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for the pros: what do you make a year?


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Motidave was going on in another thread (No More Pub Gigs) about how he plays for fun, as he couldnt possibly support his family on what he makes from music. Every year I do my taxes, I think about what if I hadnt given my entire life over towards being a professional musician... The salary range of a professional musician can be very wide.. This one is for the pros. Ill start:

 

I make about 40K in a non touring year, 60K in a touring year. (USD)

 

caveat: performance and recording revenue only...dont include teaching in your total.

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"old boys social club"? You have a special knack for making friends?

 

I've never relied on music for my main bread, but I've played with lots of people who do. Musicians of all stripes love to talk about pay (at least in person, maybe not on the internet). But it's not interesting or useful unless you know the details. For instance, there's plenty of well paying gigs if you want to tour Asia, but do you want to tour Asia?

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Fair enough. This post is not really for the members of the old boys social club on this forum who all know each other personally. Its more for those of us with a low post count who choose to not share personal info, i.e. real name, etc.

 

If it's more for those of you with low post counts that choose to NOT SHARE (your words) personal information, why are you asking for personal information?

 

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

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Rephrase - I dont know a lot of people who chat about their taxable income as small talk.

 

What are club date gigs paying in 2019? How many are you getting a month these days?

 

Do you need to supplement with lessons and other non performing jobs?

 

Do you get any union or contract work? Whats that paying a show in 2019?

 

Those doing A rooms and/or national tours, whats that paying per show in 2019?

 

 

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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Fair enough. This post is not really for the members of the old boys social club on this forum who all know each other personally. Its more for those of us with a low post count who choose to not share personal info, i.e. real name, etc.

 

If it's more for those of you with low post counts that choose to NOT SHARE (your words) personal information, why are you asking for personal information?

 

if nobody knows who you really are, i.e. name, main gig, etc., what difference does it make if you honestly post what you make in a year? The question was asked so that people who are curious about the business of being a professional keyboard player can understand what a pro makes in 2019.

 

If youre offended by the question, or are uncomfortable answering it, just ignore. Sorry MOI, not trolling.

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I dont see a big deal with the question, after all, one neednt answer. I will, but not much to offer. There was a time, say... maybe 40 years ago I made a healthy middle class income gigging 4 - 6 nights a week. Semi-retired now, teach keys and gig very part time. I play in a ten piece horn band, local only. $800 to $2000 per job, split ten ways! Generally walk away with about $125. Obviously, its for fun now.
I would like to apologize to anyone I have not yet offended. Please be patient and I will get to you shortly.
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Motidave was going on in another thread (No More Pub Gigs) about how he plays for fun, as he couldnt possibly support his family on what he makes from music. Every year I do my taxes, I think about what if I hadnt given my entire life over towards being a professional musician... The salary range of a professional musician can be very wide.. This one is for the pros. Ill start:

 

I make about 40K in a non touring year, 60K in a touring year. (USD)

 

caveat: performance and recording revenue only...dont include teaching in your total.

 

yes. Everyone does their taxes every year.

 

What would you do with total sales/income info if it was offered ?

 

Its not 100% clear if you are asking for 'net income ' or 'gross income ' ?

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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I make $200,000 a year playing music. I'm 36 and I have a hot girlfriend ... no, 2 hot girlfriends ... yeah, that's it ... and, uh, a big house in the country... and, uh, a cool apartment in the city ... oh yeah, and my own recording studio where lots of famous musicians have recorded. Yeah, that's me
These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise.
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Number of tickets sold

 

Multiplied by

 

Ticket price

 

Minus

 

Venue hire; tech crew wage; marketing costs; agents commission; promoters fee; APRA fee; fuel; insurance; airfares; accommodation; insurance; contingencies; accountants fee; bank fees; bank interest; website hosting fees; rehearsal room hire; equipment costs; props; costumes; contractors

 

Divided by

 

Number of band members

 

Equals

 

OPs nick

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I make $200,000 a year playing music. I'm 36 and I have a hot girlfriend ... no, 2 hot girlfriends ... yeah, that's it ... and, uh, a big house in the country... and, uh, a cool apartment in the city ... oh yeah, and my own recording studio where lots of famous musicians have recorded. Yeah, that's me

 

[video:youtube]

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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I make $200,000 a year playing music. I'm 36 and I have a hot girlfriend ... no, 2 hot girlfriends ... yeah, that's it ... and, uh, a big house in the country... and, uh, a cool apartment in the city ... oh yeah, and my own recording studio where lots of famous musicians have recorded. Yeah, that's me

 

Wow! You could be talking about me!

Professional musician = great source of poverty.

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I make $200,000 a year playing music. I'm 36 and I have a hot girlfriend ... no, 2 hot girlfriends ... yeah, that's it ... and, uh, a big house in the country... and, uh, a cool apartment in the city ... oh yeah, and my own recording studio where lots of famous musicians have recorded. Yeah, that's me

 

I really enjoyed your winery in Sonoma.

 

And the babes at your new album release party at Tahoe ? Unforgettable.

