Karaoke Forums

As this year comes to a close, I thought I would take the temperature of the hosts who participate here as to their 2009 rates. To know where we're going, we have to know where we've been!

Your answer should be the regular amount you get for your weekly show, not including any special events or private parties.

Note, as your name will not appear with your answer, feel free to be honest

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I actually get paid $225 for one gig and $250 for another so I chose The lesser amount as the cap was $249. Close enough...

I actually straddle 3 ranges, since the pay varies from $125 in town, to $250 in other cities. I work in about a 50 mile radius from Richmond, which includes another 5 cities.

I get paid $50 an hour for a minimum of 3 hours (so I clicked the 150-199 range). The show that I am currently hosting, asks me an hour before the end of the show, whether I am willing to stay an extra hour (when it's busy there), and then they pay me accordingly.

I currently charge $150.00 but that will change as of Jan 1st to $175,00

I get paid $200 unless I stay late which happens about once a week. Then it depends on how much I stay later. $25 for a half hour, $50 for an hour

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With the new year approaching...I'm going to start looking for a new weekly gig. My rate is $175, which in my area is super hard to get. Everyone wants to pay $75-100, which I don't accept. I've settled for $150 and trialed a few nights for $100-125.

MrD

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

Of course it is hard to compare rates exactly as some shows range from 2 hours to 5-6 hours (or more?).

But the consensus seems to be nearly 40-50 an hour.

The question is that with the median salary in the US being 15.50 are we doing something that is so skilled to comand 3 times the median.

Yes I know that we have to take into account our investment in equipment, and also the "non billed" hours keeping the setup up to date, but for someone doing many shows regularly, both those factors diminish as a portion of cost.

So lets break down the cost of how we view our compensation, into overhead and actual pay.

After all of that it is apparent that many of us view our time as worth $30 or more an hour.

The question I have to ask is KJing really that difficult that it deserves double the median salary?

Other possiblities is that it is something that is generally unplesant or inconvenient to do, such that it commands a high wage.


While I do not think that ANYONE can go out and be a reasonably good KJ, a lot of people can with a period of learning the skill.

As for being an unplesant job, I think most of us consider it a fun job to have and therefore we shoud not need to be tempted into the task by a high salary.

Im just thinking with unemployment at 10% and real unemployment pushing 20% considering under-employed and people no-longer looking for jobs, are we asking too much pay.

It may be possible for someone to work 5 shows a week and make close to $50k or more a year in this job, but that is really only for working about 1000-1200 hours, or not much more than half time, for something that is really a good salary for a big part of this country.

My take on the matter is not that there are people out there trying to drive down wages in the field of KJing, but why are there not more of them!!

Dr,

This should create quite the stir here. I do believe that we are worth every penny of the $30-$50 an hr, even if were doing 5 shows a week. The 4 or 5 hrs of actual KJing is the easy part of the job, there is much more work that goes on here, I would say more than double that. So, what I'm actually saying is exact opposite of what you are saying. It is a specialized field of work and it should be paid accordingly. MrD

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

Base price is $150 - up to 4 hours with $50 per hour for each additional, however the clubs get discounts for multiple nights in a row, so right now i'm in the $100-$149 catagory and the club i'm in now don't allow for extra hours so no worries there. Not too many clubs around here will even consider paying a karaoke company more than $100-150. I have had several offer to 'relocate' saying they want my company & could match what I get - I always go meet just out of curiosity mainly, so far none of the offers have been close to what I get when they get down to actual figures - the offers ranged from $75 - $125 (and that guy actually told me he was going over his bosses head as he was only authorized to offer $100) per night. When I told them what I required ($25 more than $125), they couldn't match it.

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

Coming from someone that works for free most of the time, I can understand why you say this - you have said many times this is JUST a hobby & not an actual job. To many of us we treat it as an actual job - for me, this IS my job. I haven't worked a day job since 04. I invest $$ in equipment, music, updating books, advertising, maintenence, etc. Why shouldn't I be compensated for it to be able to keep the library fresh, equipment in good working order or upgrade it so it actually sounds good & not like the 99% of the $100 & less companies that don't invest, don't care, think it's a great way to make a buck until they actually realize it is in fact a job & tarnish karaokes reputation in the clubs they play?
My time is worth what I get, sorry if yours isn't!

