Are your minimums typically what you end up paying? (At BACDS contra
dances, minimums are guarantees against a split of the door, and on a
good night the minimums are far enough exceeded that this would be
irrelevant. If your minimums are actually fees, that makes a difference.)
Why are you considering flat fee for band? What brings this on? Have
duos requested it? Easier bookkeeping?
There's several ways of looking at this:
1) Everybody's there for the whole time, the dance couldn't happen
without them, and all should get paid the same.
or
2) Each person in a 2-person band works harder than a person in a
3-person band, because they just can't lay out for very long. While
good musicians can do a fantastic job in a duo, there are more options
open to three-voice bands than to two, and they don't need to exercise
as much ingenuity. So maybe it's fair to pay duo musicians more than
trio musicians.
or
3) The price for a band playing music for your dance is $150, whether
it's two people or five people. They're delivering a service (three
hours of live music) and that's just what it costs. If they're able to
deliver a quality experience with a duo you have nothing to complain about.
or
4) What draws dancers to your dance? (A big part of it is the other
dancers, of course. But in my experience, with a few exceptions, hot
bands draw contra dancers (and a well-known, well-liked caller doesn't
scare them off), and with a few exceptions, known-good callers (with
interesting repertoire and clarity of instruction) draw English dancers
(if the band isn't known to suck). [Which isn't to say that English
dancers are insensitive to music, and they'll turn out for Bare
Necessities.] Maybe the band is worth more than the caller in terms of
return at the door.
And I can see some weight behind each of those positions What BACDS
(San Francisco Bay Area; in a 150-mile-square area we've got several
other dance organizations and people will drive 100 miles for a contra
dance, so we have competitive pressure) does at contra dances with local
talent is guarantee $50 each for up-to-three musicians and up-to-one
caller, and (shamefully) half that to sound people. Traveling musicians
with higher expenses and especially big name draws from out of town can
cut other deals. There are some traveling duos we're very happy to pay
as three people because the music is great and they'll draw higher
attendance.
Because we pay against a split of the door, the caller could get a
windfall when working with a duo - a higher share of the split than
with a trio, even though not working any harder.
-- Alan
-- Alan