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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:D :D

 

Number of tickets sold

 

Multiplied by

 

Ticket price

 

Minus

 

Venue hire; tech crew wage; marketing costs; agents commission; promoters fee; APRA fee; fuel; insurance; airfares; accommodation; insurance; contingencies; accountants fee; bank fees; bank interest; website hosting fees; rehearsal room hire; equipment costs; props; costumes; contractors

 

Divided by

 

Number of band members

 

Equals

 

OPs nick

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Number of tickets sold

 

Multiplied by

 

Ticket price

 

Minus

 

Venue hire; tech crew wage; marketing costs; agents commission; promoters fee; APRA fee; fuel; insurance; airfares; accommodation; insurance; contingencies; accountants fee; bank fees; bank interest; website hosting fees; rehearsal room hire; equipment costs; props; costumes; contractors

 

Divided by

 

Number of band members

 

Equals

 

OPs nick

thanks man, sounds like we are in the same boat
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Well I guess some would consider it disseminating personal info on the web, esp if your real name is used. Understandable.

 

But as a general question, it sure has me wondering. Though the number of respondants would be too small to draw any kind of meaningful conclusions.

 

But the fact remains that everything that I've ever heard about making a living from music was usually as being a teacher or something practical like a piano tuner. The number of stories of folks who are not superstars (the 1 in a 1000 of us) but manage to make their money from music is a heartening tale, something that's worth hearing.

 

Perhaps if it was framed in a different way:

? Do you know of anyone, yourself included, that makes decent money you could live on (at least $40,000 and above per year) as a performing musician, whether on stage or in the studio?

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I sure as heck won't divulge any personal financial data on a public web forum, but to provide some kind of answer to the question allow me to share a true anecdote.

 

All the young 20-something full time musos here in the Bay Area routinely decry trying to eke out a living in the most expensive place to live in the US.

 

One of my buds, a mid-20's full time reeds player (one of our best and brightest) quietly bought himself a condo. he proudly invited me over to celebrate. I asked him how he did it.

 

"that's easy. All i did was work 7 days a week and didn't spend any money on myself."

 

Mind you, he gigs constantly and teaches over 70 students.

 

But it can be done.

..
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I'm not going to give exact amounts, as I'd like to preserve some anonymity, but let's just say there are a lot of zeros. At one point there was so much I had to start diversifying my holdings. Today I have most of my wealth in Zimbabwe banks.

 

d315bc41-2074-4adf-86f1-4d108c5e4bce.jpg

Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands

Tommy Rude Soundcloud

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I make $200,000 a year playing music. I'm 36 and I have a hot girlfriend ... no, 2 hot girlfriends ... yeah, that's it ... and, uh, a big house in the country... and, uh, a cool apartment in the city ... oh yeah, and my own recording studio where lots of famous musicians have recorded. Yeah, that's me

 

we must be twins :cheers:

:nopity:
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Professional Musician can mean a lot of things. Elton John is a professional musician and I'm pretty sure he makes enough to pay the bills. There are session players you've probably never heard of that make a good living in the studio. There are musicians who make a living doing jingles or other corporate work. But I assume you're talking about playing in a cover band? Well even that covers a wide range. There are Wedding Bands, Bands that focus Corporate events and private parties, Tribute Bands, Theme Bands, pop, rock, country, solo, duo, etc, etc.

 

As Tim mentioned, cost of living is a big factor. Someplace like St. Louis has a fairly low cost of living and a relatively strong music scene for cover bands, so it's a lot more doable here than some other places.

 

Some years back I played in an 80s band that made pretty good money. We limited our gigs to only in town on Friday and Saturday nights, so we could have made more if we did it full time. That said, it was the primary income for a couple of the band members, though they each did some odd jobs on the side to supplement as needed. Thing about that, though is that it's pretty risky. Most bands don't last forever, and if they do, they tend to become less relevant and the gigs and pay scale decline all the time. So even if you can live comfortably for a while, there's no guarantee it'll continue until retirement.

 

Most of the guys I know who make a living on music spread themselves out both to maximize the number of gigs, and have a little more security through diversity so if one band falls apart, they still have some income until the next one comes along. Typically that means they may play in 2-3 Tribute bands that do a few shows each a year, a cover band to fill in the rest of the weekends, and a solo/duo act to hit all the weekday happy hours and weekend afternoon winery type stuff. If you do all that, and do it well, you can live a fairly modest but comfortable life.

 

The big challenge are benefits, taxes, and retirement savings. Being self employed means you pay more in taxes (you pay the portion the employer would typically pay) so you have to be smart finding deductions. You have to foot the bill for insurance which can be pretty expensive if you're not on a group plan. You have to be smart about investments and putting money away for retirement.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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Way back when, I was terrified to even try.

 

I think that's the key - you have to start young enough, when you don't yet have the responsibilities of a family and a mortgage, to get the experience and connections to be able to build a sustained income BEFORE all of those other responsibilities creep up. All the guys I know who make a living off music started pretty heavily as teenagers and stuck with it non-stop.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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I make $200,000 a year playing music. I'm 36 and I have a hot girlfriend ... no, 2 hot girlfriends ... yeah, that's it ... and, uh, a big house in the country... and, uh, a cool apartment in the city ... oh yeah, and my own recording studio where lots of famous musicians have recorded. Yeah, that's me

 

What id give to be in a position to take the pay cut and turn FT pro like you. Im only paying for one GF though, i still have to pay for the wife and kids. 2nd GF needs to self-fund, presumably gladly for the thrill of being with a pro muso.

 

I didnt see anything wrong with the question, but also didnt expect a single candid answer. I dont tell people what i make. I certainly dont tell my fellow band mates and musicians who make much less. When i come together with band mates, there is no status in money, the only rep one gets in that world is earned by laying down the shimmering sounds and cool rhythms.

 

Or by bagging two hot girlfriends ... who are down with it.

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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