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

Dr,

This should create quite the stir here. I do believe that we are worth every penny of the $30-$50 an hr, even if were doing 5 shows a week. The 4 or 5 hrs of actual KJing is the easy part of the job, there is much more work that goes on here, I would say more than double that. So, what I'm actually saying is exact opposite of what you are saying. It is a specialized field of work and it should be paid accordingly. MrD

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

A few things in answer to the question of whether or not we ask too much.

First, a four hour gig is not a four hour gig. You have drive, load, setup, tear down, and load out time to also consider. So for round numbers lets say you play at a place 30 minutes away (a longer drive then most I know but I'll make up for that in a second) and lets say it takes you 30 minutes to load-in and setup and another 30 to tear-down and load out (that's probably a decent estimate if you don't dawdle and have a complete mobile rig). You're already up to 6 hours, so now that $150 that some of you get is down to $25/hour.

Now, the last report I saw from 2007 showed the overall average salary in the US is $45,000/year. I'm not sure where you got your numbers from, if they're newer and it's gone down or what, but 45K a year is about $20/hour. So already pretty close to the $25/hour rate some of you are accepting.

Now figure in all the intangibles. Do you have to load up your vehicle before leaving the house? Do you have advertising costs? What about supplies (song signup sheets, etc), admin fees, etc (those aren't included in your day job salary because the company pays for it)? What about benefits (benefits aren't included in that average salary figure). Now on top of that add in the fact that this is (in theory) a somewhat specialized and skilled field.

Ultimately you're comparing apples and oranges here. You can't compare what a client pays your company to what a company pays an employee, they're two completely different things.

The real measure of whether or not you're asking too little, too much, or the correct amount is what are you worth to the client? If karaoke night brings in thousands of dollars in sales, your going to be worth a lot more to that business than a place where Karaoke nights only pull a few hundred dollars a night.

My opinion is most of us don't make what we're worth. The problem is though, the places that make thousands to tens of thousands on Karaoke nights are getting harder to find because every little dive bar and corner pub has karaoke these days. The undercutting and cheapening of this profession has made it possible for any bar to host Karaoke and I honestly believe that thins the crowds at all establishments. 10 years ago, a bar that had Karaoke was special and was the exception. Now bars that don't have Karaoke nights are the exception and are often looked down upon.

So there you have it, my 2 cents worth.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

I don't think you can use the median rate of $15.50 per hour.
KJ'ing is part of the service industry and should NOT be compared to the average wage. When you look at other similiar type of services $50 per hour is on the bottom of the scale. Try comparing to a PLUMBER or ELECTRICIAN or CARPENTER/HANDYMAN. ALthough those are skilled and LICENSED trades these guys probably get between $100-$300 per hour.
What's a Dr. getting these days $75+ per 5 minutes of time ( well deserved) but still ...

What we do is a specialized field. Not everyone is comfortable or capable of working in front of a crowd. Not everyone has the knowledge to put together a system and know how to run it. Not everyone has the people skills to work with the public.

There isn't a school out there that teaches how to be a karaoke host. Most KJs I know were self taught or worked under someone to learn. There are probably many people who would love to do what we do, but have no idea how to even get started. Even if you had the knowledge there is start up cost and knowing how to run a business. Not to mention trying to start a business when you already have a full time job.

Are we any less valuable than any other profession that is specialized? Plumber, heating air etc... Shoot I have to pay $75 just to get them to come to my house and most don't own the business, so they don't have those overhead costs.

We are only worth what people are willing to pay, so I guess what we do is valued. Like most professions the better your reputation and the more experience you have the more work you'll get for a higher price. You get what you pay for.

The exception is an area that is saturated with karaoke. That's when competition comes into play. If your area is saturated with KJs of course the price of your service goes down to compete. That's when reputation and experience may help out. With any business the more contacts you have and the better rep you have can help you get more jobs. I know I'll pay more for a good plumber to do it right the first time than a hack that wastes my money.

There are so many variables to the answer to your question that I couldn't possibly cover them all. Some would argue they're worth more and would argue there are to many hacks and it drives down what we are worth. But I don't think anyone would argue we're worth less. If you can get $1000 for a NYE gig you'd take it and in my mind you must be worth it otherwise they wouldn't pay it.

