Hi Kent,
I not only perform these types of shows, but I am also fortunate enough to book them and be stage manager for a couple of promoters that put them together.
I have seen a definite readjustment period take place over the last few years. The fees for all of our performers, for example, had to be lowered to reflect this. Some, as much as 25%.
Currently however, there seems to be some confusion in the pricing. The companies that I book (and perform) for, have started to move the fee paid back to where they were 4 or 5 years ago. They are also trying (so far rather successfully) to expand to more communities. All in all, they are appearing to do well for the charities they are raising money for and have a well deserved solid reputation in the industry.
But, the companies that I only perform for and am booked by them directly, have steadily been lowering prices. Two weeks ago, we performed for one of these for a fee about 20% lower than what we were getting from him 2 years ago. He gave the same explanation of poor attendance or slow sales.
Still other companies that I have done this type of work for in the past, would not only pay a performer a lower fee, they were at times operating on the wrong side of the law. Some would not pay GST, a tax in Canada that must be collected by any business that makes over a certain gross amount. Some would illegally overbook a venue through donations by corporations and not distribute the tickets. And so on. I am happy to say that I am not aware of any of these types of promoters operating in my area today.
A number of factors have been at play with the fees. Some of them at odds with each other.
One, there was a slump in sales and getting people to donate or buy tickets did go through a downturn. You could see it by the number of empty seats in the audience. One of the adjustments that has been made in these markets was to lessen the number of shows from 3 to 2 or 2 to 1 that are performed for that date.
Why less sales? Lots of reasons and possibly everyone different for different people. Perhaps tired of going to a variety/magic show. Perhaps a downturn in the economy. Perhaps higher fuel costs. Perhaps tired of donating. Perhaps...
At odds with the downturn, has been the performers asking for higher wages. They are, as you mentioned, facing higher costs in fuel, accomodations, etc... As you have also correctly pointed out, in other shows, the performers have been successfully able to raise their fees in many instances. So, they naturally ask for more from the fundraiser shows.
Something to keep in mind though, is the promoter is dealing with a long term client (charity). They have to be able to show a bottom line to the charity over the course of their business relationship in order to continue working for that charity. The charity can of course expect some differences show to show, in revenues generated. But, if the trend is one of ever decreasing returns, then the charity and or the promoter, may decide to not run the shows in the future. This means a lost source of revenue for performers altogether.
So with a multitude of reasons why sales slump (it is not, "If you build it they will come." in the real world
), performers who see rates climb in one area and plateau or fall in another, charities which hope to see a certain amount generated and a promoter that is trying to balance all of this, we have our current situation.
Like any other type of industry, we are subject to all the variables that make it work. Unfortunately, one of them is the fact that over time we cannot be guaranteed that our income will increase and in fact, in some areas may even decrease.
Also, the longer we are performers, the more we consider we should be able to charge (give ourselves a raise as it were). This is a perfectly fine reasoning and I am in no way suggesting that we shouldn't expect more as we develop and grow as performers. But, keep in mind, that just because we wish to make more, it doesn't mean that the person using your services feels they should pay more. They may simply seek out other performers at what they see as charging a more reasonable rate. And, from experience, I can tell you that performers charging a lower rate are not necessarily a poorer act than performers charging a higher rate.
So, as performers, maybe we have to ask ourselves, what is doing this show worth to me and not how much do I think I am worth to do this show?
Good luck,
Rob