Some people might think that the life of a touring music performer is glamorous and also rewarding, but it's anything but. The price of touring for a rock band or whatever is actually fairly high and very few tours really make huge amounts of money, except for the very best tier of artists.
Touring really expensive
Not everyone can just get on an elegant tour bus and begin touring their band. In fact, most band or artist tours do not contain groupies, partying and a ton of cash as you might assume.
If you were touring, you would be ready to make more than $1,500 a month in a record deal opening for some pretty large groups. Unfortunately, that was incorrect for Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione in The Dresden Dolls. They had a record deal and never made more than that, according to a 2007 NPR interview.
They will only be getting $18,000 a year, which is not a lot and only really happens if they tour year round.
They were given $1 of every CD sold also, so they might make some cash on CD sales.
Working up the ladder
Shane Blay, a member of the band Oh, Sleeper, a metalcore band that's been around for a number of years, posted prices of touring during a typical day on the road, on MetalInjection. Groups, he claims, basically make money on tour from guaranties, a fee for playing which varies by location, and selling merchandise like T-shirts and so forth. What he'd noticed was that an average for a "mid-level" group like his was $300 per each category, an income of $600 per night.
The price of traveling is $10 per day for food and $150 in gasoline between gigs. The band also has to pay 15 percent to the manager and 10 percent to the booking agent out of the $300 venue cash. Of the merchandise cash, the manger gets $15 percent and the venue takes a 25 percent commission. On top of that, the band has to pay about $7.50 per t-shirt that they sell at $15, which already cuts that cost in half. Total per night, the band ends up with $78.75 after all the expenses come out.
Then there are additional emergency costs not calculated out. Without the emergencies, each band member will get $13.12 a night to play, which is not a ton of cash.
Not all costs bad
It's only the greatest acts for whom the costs of touring are worth it, as a tour may sell enough tickets to be profitable. For instance, according to the Daily Mail, when Roger Waters did a tour of "The Wall," the classic album by his previous group Pink Floyd, in 2010, the production, which is fantastically elaborate for those who have not seen it, cost $60 million to take on tour. The tour grossed nearly $90 million, according to Music Television.
NBC News explained that most groups were close to having to get rid of tours and quit because of gasoline prices in 2008. Most young groups struggle more than you would know.
And just in case one could be wondering, yes, it DOES hurt the band when a person downloads music for free.
Touring really expensive
Not everyone can just get on an elegant tour bus and begin touring their band. In fact, most band or artist tours do not contain groupies, partying and a ton of cash as you might assume.
If you were touring, you would be ready to make more than $1,500 a month in a record deal opening for some pretty large groups. Unfortunately, that was incorrect for Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione in The Dresden Dolls. They had a record deal and never made more than that, according to a 2007 NPR interview.
They will only be getting $18,000 a year, which is not a lot and only really happens if they tour year round.
They were given $1 of every CD sold also, so they might make some cash on CD sales.
Working up the ladder
Shane Blay, a member of the band Oh, Sleeper, a metalcore band that's been around for a number of years, posted prices of touring during a typical day on the road, on MetalInjection. Groups, he claims, basically make money on tour from guaranties, a fee for playing which varies by location, and selling merchandise like T-shirts and so forth. What he'd noticed was that an average for a "mid-level" group like his was $300 per each category, an income of $600 per night.
The price of traveling is $10 per day for food and $150 in gasoline between gigs. The band also has to pay 15 percent to the manager and 10 percent to the booking agent out of the $300 venue cash. Of the merchandise cash, the manger gets $15 percent and the venue takes a 25 percent commission. On top of that, the band has to pay about $7.50 per t-shirt that they sell at $15, which already cuts that cost in half. Total per night, the band ends up with $78.75 after all the expenses come out.
Then there are additional emergency costs not calculated out. Without the emergencies, each band member will get $13.12 a night to play, which is not a ton of cash.
Not all costs bad
It's only the greatest acts for whom the costs of touring are worth it, as a tour may sell enough tickets to be profitable. For instance, according to the Daily Mail, when Roger Waters did a tour of "The Wall," the classic album by his previous group Pink Floyd, in 2010, the production, which is fantastically elaborate for those who have not seen it, cost $60 million to take on tour. The tour grossed nearly $90 million, according to Music Television.
NBC News explained that most groups were close to having to get rid of tours and quit because of gasoline prices in 2008. Most young groups struggle more than you would know.
And just in case one could be wondering, yes, it DOES hurt the band when a person downloads music for free.
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