Your first paid gig: from “yes” to payment
What to confirm, what to carry, and how to ask for your fee without feeling awkward.
Before you say yes
- Confirm in writing: date, venue, load-in and sound-check time, set length, fee, payment date, and who your contact is.
- Ask about backline (drums, amps, keys), sound engineer and monitors.
- For college fests and corporates ask whether travel/food are covered.
Prepare
- Rehearse the exact set length; have a shorter version ready if timings slip.
- Make a one-page tech rider (inputs, mics, DI boxes, monitors) and a stage plot.
- Carry spares: cables, strings/sticks, batteries, tuner, power strip, backup tracks on two devices.
Getting paid
- For private/corporate events, ask for a part-advance to confirm the date.
- Send a simple invoice/confirmation message with the agreed amount and due date.
- Be polite, specific and persistent: “Hi, following up on payment of ₹__ for our set on __ as agreed. Please share the date it will be processed.”
Track every gig (date, fee, what went well). After 10 gigs you will know your real market rate.
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