I’ve been an independent musician for over 13 years now but I never considered performance tips for musicians as a real source of income. Just like countless others, I felt like asking for tips would be begging like a dirty, lazy, homeless bum. Of course this is just a stereotypical label created by society, which I believed until recently when I experienced first hand how rewarding and lucrative tipping can be.
My partner and I got a gig at a restaurant in swanky Del Mar San Diego and the owners were super cool. We had guaranteed pay for a 3 hour set plus free food and drink, but they also provided a tip box for their customers to contribute to. There are two really cool things about a tip box or jar.
1) It makes you work harder, because at the end of the night if there ain’t no tips you pretty much failed. Ultimately this makes you a better performer.
2) You get cold hard cash at the end of the night… assuming you kicked some ass. Now this is where a little strategy comes in. A lot of customers will come up to you and make requests. If you’re prepared and have an iPad or smart phone you could easily look up any song and play it. Just make sure you have a music stand to hold your iPad or smartphone while you play. This whole cover thing is huge. People want to hear familiar songs and they pay great tips when you can make a decent attempt. We got a request for Bill Withers “Ain’t No Sunshine” and we had NOT rehearsed it nor did we have lyrics or chords. But fortunately we had big BALLS and went for it. We didn’t have an iPad available but we knew the melody and strummed a basic blues progression and just improved. Since we were just going for it, the crowd loved it even more. End result.. big tips in the box$$$.
How else can you make enough tip money to pay rent?
Clubs – This whole tip strategy goes to a whole new level and can be seen at clubs where you see dueling pianos. My friend works at one downtown San Diego called the “Shout House.” All he does is respond to cover requests in exchange for tips. At the end of the night their tips can add up to $1,000 … yes One Thousand Dollars. All for just having fun and playing cover tunes imperfectly.
Street Performance – I also met another friend who paid his rent entirely with tips from playing on the Street in Downtown San Diego. He knew exactly where and when to set up to get the most tips. He simple played his guitar and once in a while sang. He wasn’t some incredible player, he was just passionate and having fun.
When it comes to performance tips for musicians, the sky is the limit. Think about crowded places where you can simply set up without a booking, you can also ask owners of venues that you get bookings if you can set up a tip jar. As long as its not cheezy looking they will probably roll with it.
How to collect tips.
Indoor, you will want something that looks decent. A little jewelry box with a sign on the inner hood that says: “Tips” works really well. Keep it creative and stay away from cheezy items like a hat or a bucket.
Outdoor, you can use a guitar case as long as its not windy, but outdoor you will need a bigger sign and collection vessel as its not so apparent. Get creative here and go look at other street performers and see how they are collecting cash.
Step up to big dollars
You don’t need to ask people for cash, your skills should be sufficient, but you may want to ask or suggest requests. If you don’t know it be prepared to look it up or suggest to them something similar that you do know. Once you perform something they ask for, psychology says they feel they owe you and are much more likely to give you more cash$$.
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Feel free to share any strategies you may have below.
Best of luck – Chad