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This is another good point that I forgot to even include. This is NOT my 'job', it is my 2nd 'job'...if I had to include benefits, like health care. I couldn't do it for $300 for a 4hr gig. I work full-time at a 'real' job, just to allow myself the chance to compete at $150/gig!
MrD

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

We are business owners not someone working for a salary with benefits. It's not fair to compare what we do to a yearly salary or someone that works for an hourly wage from an employer.

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

ALL valid points, but regardless, we make a pretty good paycheck, work for ourselves, and for me it's a labor of love, not necessarily work as it would be if i did the same job working for some one else.

Keeping on topic, both my shows pay $200 for 4 hours plus $1 a song, so a good night wolud be $240-$260 plus tips. i pay my cohost WELL so i make what a lot of you here make. I use my karaoke money to take trips and add some to my retirement fund.

Tony, you make a lot of great points. But the bottom line is that we can only charge what the market will bear. From the responses, it looks like I'm pretty close to top end in my compensation. But as you noted, we are independent contractors - not employees.

My marketing director job doesn't make me provide my own computer, pens and other gear I need to do my job. I don't have the continuing expenses of buying new music, replacing microphones and reprinting song slips. And although it's normal to get employee benefits like paid vacation, sick days, bonuses, etc. as a KJ if I don't work, I don't get paid.

As to whether being a KJ is a "job" or a "hobby" doesn't have much to do with whether you have a day job. It's about your approach to being a KJ. If it's something you do with diligence and professionalism, it is indeed a job - or even a profession. If it's just something you do sometimes and primarily because you like to sing, that's another story.


That's not necessarily a factor. Bar owners make more money the nights you're there? They're not cutting you in for a piece commensurate with their ring...they put it in their pocket. They pay what is the market-established price range, which in Seattle is $100-$300. On some nights my pay might be 10% of the ring, on others 3%. But my pay doesn't fluctuate, just makes the bar owners richer. And I'm fine with that; the real money is in private parties anyway!


Not to mention the oversaturation of hosts. To many bar owners, karaoke is karaoke is karaoke. Most singers DO notice - and patronize - those of us who take special care to provide top-notch gear, updated music, clean books, etc. Conveying that to bar owners as a reason to increase the amount they pay a KJ, however, is usually a challenge.

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[font=Lucida Console]"Sing for the day, sing for the moment, sing for the time of your life!"[/font]

As for where I got my numbers it is from government statistics.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/2008/may/oes_nat.htm#(2)

The 42,000 average income is misleading, as what I quoted was the median income. The median is what the 50th person out of 100 makes and is not biased as much by super high earning individuals.

Dont get me wrong I realize that the hourly rate for KJs (and plumbers, doctors repairmen etc) also takes into account a lot of time that is not directly billed, and takes into account prep time. But nearly all jobs have transportation time to get to the job so it is not really fair to count that as a unique cost of karaoke. The setup time for a KJ can be reduced to very little in many cases. Other maintenence on equipment, updating songs, books etc would be minimal for a "full time" KJ, averageing only a few hours a week.

Yes, a KJ may be WORTH $200, $300 or even $500 per night to a bar. But if 10 people want to do that one job, then of course the market will drive down the price.
That is my point.

Yes I realize that not just anyone can be a KJ. There are skills involved, and yes there are substantial invesmtments needed in terms of a rig/songs. But most jobs can't be just done by anyone. Many jobs require 4 or more years of college or specialized training. Comparing the price of even a top rate kj rig is nothing compared to a few years of college.

While I realize that not anyone can be a good KJ, BUT a full time KJ can make more than half the people in the country. Many of those people have demanding and hard jobs that also require skills. MANY of those people certainly are able to be a good or even great KJ. Also a "full time" KJ is only working about 25 hours a week.

What surprises me is that from my point of view my local market is so saturated to the point even a $100 gig is hard to find. Of course I am in an area with a lot of people with music/entertainment interests, and also a relatively low overall wage scale.

What I am saying is that yes we can get paid what the market will bear, because that is the value the KJ provides to the venue. BUT the competiion for those limited jobs is also a market as well. For a relatively fun job that does not really have long hours (but admittedly late hours) and not a long training period, it would seem there would be a big line for the job of KJ.

I guess I am just thinking about this mainly from the point of view of a few unemployed friends who can't find jobs, despite major effort. I know that a few of them (but certainly not all) have what it takes to be decent KJs if they put in the effort, if there were jobs where they could even be earning $25k a year. It seems that the job of a full time (or part time) KJ is a pretty good deal.