The Price of the Performance (eBook)

A Step-by-Step Guide to Pricing Your Shows and Proving Your Value

Gordon Pettipas (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
1623 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-0-00-081165-3 (ISBN)

Infos

Most musicians guess their rates. And most of them guess too low.

The Price of the Performance is a no-fluff, step-by-step guide for independent musicians who are ready to stop undercharging and start commanding what they're actually worth. This book doesn't just teach you how to 'raise your price'-it shows you how to communicate value, handle objections, and close higher-paying gigs with confidence.

In today's saturated gig economy, your price is your signal. Clients, buyers, and booking agents don't just evaluate your talent-they evaluate your professionalism, your offer, and the confidence behind your number. This book helps you shape that number intentionally.

What you'll learn inside:

How to stop guessing and start using strategic pricing models for bar, wedding, festival, and corporate gigs

What buyers really want to hear (and what instantly triggers the 'amateur' label)

Why your gear matters more than you think-and how to frame it as a value-add

Scripts and phrasing that take the pressure out of price conversations

How to handle lowball offers without folding-or burning the relationship

What goes into a Value-Packed EPK that justifies your price before you even speak

How to turn your band into a premium package offer, not just a musical act

The psychology of pricing (and how human bias works in your favor when you present right)

Whether you're new to performing or you've been playing for years without a clear pricing system, this book will give you a solid framework you can apply to every gig. No guesswork. No undercutting. No 'exposure' gigs that drain your soul.

You'll learn how to price your show like a business-because your music is a business.

Written by Gordon J. Pettipas, a veteran touring musician and performance strategist, The Price of the Performance is built on real-world experience booking shows across multiple markets and event types. Every chapter is designed to build your confidence, sharpen your pitch, and protect the value of your time, talent, and team.

Stop negotiating from your heels. Start setting your price with purpose.
This book will show you how.

Textauszug

Part IV: Why “Just Cover Gas” Isn’t a Business Model

At some point in nearly every independent musician’s journey, someone utters the phrase: “We’ll do it for gas money.” It might come from a bandmate eager to land a gig, a fellow musician rationalizing a low-paying opportunity, or even from you—hoping to make a gig happen, get exposure, or prove your worth. The intention often sounds humble, even noble: "We love to play. We just want to get out there. We’re not in it for the money." But make no mistake—this mindset is one of the fastest ways to stall your growth, cheapen your brand, and sabotage your long-term success.

Doing a show “just to cover gas” might sound like a simple favor or a practical compromise, but it’s not a pricing strategy. It’s an exit ramp from professionalism. And it communicates to buyers, to peers, and to yourself that what you do has little or no financial value.

The Illusion of Modesty

Musicians often confuse charging less with being more “real.” There's a cultural myth in the music world that says: If you love it, you shouldn't ask much for it. This idea is deeply romanticized—the starving artist giving it all for the music. But in the real world, that mindset serves buyers far more than it serves you. In fact, it’s often weaponized. Buyers know that many musicians are passionate and underpaid. They count on that emotional attachment to justify underpaying you.

Saying “just cover gas” may sound like humility, but to a buyer, it signals desperation or disorganization. It tells them you don’t fully understand the value of your own time, gear, or performance. That may feel like you’re being generous, but what it actually does is lower their perception of your professionalism. Modesty doesn’t win respect when it comes at the cost of clarity and confidence.

What Does Gas Money Actually Cover?

Let’s break it down. Imagine your band is traveling 90 miles round trip to play a show. You drive a van that gets 15 miles per gallon. At $3.50 per gallon, your fuel cost is roughly $21. Now let’s say you get paid $50 to “cover gas.” Great—you broke even on fuel. But what about the other expenses?

• Time: You just gave away 5–8 hours of your day, including travel, load-in, soundcheck,

performance, and load-out.

• Labor: You hauled hundreds of pounds of gear, set up your rig, troubleshot sound issues, and

played for strangers—all of which required focus, energy, and precision.

• Gear wear: Strings break, cables short out, tubes age, drum heads stretch. Every show causes

minor wear-and-tear that shortens the lifespan of your equipment.

• Rehearsal: You didn’t just show up and play. You likely practiced, coordinated, and prepared

for this event. That time has value.

• Opportunity cost: While you played this gig for gas money, you weren’t available for a higher-

paying opportunity—or even for a night off that could have restored your energy for a future high-profile show.

Now multiply that by a few gigs per month. You quickly realize that “just covering gas” isn’t just an undercharge—it’s a financial hemorrhage. You are paying to work. You are subsidizing someone else’s event.

Why It’s Not Just About the Money

Even if you’re in a financial position where you don’t need to make a profit, pricing below your worth creates ripples that extend far beyond your own wallet. When you accept “just gas money,” you normalize that rate in the eyes of the buyer. They come to expect that level of compensation for all musicians. And when the next artist quotes a fair, professional rate, the buyer sees it as excessive.

