving although a hughe BAR night.....Not a HOLIDAY IMHO

US Holidays
New Years Eve or DAY ...YES
Memorial Day
4th of July
Labor Day
Halloween Party
Thanksgiving
Xmas Eve or Day

If I have a regular gig there and it just happens to fall on one of those nights, no I don't suddenly expect them to pay more for me to be there. We have an oral contract in place as far as I'm concerned and that is for a certain number of hours of Karaoke at a certain price and a certain day of the week/month. I don't tell them, oh but if it falls on an important date then I want more money so how can I later come back and say I want more for those dates?

Now, if a venue calls me and says we're having a NYE party and we want Karaoke or a DJ that night (and it's not one of my normal/regular nights), I will expect them to pay a premium for that evening. Doesn't matter if they're a place I play regularly or it's a one-off, to me that show is a one off so I'd expect additional payment. That said, if it is at one of my regular places, I probably won't push the price too much higher just to avoid causing any issues with a good relationship that's already in place. My experience has been that my regular gigs, when they call me for a special event, usually expect to pay more.

Sorry but in my opinion, your buddy is being a major DB and if I was the bar he plays at regularly, I'd probably be out looking for a new guy once I found out he didn't plan to play that night for his regular price.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

@ Letitrip...

Strange, almost always agree with your thinking! If it's a consistant gig and the night happens to fall on a holiday, then no...the price doesn't change.

If I'm looking for a gig for a holiday or get the call for one, then yes...the price goes up.

MrD

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[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
Visit MrD on facebook - mrdsentertainment
& on myspace - larrynance[/highlight]

It's not strange at all, it's just because we're always right

I'm just kidding of course so please stop throwing the tomatoes folks.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

I agree except for MAJOR HOLIDAYS .. but that gets back to being a responsible business person... When you book a steady gig ...LOOK AHEAD AT THE CALENDAR
AND DISCUSS with the mgr ...BE PROACTIVE

Absolutely. Proactive. I will offer to amp up the show somehow on a 'pre-holiday' night and discuss what it will cost to do that. Last year I had a show that fell on Christmas Eve - so we moved it to Christmas Eve Eve and turned the evening into a big party at the venue with white elephant gift exchage, carolling, etc., and I got a big fat bonus for doing that.

Smart to look at the calendar ahead of time and discuss with management how special dates will be handled. No point in being greedy about it. And at least with the people who go to my shows, a tip jar on that night is usually the answer (at their request) as they get to show their appreciation for the extra effort.

The two big ones here (Canada) are Halloween and New Year's Eve.
I do ask for more money for those two dates and I've never had an issue getting it. Bar management knows those nights are going to be great and it sure beats having no entertainment at all, because everyone will just go somewhere else where there is entertainment!
As for Christmas, I refuse to work on Christmas eve and Christmas day. That is family time.
Thanksgiving I don't work either. Family time again, and there really is no point. The bars are dead. I don't count the day before as a holiday. If I did, I would have to count every long weekend as one.
Any other holidays I generally don't charge extra for and they are open to negotiation.

When I did regular bar gigs, I wrote a special charge for NYE into the letter of understanding I sent when accepting the gig. It isn't a contract, of course, but it is a way of referring to something on paper in case of disagreement. Makes things easier in my experience.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

I've been working the same 3 nights for the same bar for years. I never charge more for a holiday. If it lands on my night I make the same.

It's kind of give and take. Some nights are slow and I probably make more than the bar does and the bigger money making nights the bar makes a lot more money than me. It's worth it to me to have the stability of a long lasting permanent gig.

If I wasn't a permanent fixture at the bar I'd charge more for a holiday.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

I do not charge anymore if it falls on my regular night - not matter the special date. I may pay my host more however.
When I first started out I believe that the major holidays should be extra even if they fell on my regular night. My first year New Years Eve & Halloween fell on my nights and I had told the bar that these would be extra pay nights, they paid me my regular price & told me my services would no longer be required. That opened my eyes quite a bit. If it falls on my regular night, no extra, if it's a night different from the regular, regular private party pay scale applies - which is typically 3 times the regular bar rate minimum.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

My agreements with bars have always been that holidays are different. All bands charge way more on holidays, as do DJs, and most other entertainers. These are big money days for the venues and their entertainers, and if the bar owners want to be greedy, let them get someone else.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

That is my take.

First, how many bands do you know that have a regular weekly gig at a bar. These days very very few. Regular weekly DJ's, at least in this area, do not charge more for the same reasons covered above, it's just another night they're scheduled to work.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

These are the Holidays that I charge more for, doesn't matter if it is a regular reoccurring gig, or one time only. My price doubles if I am to do a gig on a holiday when I am supposed to be with my family.

As for regular reoccurring gigs, they are told if a gig falls on one of the above Holidays, they have to pay double to have me there. So far only have ever done New Years Eve, and Halloween, and I get to spend the rest of the Holidays with my family.

Actually charging more for Stat Holidays should be the norm. Afterall most people who work those dates get anywhere from 1.5 - 2.5 times their pay, depending on their jurisdiction or time off with pay.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

I don't do regular gigs. That being said, when I have been hosting at a place, I charge my regular fee. There is one place where I only do 2 shows a year (on rare occasion, they have called me for a 3rd (either on Valentine's Day or St. Patty's Day)). The 2 shows I do at this place are on Halloween weekend and New Year's Eve. I charge my regular rate of $200 for a 4 hour show on Halloween, and I charge $100 more (plus an extra $50 if they want me to go another hour) on New Year's Eve.

On a side note, Christmas Eve is probably the deadest night in the karaoke community. I have been out to several bars (over the years) on Dec. 24th, and they have been dead (maybe 10 people in the whole bar (if they're lucky)) until about 12:30 AM. Then, all of a sudden, the people crowd in from Midnight Mass. I have even looked for advertised karaoke, only to find it was canceled on that night. The 2nd deadest night is the night of Thanksgiving. Most people are tired out from eating turkey, and don't feel like going out after such a heavy meal.

I look at it this way, the bar that charges $1.50 for a beer on a normal Tuesday, but goes back to their weekend price of $2.85 on a Tuesday that also happens to be New Year's Eve, should not expect their entertainers to work for regular Tuesday price.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Hi POT this is KETTLE!
The bar wants to be greedy, sound's like the karaoke/dj company is the one wanting to be greedy! Pay me more because YOU are getting more. But if they want to pay you less because THEY are getting less, you would THROW A FIT!

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[shadow=deepskyblue]I'm impressed, I've never met such a small mind inside such a big head before.[/shadow]

And you would know this how?????????????

If I were to ask the Bar if they plan to inflate their prices just because it's a holiday (or even a weekend), do you think I'm going to get a straight answer (other than, "What's it to you?!!!")??? You don't get to dictate what a place is going to charge for their drinks.

As a KJ (even part time), I am oblivious to what a bar charges for its drinks. As a Karaoke Singer, I am more aware of things like that.... especially if it's a place that I frequent on non-karaoke nights. There was one place that I used to go to for Karaoke a few times, but stopped. When the KJ (who was also a friend of mine) asked me why, I told her that it was because the bar did not give "Buy-Backs." She swore up and down that the place did. Then she found out that the place was only giving "buy-backs" before and after the karaoke show. She talked to the owners, and they changed their policy after that. What they did was charge $1 more for their drinks, and after the 4th drink, they gave you a "buy-back." Since the average cost of a drink there was $4, they really didn't change a thing. I stopped going there (again) after I saw what they were doing. Needless to say, others stopped going there too (and the Karaoke eventually died at that place).