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Planning Your Entertainment Budget
When booking any sort of act for your event, you should
consider that the entertainers are professionals and depend on their
income from the event quite heavily. The cost of entertainment
varies substantially but depends on many factors such as location, time of
day, day of week, personal contacts, size of the event, amount of
equipment they have to bring, a certain "hassle factor", and any
extras you require.
In general, figure about $50-$100 per person per
hour. For example, a DJ for three hours will probably run you
$150-$300 for a party. Weddings typically cost a little more because
the DJ will be dressed up and will have worked with you quite a bit
beforehand in music selection, MC requirements, etc.
A band also runs about the same. A quality five
piece band for 2 sets (i.e. they are there about 3 hours) will run
$750-$1500. A larger band, say 8-15 musicians will run about
$1500-$3500 for a typical show, more if it is a large event. The
band leader will typically hire musicians for the show depending on the
budget, so in many ways you "get what you pay for."
Dance Performances are about $25-$50 per dancer per
routine. So a couple would get about $100 for one number, and a
large group might do 2 numbers for $200-$400, though this is depends even
more on circumstances. Many dancers are also instructors so if doing
a show has promotional value to them, then price is fairly negotiable.
Tipping: generosity is never overlooked. If you
managed to negotiate a low price with the entertainers, they spent a great
deal of time with you on the phone, they put on a great act, and you have
the money, definitely tip them. If you are paying top dollar in
advance, it isn't expected or necessary. |
