Karaoke Forums

I have been sitting on this letter since July.  I'm raising my price by $25 a night. If they don't like it, too bad.  My time is worth more.  The aggravation isn't.  With the gas prices going up steady and the cost of living in general going up, it's time.  I haven't had a raise in over ten years.  It's time.  I am the best thing going for the bars i do.  It's time.   They either pay up or get someone of lesser quality.   There are more of them than you can shake a stick at.

I should have done it a few years ago after seeing the declining quality of the competition.  It's time....

Put it into perspective... it's only a tiny bit over $6 an hour.  My lawyer charges $250 an hour.  I'm cheap...

Anyone else considering an increase?

Do you feel it's justified?

Your lawyer spent  a hockey sock full of cash for his education, with no guarantee of passing the bar, and repaying that humongous student loan, etc. In most areas $250 a night is great.  Remember rule of thumb is that entertainment should cost about 20% of the net bar.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

I,ve been debating how much to ask for.. A $25 or $50 raise. We get $150 and should get $250. After consulting other KJ'S and friends I called the owner last night and said I think the pay raise is due and asked for $175. He said he has been talking to the other owner about this and agreed It is $175 now. This spring I will ask for $200.. We do have a very good working relationship and I will tell him exactly what I am working for. There is no role playing and we both know what each other is thinking.

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

SW.  I used to Dj at a few bars and clubs, and when first started the rate was low. But as I watched the mood of the room, I quickly learned which ones to ask for a raise. My rule of thumb was simply. If the room is paying attention to what I was doing/playing and having a good time for three weeks in a row, go for the raise. How ever, If I was just getting paid (cash,including drinks) just to replace the juke, well why not. Besides I found at times just sitting there watching the room, you can get some pretty funny things going on. TomTom

PS, I also asked for not less than 25.00 more then I would accept. That way there was room to bargain.. And still be happy

_________________
glow=yellow][scroll][shadow=red] Correction..."LIZ" says..  :whistle: You just can't go wrong with TomTom onboard !![/shadow] [/scroll][shadow=gold][/shadow][shadow=cyan][/shadow][/shadow]

In the Tampa Bay area which is quite large, the going rate is somewhere around $125-$150. Some places don't even play that. There may be a very few that pay a bit more but not much and very few. Very few if any pay $200 for a single entertainer, maybe none. I know of good rock bands with 4 good musicians that struggle to get $600 for a night, some may get a bit more and I know some get less.

Don't get too big for your britches.  There is only so much that bars will pay for entertainment. If you are finding that there is a lot that annoys you then that is a sign that you may not like what you do anymore. Just because you think you're worth more doesn't mean that bar owners will pay more. Good luck, but I have a feeling that you are going to be surprised when you give them your price increase. The economy is tough, lots of people are struggling and out of work or working for lower wages.

Intersting point, Stogie - I have found that hosting establishments believe there is an endless supply of hosting companies and in our area there appears to be.  I prefer longevity at a place, but at my last one, after two years, they began to really lose sight of the value I brought. A whole series of circumstances helped me make the decision to move on rather than argue with them about petty things.  So they brought someone else in, attendance has dropped through the floor, and I am on the hunt for a place nearby to completely finish them off. Kind of nasty of me, but it is just so aggravating to me that they believe all karaoke companies are the same...and boy, are they NOT.

What bars in this area are willing to pay has dropped through the floor for bands, covers and originals. In fact, the deal now is they expect the band to actually sell tickets to get to play on their stage! ... A lot of very good bands are playing for $400-500 a night. How ridiculous is that.  The casino circuit is a little different, but a lot of the bands playing the casino circuit in this area are 6-8 piece bands...so splitting the money 6 to 8 ways probably brings it down to what the other bands are making. It's really sad. Gone are the days of the $1000 Saturday night, in this area at least.

Too many bands, too many karaoke hosting companies, I guess...I don't know exactly why this has happened.

K

You make a good point Karen. We can bring a lot of value to the places we entertain at and sometimes they don't realize what they have until you leave.

Sidewinder, there is a ceiling to what these places will pay. There is a cost/expense structure that needs to be respected. The bar needs to make money. They have rent or mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, food and beverage costs, labor costs and a long list of other costs.

