Free Disco

[Barclay's Beats]

How many of you have provided your services for nothing to friends or relatives?

I supplied the disco for my sisters wedding (many years ago) free gratis and it was a good night. Weeks later my mother and I were chatting and she said my sister was on the phone asking what my wife and I gave them as a wedding present as she could find anything in the pile. I replied 'she was dancing to it all night'!

Since then I have always charged a fee for my services even if it's a nominal one to give the work a value. Whether it be a paid night in the hotel or a free meal I think your work deserves some value even if it is for friends/family...






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[Danno13]

I did two free gigs this summer.... by that, I mean I still haven't been paid for them... :D

[PropellerHeadCase]

Weeks later my mother and I were chatting and she said my sister was on the phone asking what my wife and I gave them as a wedding present as she could find anything in the pile. I replied 'she was *EXPLETIVE REMOVED* dancing to it all night'!

Heh-heh - my wife and I have given the present of a disco on a number of occasions - the trick is to not refer to it as a free disco, but as a a gift disco ;)

[Silver]

I replied 'she was *EXPLETIVE REMOVED* dancing to it all night'!

You said THAT to your mother, braver man than me Gunga Din! http://planetsmilies.net/shocked-smiley-9456.gif

[rob1963]

I've NEVER done a disco for nothing.

The nearest I came was my brother's wedding 7 years ago.

At the time. I'd just started doing quiz nights - which included bingo at the end. The way I did the bingo was that if they got a full house within the first 60 numbers called, they won an extra £25...so my brother designed & built me an electronic counter to keep track of how many numbers I'd called...and that was his payment to me for his wedding disco.

Apart from that, if I'm doing a disco for a friend, relation or someone from one of my quiz teams, I just give a small discount.

[Dragonfly]

I have done a couple of charity gigs for nothing and have been asked this xmas to do a couple for nothing , but i really cant afford to.

mates never !!! they may get a slight reduction but wouldnt do it free.

[Penfold42]

I have done a couple of charity gigs for nothing and have been asked this xmas to do a couple for nothing , but i really cant afford to.

mates never !!! they may get a slight reduction but wouldnt do it free.

Did we not talking about this last night......how strange...

Don't do free ones.....in fact i don't do anything for free in this game.....;)
Reduced rates ...but not free....and if Daz and Crazy see this.....well i would like to be a fly on the wall.........:D :D :D

[Excalibur]

I have done a couple of charity gigs for nothing and have been asked this xmas to do a couple for nothing , but i really cant afford to.

mates never !!! they may get a slight reduction but wouldnt do it free.

I too can't justify free gigs, but I will sometimes take a children's gig fee for an adult one, if circumstances dictate.

[Vectis]

I do one free gig a year for the local Special Olympics group - but only because it's the 'family charity' and various other members help them out too in different ways.

I also offer one other freebie per annum for a local deserving cause - this year I offered it out via Freecycle and the local rag and got a lot of interest. I now have a 'waiting list' for the next 3 years :)

To be honest I don't feel miffed about giving up a Friday night off-season - this years SO gig was November and the next one's in February. You get lots of 'thank you' cards and letters which makes the heart feel good.

[Corabar Steve]

I do one free gig a year for N.A.B.D at the Ace Cafe (Hey it's for Charideeeee)

I've also done a few as wedding presents. The last of which cost me £100 in fuel for the round trip. Nobody has called me a cheapskate for not buying a present too.

Although at the last one, the bride's mum started to give me a hard time for what I was playing (a very specific play list from the B&G) until I pointed out I'd been working until 1am the previous night, how far I'd come to do the gig for free, the £300+ gig that I'd had to turn down to do her daughter's wedding. The fact that as I had to take my gear out of the venue that night, I was possibly the only person there not able to enjoy a pint or 3 & that I had to be back in London by 2pm the next day to get ready for that night's gig. Also the fact that that I was playing the music that her daughter & son in-law had asked me to play!

[BeerFunk]

I have a friend who is a joiner, and a friend who is a plumber. They have both done jobs for me and my old man, and never do they do it for free...

[TonyB]

I do family gigs for free for certain relations. Done my Mums 70th earlier this year and doing my cousins 50th next March. Mates get a discount. Charities I will do free depending on what I get out of it (publicity/advertising/other paid bookings) and what it is for.

[robbiedj]

I do one free gig a year for the local Special Olympics group - but only because it's the 'family charity' and various other members help them out too in different ways.



We have a pet local charity too. We normally do a fund raiser for a local Handicapped Fellowship. We started doing it when I heard how another entertainer was basicly ripping them off, charging £200 and then playing only music HE wanted to play. He was also throwing in a "magic show" which they didn't want as many of the members have a very short attention span, being autistic and Downs syndrom sufferers. When he decided to do a knife throwing act, a number got really upset as they couldn't understand it was an act and were afraid his assistant would get hurt.

This year we raise £1200 towards their funds, all of which will go towards their real needs, not into the pockets of any other people.

[Corabar Steve]

We have a pet local charity too. We normally do a fund raiser for a local Handicapped Fellowship.

Watch it Robbie, you'll get jumped on for not being PC :sj:

[Excalibur]

I do one free gig a year for N.A.B.D at the Ace Cafe (Hey it's for Charideeeee)

I've also done a few as wedding presents. The last of which cost me £100 in fuel for the round trip. Nobody has called me a cheapskate for not buying a present too.

Although at the last one, the bride's mum started to give me a hard time for what I was playing (a very specific play list from the B&G) until I pointed out I'd been working until 1am the previous night, how far I'd come to do the gig for free, the £300+ gig that I'd had to turn down to do her daughter's wedding. The fact that as I had to take my gear out of the venue that night, I was possibly the only person there not able to enjoy a pint or 3 & that I had to be back in London by 2pm the next day to get ready for that night's gig. Also the fact that that I was playing the music that her daughter & son in-law had asked me to play!


So you had no valid and reasonable excuses for her then?:p

[robbiedj]

Watch it Robbie, you'll get jumped on for not being PC :sj:

That IS their title.

They are The Waltham Forest Catholic Handicapped Fellowship. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I've done a few freebies for friends and family over the years. More often than not I get invited to the function now and get asked to provide the DJ, which is nice.

My biggest customer gets 2 freebies a year, but they do give me 'quite' a lot of work. My next biggest also gets a free staff party too.

[ross@rds]

I did gigs for free before starting out as a company now i dont do free gigs only discounts for family etc after all the bills dont pay themselfs!

[Have a disco]

I never do anything free. I run a business, even charitys have to pay the going rate, as for mates rates I might give 10% off but I even refrain from this if I can, as people start to take the mickey out of you.

If I am viying for a pub/hotel contract I may give a sample night fee as a one off but this is at there maximum usage rate of my business around no more than 20% of my minimum for the medium show

[Penfold42]

I did gigs for free before starting out as a company now i dont do free gigs only discounts for family etc after all the bills dont pay themselfs!

Are you on Santa's payroll now??

[ross@rds]

Are you on Santa's payroll now??


Yes £6.50 Per Hour :D

[Corabar Steve]

That IS their title.

They are The Waltham Forest Catholic Handicapped Fellowship. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.
Indeed & kind of my point (although most disabled folks I know object to the term handicapped, but come to think of it, most of them call themselves cripples. How un-PC is that?). The person who is in the situation should be the one who says what they can be called be they disabled, gay, black, whatever, not some do-gooder bureaucrat.

Sorry off topic.

[The_Blue_Dragon]

At the moment I do all my Discos for free at a Youth centre but been getting offers to get paid elsewhere if I can get my own equipment :D