Acoustic Open Mic/Jam night question

BilliBob · May 2014

Hey all,
new to this place.
I am looking at providing an Acoustic Open Mic/Jam night at a local pub. I will be providing all PA and everything. Playing a few numbers and managing the musicians and singers into a format where we can have a continuous set going all evening. Say from 8.30pm to 11pm.
What would it be appropriate to charge the Landlord for this service? As I understand it, will be a weekly thing.
I really have no idea what is the going rate. We do have an open mic night very close, but his format is far from what I will be delivering.
Any experiences and genuine advice on this issue would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

RedRabbit · May 2014

I've no idea what you'd be looking to charge the landlord but we have an open mic night near us that has a similar setup but isn't run particularly well, IMO. The night is essentially split into three blocks - the guy running it does a set, then there's the open mic section and it finishes with a "main act".

The problem with it is that it always starts late, the guy running it is on for over an hour and the main act is on for similar if not longer leaving the open mic section (the only reason we go) is limited to about 30 minutes. As the months go by the number of acts turning up has dwindled but we still get asked to limit our set to "a couple of quick ones". For me the main part of the night should be the open mic/jam part.

not_the_dj · May 2014

RedRabbit said:

the guy running it is on for over an hour

Yup, been to those. A lot of them become a vanity project for the 'organiser'.

vasselmeyer · May 2014

@RedRabbit Pretty long shot this, but I know you're near me. You're not talking about the Tuesday night at The Navigation are you?

bigjon · May 2014

The going rate for the 2 successful weekly jam-nights (not open mics) in Cambridge is £120 including £20 for the house drummer. They reliably pull in a large number of drinking punters on a Tuesday / Sunday

BilliBob · May 2014

No not the Navigation, but you aren't too far off.
It is though seemingly a vanity ego massage for a has been of not huge talent.
I am looking at a different format, one which should get some enthusiasm back.
But,
Wow £120???not getting the PA into the car for that.
Was a nice idea, but maybe question further about dosh to the landlord and probably leave it there.
Thanks anyway everyone.

Misterg · May 2014

I've heard from a few people that pubs around here (N Wales) were getting about £180 from the brewery to put on an "event" and were passing on a bit less than that (~£150 ish) to whoever they had in.

Adam_MD · May 2014

RedRabbit;247843" said:
I've no idea what you'd be looking to charge the landlord but we have an open mic night near us that has a similar setup but isn't run particularly well, IMO. The night is essentially split into three blocks - the guy running it does a set, then there's the open mic section and it finishes with a "main act".

The problem with it is that it always starts late, the guy running it is on for over an hour and the main act is on for similar if not longer leaving the open mic section (the only reason we go) is limited to about 30 minutes. As the months go by the number of acts turning up has dwindled but we still get asked to limit our set to "a couple of quick ones". For me the main part of the night should be the open mic/jam part.

I had that twice with a girl trying to run a night in Belfast. She played for so long we were 3 songs into our set when we were told to wrap it up. She could tell we weren't very happy so apologised and asked us to come down the next week. As she's a friend of one of the guys in the band we agreed and the same Feckin thing happened the next week as well. We refused to play at anything else she organised after that.

Phil_aka_Pip · May 2014

I've had the opposite: having to do songs I can't remember properly 'cos not enough people are willing to get up & play. Although that might have been partially responsible for the demise of it, I think there just wasn't enough market for it. I never charged the landlord, he could not have afforded it. It was nice of him to feed me and keep me in beer for the night though.

viz · May 2014

I'd do it for free if I had the time, and I think 120 is pretty good money.

Lodious · May 2014

We have a pretty thriving open mic night at our local, but it's done for free because people enjoy it.

BilliBob · May 2014

If they have a full on "in house"pa then that would be a different matter. That is not the case with the pub I am looking at though.
I dont think anyone should be expected to load up, set up and break down and load and unload pa again for nothing.

RedRabbit · May 2014

vasselmeyer said:

@RedRabbit Pretty long shot this, but I know you're near me. You're not talking about the Tuesday night at The Navigation are you?

@vasselmeyer It's not The Navigation. Not sure where that is to be honest.

The one we've been going to is in one of the Heatons (either Moor or Mersey, I'm not great at remembering which is which). It's okay but it's turning into a bit of a show case for the organiser and his mates.

BilliBob · May 2014

Yes indeed, our local one is something similar. Also, it is very Cliquey, if you tell him how amazing he is, he puts you on a better slot rather than 5 mins to the end. Getting really lame and boring. I was discussing this with another landlord and he asked me if I would consider putting on an alternative. A good draw can be had, and lots of people would get up if they felt relaxed about it rather than critically judged as happens now.
I was after a guideline, so I know I am not asking too much. I may suggest him putting up for a house PA and I can then do it for a token payment. This would be a little more commitment maybe than he is after but we shall see.
The Landlord and his missus from the Navigation are really nice people, they have invited me and the wife there to perform on several occasions, we just havent been able to arrange it yet.

EreforGuitarGear · July 2014

I know of Jam nights being run for £165-£180 but that is with backline provided (Drums, bass guitar etc etc). I have run various Open Mics charging from £50 (when gaining experience) to £120 (when providing and running a full PA system). At the moment I run a small open mic every other week for £80, the reason the amount is so low is because the pub is small and doesn't require a large sound setup. And best of all, the landlord has said if its quiet and not many people are down I can play a couple of songs and still be paid. He doesn't want me to play for the whole evening (might be an indication of my musical ability!).

I have also run a night for free when a pub was starting to struggle to open its doors during the day... but found that the owners just took it for granted. The night was gratis for 8 weeks in the run up to christmas which was agreed and then would return to £50. The Christmas special raised £600 on a Wednesday night (in an otherwise dead pub). The owners after that week said they would start to pay us again if it picked up further... needless to say it wasn't going to improve on £600 so the night was knocked on the head by me.

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Acoustic Open Mic/Jam night question

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