This behavior devalues the entire market, especially in smaller communities. The act of accepting less —or nothing at all—is never isolated. It becomes the reference point for what music is “worth.” The next band is forced to justify their quote in comparison to yours. You may think you’re just being helpful or practical, but in reality, you’re dragging the floor down for everyone who comes after you.

The Buyer’s Perspective: You're Solving Their Problem for Free

Let’s flip the lens. From a buyer’s perspective, hiring a band—even for a small event—solves several logistical challenges:

• It entertains their guests.

• It increases event energy, retention, and satisfaction.

• It reduces the need for external audio equipment.

• It elevates the atmosphere and makes the event more memorable.

• It signals quality and planning effort to their attendees.

If they get all of that—and only have to pay enough to cover your gas—they’ve just received massive value at almost no cost. That’s not a win for you. That’s exploitation, even if it’s unintentional. When buyers get used to this exchange, they come to expect it—and they don’t think of musicians as professionals. They think of them as hobbyists who are eager to play for little or nothing. And once that perception is formed, it is extremely difficult to reverse.

You’re Training the Market—Whether You Mean To or Not

Every time you accept a lowball gig or offer to “just cover gas,” you are training the market how to treat you. You’re also training your bandmates, your peers, and even yourself. You’re reinforcing the idea that your show, your preparation, and your sound are worth a nominal cost. And as we’ve already covered, buyers don’t separate you from the broader scene. You may see this gig as an exception, a favor, or a temporary compromise—but they see it as your price.

That’s branding. That’s positioning. And it sticks longer than you think.

But What If You’re New?

The biggest defense of “just cover gas” is that it’s acceptable when you’re starting out. And while it’s true that newer acts often need stage time, exposure, and experience, even beginners need to set boundaries. There are ways to take lower-paying shows without undermining your long-term value:

• Set a firm internal threshold: “We will only do this type of gig once or twice, and only under

specific conditions.”

• Package low-paying gigs as rehearsals or showcase performances—not as standard bookings.

• Reframe the rate as a promotional exception, not the norm. (“We’re doing a launch series at

discounted rates—available this month only.”)

• Collect something in exchange beyond gas money: email addresses, testimonials, high-quality

video, cross-promotion, or merchandise sales opportunities.

• Make it clear that this is part of your growth, not your pricing structure.

The goal is to gain experience without building a reputation for cheapness.

Every Gig Is a Business Decision

A show is never “just a gig.” It’s a business transaction, a branding opportunity, and a strategic touchpoint. Every time you take a show, you teach the market how to interact with you. You teach them what you require, what you tolerate, and what kind of experience you provide. If you consistently price yourself as an afterthought—someone willing to work for fuel and a handshake—you become invisible in the premium conversations. You get filtered out before you even know a better-paying opportunity existed.

It doesn’t matter how good your music is, how much your friends believe in you, or how well you market yourself. If your rate tells buyers you don’t take yourself seriously, they won’t either.

“Gas Money” Is Not the Goal—It’s a Warning Sign

If you find yourself continually justifying gas-money gigs, it’s time to stop and ask why. Is it lack of clarity in your value? Is it fear of missing out? Is it guilt? Is it a scarcity mindset inherited from years of watching other musicians struggle?

Whatever the cause, it must be addressed. Because the longer you operate under that model, the harder it is to shift gears. You build a muscle memory around scarcity. You get used to apologizing for your rate. You start to feel resistance to quoting something higher, even when your skills and professionalism justify it.

Build Your Floor—and Stick to It

Every performer needs a floor: a minimum viable fee that reflects the base cost of showing up with excellence. That number should factor in prep time, equipment wear, travel, communication, setup, teardown, and all the things buyers don’t see—but expect to go flawlessly.

Once you know that number, it becomes your line in the sand. You no longer take gigs that fall below it. You no longer say “just cover gas.” You say, “Here’s what it takes to deliver this level of performance. Here’s what that includes. And here’s what that investment looks like.”

That one shift changes the entire dynamic.

Your Show Is Worth More Than the Fuel That Gets You There

Music is not a delivery service. You are not paid for simply arriving. You are paid for what happens when you arrive—for what you create, how you deliver, how you solve problems, and how you elevate the event. That is the product. And pricing that product based on your gas tank insults not only your work, but the entire profession of live performance.

From this point forward, eliminate “gas money” from your vocabulary. Eliminate it from your quote sheets, your email templates, your mindset. You are not a traveling jukebox. You are a provider of energy, experience, and atmosphere.

And that is worth far more than a...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 28.5.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Musik
• ISBN-10: 0-00-081165-3 / 0000811653
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-081165-3 / 9780000811653