We help to make these places somewhere that people enjoy coming to, but we are an expense and one that they would like to eliminate or reduce. Some places treat us well and understand our value to their business. Those are the places we need to be if at all possible. I would love to get $250 per night, but that isn't going to happen in the area that I live. Some bars only net that much(sometimes less) and it's their business and they bear all the liability.

I recently approached the BAR manager for a raise for 2008.
He looked at me and said he didn't think the owners would go for it as the bar (like many in the area) wasn't doing that well all week long.  He admitted that SATURDAYS was their best day ..but the rest of the week was SLLLOOOOOW.

When I told him that I've been there 4 years with no raise he just looked at me and said WELL I'VE BEEN HERE 19  and havn't had a raise in years.

He did agree that if the bar had an exceptional night $$$$$$$$$  he would throw me more money for that night.....   I won't hold my breathe.

I would quit and go elsewhere but I weight the pros and cons --The money is the only  con so another $25-$50 a night wouldn't make me leave.   The pros are that I leave most of my system set up and they never ever cancel karaoke .  I like everyone there and I do what I please as far as running the show... so the bottom line is you know what you got but the grass is not always greener somwhere else

jamkaraoke, I have an angle for you. Try to get them to have you host one or two more times per week. Tell them that you can increase their business during the week just like you have done on Saturdays. Tell them that you will DJ and host Karaoke during the week and that they need to do some contests for a free drink/pitcher of beer or ??? to get the crowd motivated and having fun. Tell them you will work during the week for your regular amount, but on Saturdays you need $50 more. They need to promote during the week with drink specials, some advertising, etc. and they won't be so slow during the week. Good luck, hope this helps.

I use to be afraid to ask for increases but I'm not anymore. I have too much invested in my music, equipment, and reputation to haggle over increases now. I just tell them I have to make an adjustment in my prices to remain profitable just like they need to raise their food and drink prices a couple of times a year. I usually go up every other year and I do it at the busiest time of the season so there will be no excuses.

I had one bar owner say he would not pay it, and I said so let me get this straight...You have gone up twice this year on your drink and food prices and I must pay those prices without negotiation, but when I need to adjust mine you say no?

My response was...no problem I will give you a week to think things over and go through your sales figures for the nights I entertain here. Also you may want to consider that I'm never any trouble, never late, I bring with me my own customers from other gigs I have, and I'm constantly looking for ways to promote your business. I want an answer at the end of the week if this will be your final decision. If the answer is still no we will part friends and you can find someone else who is willing to work for less. There are plenty of bars in the area who have been courting me for a couple of years, and maybe it is time I start discussing my options with them. Of course I will not do any of that until I get your answer. Be sure and call me "Next Friday" before my show starts..ok?. This was delivered in a friendly tone and with a handshake at the end. Then I just continued to set up my equipment.

Got my raise! $25 more than what I asked for plus a food and drink allowance.

Warning: Do not use this method unless you have plenty of irons in the fire and your sales numbers are good on the nights you have shows.

_________________
FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

We lost alot of our steady regulars due to the smoking (the fact that there is STILL smoking in our club).  Our weekends still kick with 30-40 plus rotations, but the rest of the week is a struggle to even get a singer anymore.  If I tried to ask for a raise, i'd be on the curb with a sign "will host for food"  LOL .



This is very true especially since we are in the same general area overall, here a company is lucky to make over $125 anymore.  When I started we were getting over $250 per night, but that was also when there were no other companies & you actually had to pay money (what a concept) for music.



Piracy is a key to why the karaoke overflow happened, everyone & their brother bought a preloaded drive, & some cheap equipment & thinks they are hosts doing shows for $100 or less.
I have seen several bands spawn from karaoke singers as well so this is possibly the reason why the influx of bands??

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

stogie - In the past I did host a a night during the week and it was OK
But during the week they only wanted to pay $100.  which is less than the Saturday pay. -  To be honest I'm not looking to pick up extra nights as I do work full time during the day.   don't get me wrong if they wanted to pay me $150 during the week I would jump on it - but not $100 - I rather stay home and play with the kids !

