Hey guys. I'm wondering if anyone actually performs by traveling from city to city and touring doing shows?
Matthew
Matthew
Do you travel?
- Thread starter Matthew Sims
- Start date
If you plan on being a Pro you more or less have to travel and chase the checks, there are very few exceptions to this even amongst the part-timers. The question is, how much traveling are you willing to do, which can only be answered with "Why?" . . . why are you willing to do the traveling?
Understand, about 90% of people that do magic are part-timers; less than 50% of their annual income is generated via performance & related sales. In fact, most would say that less than a third of their personal gross each year comes from shows and/or other aspects of magic income. Of those in this niche few travel more than 5 hours driving time from their home, usually working weekend gigs with the occasional week night if it's less than two hours down the road and for a "cause" the performer supports. Outside of that most have their area "package shows" for birthdays, Mitzvahs, stag shows, open mic, etc. -- I'm over simplifying but it should give you a decent understanding of things.
Full-Time Pros may do 300 or more shows a year but that frequently means being up by 6 a.m. and at a Breakfast gig at 9 followed by a lunch gig, that may well require a 2 hour plane trip then an evening show at a club in yet another city. . . it means waking up and not knowing where you are more than half the time and paying attention to how you take care of yourself or it will kill you . . . been there, got the T-shirt.
Yes, they make the "big" money (not like it used to be, but still quite nice). Depending on the kind of shows they do we're looking at $1,500.00 low to well over $30,000.00 . . . which is a big incentive to travel and chase the pay day. . . in appearance. Truth of the matter is, those big ticket dates are usually for illusion acts with a big staff; the star performer might walk away with a grand in his pocket after everything is paid for. . . and I've got that T-shirt too. . . it's not glitter, glitz and riches it's long hours, loneliness and lots of hard work.
As I said, traveling is part of the job description for the majority of us that want to make Magic a vocation. That doesn't mean that you aren't going to have deals that let you work a room for several months or even years at a time, many do now days. But such is very rare and comes only after you've earned your chops and climbed the ladder. The question is, "Is it worth the time and effort?" and the answer is entirely up to you; if you want to work three nights a week doing close-up at $100.00 a shot, would you be willing to work at franchise locations based in other cities, say an hour from home? Is it worth it to you? Justify why it's worth it by looking at costs vs. net income (NEVER consider "exposer" as part of the benefit, that's a dangerous lie we buy into).
Hope that answers your question.
Understand, about 90% of people that do magic are part-timers; less than 50% of their annual income is generated via performance & related sales. In fact, most would say that less than a third of their personal gross each year comes from shows and/or other aspects of magic income. Of those in this niche few travel more than 5 hours driving time from their home, usually working weekend gigs with the occasional week night if it's less than two hours down the road and for a "cause" the performer supports. Outside of that most have their area "package shows" for birthdays, Mitzvahs, stag shows, open mic, etc. -- I'm over simplifying but it should give you a decent understanding of things.
Full-Time Pros may do 300 or more shows a year but that frequently means being up by 6 a.m. and at a Breakfast gig at 9 followed by a lunch gig, that may well require a 2 hour plane trip then an evening show at a club in yet another city. . . it means waking up and not knowing where you are more than half the time and paying attention to how you take care of yourself or it will kill you . . . been there, got the T-shirt.
Yes, they make the "big" money (not like it used to be, but still quite nice). Depending on the kind of shows they do we're looking at $1,500.00 low to well over $30,000.00 . . . which is a big incentive to travel and chase the pay day. . . in appearance. Truth of the matter is, those big ticket dates are usually for illusion acts with a big staff; the star performer might walk away with a grand in his pocket after everything is paid for. . . and I've got that T-shirt too. . . it's not glitter, glitz and riches it's long hours, loneliness and lots of hard work.
As I said, traveling is part of the job description for the majority of us that want to make Magic a vocation. That doesn't mean that you aren't going to have deals that let you work a room for several months or even years at a time, many do now days. But such is very rare and comes only after you've earned your chops and climbed the ladder. The question is, "Is it worth the time and effort?" and the answer is entirely up to you; if you want to work three nights a week doing close-up at $100.00 a shot, would you be willing to work at franchise locations based in other cities, say an hour from home? Is it worth it to you? Justify why it's worth it by looking at costs vs. net income (NEVER consider "exposer" as part of the benefit, that's a dangerous lie we buy into).
Hope that answers your question.
I will travel up to about 1-2 hours away from home to do gigs. At this point in my life, family and my regular job are the priorities.
The gig money I do make throughout the year is just extra spending cash to support my magic profession and buy nice things for the family so I don't have to dip into our kids' savings.
If you ever plan on making lots of cash, yes, you will need to travel a lot and be away from home. Life on the road is not fun either. It burns out many magicians. Living in hotel after hotel and traveling by yourself gets old.
The gig money I do make throughout the year is just extra spending cash to support my magic profession and buy nice things for the family so I don't have to dip into our kids' savings.
If you ever plan on making lots of cash, yes, you will need to travel a lot and be away from home. Life on the road is not fun either. It burns out many magicians. Living in hotel after hotel and traveling by yourself gets old.