While i can kind of see both sides of the argument here - I think your figures are pretty over the top and exaggerated. If this was true for every gig, most bands would be about 10,000 in debt. For instance, the CDs you make will last you til the next gig and the one after that and so on, until you sell them all, by which time you'll have made a profit or at least money back anyway. As for the practice, strings and plectrums - you don't need to practice before every gig, same goes for buying strings and plectrums. And so on.. I can see your point, but i think this list isn't very realistic and is just to try and get your side of argument across. I think bands should get paid if the promoter is going to be making a lot of money from the gig, after all, he's making money from them - but it should really be a bonus - if you want to play your music in a band, then you can't expect to get paid all the time, afterall, there's a lot of competition out there. Plus I think the most important thing about being in a band is going out, playing shows, having fun and seeing people enjoying your songs. Also, you need to find a new place to buy your CD-Rs.