The bar is a very small local marina bar.  I'll try again in the SPRING/SUMMER when they seem to pick up.

The letters are on the way to the mailbox as we speak.   I have 6 nights right now.  Just started a new one 3 weeks ago.   I am the best thing going for most of these bars.  They are mostly ghost towns on other nights.  I haven't raised my prices in over 10 years.  I have a good handle on my competition and most couldn't wipe my butt.    The crappy ones are getting my old price.

I am worried that some may not like it.  Some may quit.  I know what will happen to them if they get someone else.  It won't be pretty.  All of their nights will look like ghost towns.

With experience comes (not cockiness) but knowledge about how bad my competition really is.  And about how good i really am.  And about how well the bars do on my nights.    What about how well i should be doing on my nights?

I have bartenders that pay me week after week telling me i should get more money.  They see how much i bring in and how much i'm really worth.

There is no turning back now.  I had the letters written in July.  I have been sitting on them tring to make sure i wasn't going to cut my own throat.  But I just made up my mind that i'm worth more and if they don't like it they can get someone else.

Over 10 years at the same rate.  How many price raises have they had in 10 years?   They print new menus every 6 months.  One bar that may bytch just put $40,000 in his kitchen.

Yes the times are getting slow.  I have bills to pay too.  Why should my time not be worth more?   That has been part of my debate.  Some of these bars would be belly up if it wasn't for me.  So i should go belly up for them?   nooooooo

Flipper is right.   I'm right.   None of my competition has close to my investment.

We all need to raise our prices.  $75- 100 a night isn't worth starting the vehicle.  It's too much work to do for nothing.  That's what the gas tank eats.

You didn't say you hadn't raised your price in 10 years up above and you didn't say what you were currently charging either. Based on your last post I believe that you are as good as you say and much better than your competition. You'll get your price increase.

It is going up to $200 from $175.  Straight across the board, no exceptions.  If my lawyer can get $250 an hour, i should be worth $200 a night.  Djs use to make more on week nights.  They have far less invested than i do.  And it's less work.

I have been $175 for 10 years.  I actually wanted to raise my price a year ago.  The stupid gasoline price thing always made me back peddle a little.  Well now i'm on the gas pedal and moving into the new millennium.  It's still not what we should be making, but it's a little closer.

Ready or not, here it comes....  :dancin:

So I got my raise to $175 last night and it was the deadest night we have had in 3 or 4 months. About 20 singers off and on but the bar was not packed. Paul the mngr just laughed and gladly paid. I did find out my old buddy's in this area are  getting $100 to $125/night.

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

First casuality of the price increase.

Said right now she couldn't afford it and has a cheaper KJ scheduled to start this week.  Must be cheaper than my price before the increased price.  Because i gave them until the middle of next month.  So that tells me my replacement is cheaper than me.


Leaves me open to do a place that can afford my quality.

I am predicting the death of the bar within one year.  She already is on shaky ground and a bad KJ could be the death knell.   I was her best steady night.   We'll just have to wait and see.


I knew i would be taking a gamble with this.  This is why i sat on it for over a year.

Dude, don't fret. They will find out that you're worth a few extra bucks. Meanwhile you will find another place to replace them. It's their loss.

I just found out who my replacement is....  LMAO  LMAO  LMAO  LMAO  LMAO  LMAO  LMAO  LMAO  LMAO  LMAO

Has a little click he favors.  Can't sing one note.
Kills every place he ever plays.  I'm so lovin' it.  :dancin:

She couldn't have picked anyone better to put her out of business.  By the time the bar owner finds out she made a big mistake, the damage will be irreversible.

I was actually hoping and praying the she was that stupid.  LMAO  :O

Already have a good lead on a replacement gig.  Another KJ just quit a nice place.  Right up my alley.

The bar manager is on vacation so i'll have to wait to see him.

Hang in there sidewinder- you'll eventually get what you want if your market is good and stable.

..."God's delays are not God's denials" i've heard all my life and it's very true.

You should have lots of doors opening up to you if you run a good professional show.

All the best to Ya!!!  :hi5: