Question:
How can I find out how much a venue will pay?
Check the website of any potential venue to see the schedule of upcoming performers.
If you recognize the performers as being much more established than you, this may not be the right venue for you at this time.
If you recognize most of the artists as your friends and they are at about the same performance level as you are, then check with some of them.
Ask them what they’ve been paid in the past, or what kind of deals they have been getting.
Ask them what they got the first time they played the venue.
If it’s a new market that you never played before, first make your own budget to determine what you need to do the date.
Then, rather than asking them what they pay, let them know what you normally get based on your budget, to give them a starting point.
They will quickly let you know what they are willing to pay or how they normally work their deals.
Now you have a place where you can possibly meet somewhere in the middle. Or, you can determine if you can afford to play for what they are offering.
There’s a lot more to this negotiation game. Check out two articles on The Art of Negotiation:
to become a more, savvy negotiator.
This is part of an email series for Indie artists from Jeri Goldstein of Performingbiz.com.