13 May
2008
13 May
'08
9:56 a.m.
from the Lenox, MA contra dance.
We settled on $300 guarantee for the band for just about all our
dances unless we're getting a band with a major following. We use a
mix of local and not-so-local bands, and the number of performers in
the bands can vary (i.e. the Russett Trio sometimes has a fourth
person, etc.). So a trio makes out better than a quartet, obviously,
but that's their's to resolve. And we tend to guarantee the caller
$100. For performers who travel quite a distance we add in some
extra for gas money.
And then we take a share. The way we've resolved this is roughly
this way:
We count the gate (less the money that is a constant for our cash box.)
We subtract our fixed expenses (hall rental and insurance)
We subtract our performer guarantees (typically $400)
And then we look at the balance as cash to distribute.
From this we take a share equal to the performers (i.e. typically
around $100)
What is left from this we divide equally into shares, one for each
performer and one for the dance.
If we have a slow night where we can't make our guarantee, then we
have some reserves to pay it out, albeit with a check shortly after
the dance.
If we have a great night, the band and callers make extra, and the
dance gets some too.
With this extra we help to pay for a community double dance and
potluck in December (which draws slightly fewer people than a regular
dance but we have two bands and two callers); we offer the second
dance free for dancers new to contra dancing; and we're building a
pool to purchase our own sound equipment because the sound is an
issue sometimes with some bands.
It's a workable system. We have a cash sheet for doing the math and
recording the money and other data. I'd add it as an attachment to
this message (Chris... do attachments work with this?) If the
attachment doesn't work, and you'd like to see it, write to me
directly stevmoor(a)mac.com and I'll send it to you.
Stephen Moore
Lenox (MA) contra dance
On May 13, 2008, at 8:29 AM, Dave Cain wrote:
Hi All,
My husband is on this list, while I'm on the caller list... so I am
using his sign-in to post this message.
Our dance committee is revisiting our payout formula and I'm
wondering how other dance organizers work their payouts when the
band isn't the typical trio. (For us, a trio is the standard.)
When the band is a four - person (or larger) group, do you adjust
your guarantee and payout formula? Do you do anything different
when the band is a two-person band?
Currently, we split everything after expenses evenly across all
performers (band and caller), when the band is comprised of two or
three members. If the band is a four-person band, we pay our
guarantee, and then we split the overage 75% to the band, and 25%
to the caller. Our thought in doing this was not to "penalize" the
caller for working with a band greater than our standard of trios.
I am looking for feedback on our existing payout formula and for an
understanding of how other groups operate. I plan to bring any
feedback generated from this list to our next dance committee meeting.
Thanks!
Nancy Turner
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