Day Rate for Club/Theatre Engineers

[AVL Andrew]

I am currently employed full time at a 1,000 cap. venue. I am interested in figuring out the average U.S. day rate for mon. engineers , and foh engineers. I am paid hourly, but I understand many venues pay a flat fee per show.
I know I am currently underpaid, and I plan to use information gathered to apply for a raise, up to the national standard. The venue I work at is in the top 50 for annual gross for its size. So pay me what I am worth bitch!

any and all input is appreciated.

thanks-A

[Stosh Rickenbach]

Being paid hourly typically works out much better than show pay. At our similar cap. major market venue, engineers are paid hourly with an unofficial minimum that adds up to about $200/day, but because we're hourly that can easily double on bigger shows. We all tend to think our pay is sub-industry standard, especially those of us who moonlight in the corporate/industrial sector at much higher rates. The unfortunate reality is that the standard is itself sub-standard. You might consider seeking union representation (if there's a strong IATSE local in your area), or divert some of your time and skill toward those dreary but lucrative side gigs.

[AVL Andrew]

Well if I was getting even close to $200 a day I would be all smiles. I am usually happy to hit $100 or slightly over for a full day. Any idea how that works bringing a union into a non-union house?

thanks for the info- A

& yes I do take side work when avail. on a nice street festival I take in $500 plus for a the day, as prod. man/ foh. just need more of those!

[Tony Caporale]

I agree they will rape you with the flat rate. You need to figure out how much you feel you're personally worth per hour and nightly, then go with it from there. When I first started with a club I was the only house LD and only got $80 a night! When I filled in for shows after sometime they even went lower to $50! This is because they now had a steady rotation of other house LD's that bid for gigs. I only settled for it because it was at the start of my career and I had such a drive to learn things no matter what the price. So if it is a top 50 venue I'd most definitely aim high but not high enough to insult them if you feel you deserve a pay increase. Hope this helps.

[AVL Andrew]

Right I hear you, when you have people lined up around the block for your job, as is the case with mine, it gets a bit tricky to negotiate pay. I think the best case is to aproach the management as a crew and say, hey we are not getting compensated per the average day rate in this country. what can we do about this. I think bringing the union into this may be an extreme idea.

thanks for the input- -Andrew

[James]

the standard pretty much toronto wide for a small club (under 500 cap) is $100-125/night (typically 7-8pm to 1-2am), with larger venues paying slightly more, up to the $150-200 range for roughly the same amount of hours with extra if it's an early/late call, based hourly

it usually comes out to about $15-18/hr, which isn't terrible as it's better than stagehand work cause you're actually mixing bands instead of pushing cases for the same paycheck.

the market here is way over flooded with techs looking for work, so it's hard to negotiate paychecks unless you're really good or really well known. there's guys here sitting at clubs that have been on the road for 20+ years with major acts.

[Logan Kilburn]

Well, IMO we never get paid what we are worth. AND with the economy being like it is at present...be happy that you have a steady job. I've been in the biz for about 20 years. I'm degreed, world traveled and an exceptional Mon ENG.
In a 1000 cap. theatre/venue, you can expect $350 to $600+ per week dependent upon many variables. Those variables include but are not limited to...
1. What area of the country you are in. (Cost of living)
2. Hours spent on the job per week.
3. The level of artist that you are dealing with (A list? is doubtful at a 1000 cap. theatre)
4. Number of bands you deal with nightly.
5. Your level of experience.
6. And more...

Personally I've worked for as little as $9.00 per hour for Broadway touring acts coming through Texarkana TX. (1700 cap.) and as much as $500 per day... depending on what part of the country I was working in and how hungry I was at the time.
Just my 2 cents!

[AVL Andrew]

The venue I am at starts techs off at 10.50 per hour.
I am currently at 12.00 an hour.
IMO the job should start at 12.50 an hour and I should be at 14.00 after over a year and a half at the venue, in addition I have 10 plus years of experience touring FOH prod. managing etc.

Thanks, please keep the feedback coming.
- A

[James]

i personally won't even get outa bed for less than $18/hr these days....only exceptions are club gigs or bands i work for that i like

[AVL Andrew]

Please tell me where you are able to get $18 an hour, and what you do.

thanks- A

[James]

toronto...and that's just for pushing cases/stagehand work, my rate generally goes up for gigs where i'm in charge of a crew or mixing.

rate really depends on the cost of living in the area...toronto isn't cheap, so companies generally have to pay a bit more or their guys won't be their guys for long, they'll be homeless

back when i lived in a small town, i used to make minimum wage (at the time 7.75/hr) for doing the same thing, but i was living with parents and only had to pay for a phone, so it wasn't nearly as expensive.

[Ethan Drew]

when I worked at venues I was getting starting $80.00 a night finish 200.00 - 300.00 a night I know that's a good range but it was too long doing the venue thing and now I won't work for s...bags anymore. I got really screwed over at my last job

[Daniel Hodges]

A thousand cap. venue with local and national touring acts would generally pay between $50-$125 per night for monitor engineers, and between $150-$300 for a FOH and sound design engineer, depending on your experience, reliability, knowledge, etc. . At least all of the clubs I've worked in and around paid about that for such work, hourly, I would take no less than $12.00 for a monitor mix in small club, and FOH is a whole new ball game, never base on just a job, always be ready to do any job and charge for the most, based on your experiance.


Only personal opinions here, built from my touring, and working experience, flat rate is hard, but to be expected, and easier to bill for.

Also, thats just what smaller (max 1000) venues I've been to, worked or play at have payed.