Below are the seven basic questions someone hiring a live band for their holiday party, will need to ask before entering into a contract with musicians.
- What is the date of the performance and day of the week? *Remember December and New Year’s costs are at least are 2 times what you might pay on an off Season event.
- What are the start and end times of the performance(s)?
- How many musicians are you hiring?
- Where will the performance(s) be held?
- What is the music for or what style of music do you expect to hear?
- How do you expect the musician(s) to dress?
- Will you be feeding the band? (Did you tell the caterer?
A Real Life Example to Consider:
A guy calls up the musician’s union to get a quote on hiring a five-piece band for New Years Eve The representative at the musician’s union quotes $6800.00 The man on the phone sounds irritated and asks “for musicians, really? I was expecting a couple hundred bucks”. The representative at the union pauses for a moment then replies. “Tell you what, you call up the local plumbers and steamfitters union and ask them what it would cost to have 5 journeyman plumbers out to your house to work for 4 hours on New Year’s Eve night and I’ll get you a band that will work for half that.” The man on the phone says, “Point taken.”
