how much money they actually make per show (circa 2008)

[Aegir]

around June 2008, I decided to email Mike & Bruce's booking agent, just to see how much they cost. Here was his response:

...date/location/venue/production requirements will determine the costs.  They continue to keep very busy, I just tried to get them for a private date in July for a birthday party and they have no dates available.  Please give me a call after in see this information and we can find the right fit.
1. The Beach Boys with Mike and Bruce.  $140,000-$160,000 total cost range with 16 people traveling..
2. Al Jardine and the Endless Summer Band (former original Beach Boys and some of the musicians and singer from the past)   travel 10 people..$90k-$110k range with all expenses..
3. The OC Beach Band (this is a former Lead Singer Chris Farmer and several of the former players that have a band..actually with the blessing of The Beach Boys) www.theocbeachband.com   California based.  Please confirm location and if you are interested and date and I will provide costs.
4. www.papadoorunrun.com   (also California based)
5. Brian Wilson.. (similar costs to the Beach Boys)

Not surprisingly, they all have the same agent.

[Doo Dah]

Birthday party, huh? That barely leaves enough room in the budget for a balloon-sculpting clown.

[SMiLE Brian]

We should have booked M&B for AGD's birthday.

[Jason]

Those greedy bastards...

[ontor pertawst]

I wonder how much it would cost to just outright buy Al Jardine. I promise I'll feed him properly.

[Doo Dah]

Music should be free, maaaaan.

Have you ever been to a festival, a socialist congregation?
Where Country Joe would do his show, and he'd sing about liberty
With the Beach Boys there, in the open air
Assuming they meet our fee

[Jason]

I wonder how much it would cost to just outright buy Al Jardine. I promise I'll feed him properly.

 

Our funniest post today is...

[STE]

If I had that kind of money I would hire them to play in my backyard but add a condition in the contract that they are not allowed to play any song that has charted anywhere in the world.


Having said that, it even looks not too costly.
Aegir, was that price for a California gig?

[Aegir]

I just emailed the guy and said, "Hello, I was wondering how much it would cost to book the Beach Boys. Thank you." I didn't give him any details because I didn't have any sort of event in mind, I just wanted to see how much they cost out of curiosity. I think he mentioned the California parts because it would cost extra to ship the non-nationally-touring bands to other states.

At the time I had some experience with booking shows for the college I was attending and the biggest acts the school booked (Yellowcard, Regina Spektor, Vanessa Carlton, Minus the Bear, Dashboard Confessional) were all in the $10K range, and I figured Mike & Bruce would cost about the same.

Boy was I wrong.

[Jay]

I wonder what they are left with, after dividing the price for each of the backing musicians. Or is that a fee split between Mike and Bruce only?

[D409]

Couldn't quite believe the M & B band cost $140,000 for an evening, but have just done a few sums and the amount makes sense. Based approximately on the figures for the Beach Boys show I attended in 2004 at my 2500 capacity town hall somewhere in the south of England, tickets were around £35. The show was virtually sold out (only a few seats left), so working from this :

£35 x 2500 = £87500

Using an online currency converter : £87500 = $140,517.36

So this figure would seem reasonable, the next question is how much would the costs of travelling internationally be, how much do the individuals in the band get, what's Mike and Bruce's cut, etc...

[STE]

However I don't think it works that way.
I think the band gets paid the agreed fee and then it's up to the event organizer to make profit out of the gig, by tickets sales, drinks and what not.

[BergenWhitesMoustache]

Interesting.

I know for a fact Bob Dylan got considerably more than that for a festival appearance in the UK this year. Over ten times as much.

I was gonna say 'perhaps if they were all still together, did less shitty little shows etc, they'd get that too' but then I remembered that Dylan sounded appalling when I saw him 15 years ago, and he hasn't got any better since, so not sure how he still manages to get such huge fees

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

Interesting.

I know for a fact Bob Dylan got considerably more than that for a festival appearance in the UK this year. Over ten times as much.

I was gonna say 'perhaps if they were all still together, did less sh*tty little shows etc, they'd get that too' but then I remembered that Dylan sounded appalling when I saw him 15 years ago, and he hasn't got any better since, so not sure how he still manages to get such huge fees

Easy-- He's Bob Dylan, and if no one cared whether or not he could sing in his prime, I don't see why they would start now.

[ReggieDunbarJr]

Well
They don't have the same booking agent. Guess you e-mailed an agent with contacts to book them all.
//RD

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

I wonder how much The Wrecking Crew would get paid today if they were still around.