How Much Are Hired Guns On Tour Paid ?

[Bluewine]

This is for the guys in this for money. Not so much for those primarily in this for fun.

 

I think this guy is credible.  I always thought if you were on tour on a bus with a popular signed act you'd be rolling in cash. 

 

Let me know what you think 

 

Daryl

 

 

 

[police squad]

Really interesting Blue. 

I had formulated a sort of retirement plan to get into a touring legacy act (when I'm out of full time work)

The act I really wanted to join, unfortunately the singer passed away, so that was that.

 

I was doing an Americana thing with a semi famous name but I've been replaced by the rythmn section of his old band after one gig!! That band had shows booked around the UK, I received 200 pounds for the one show that I did and I assumed that's what it would have been going forward. Not worth it financially at all, considering the time away from home a travelling

Back in pubs, doing what I do best (well when my slipped disk has righted itself)

[Burns-bass]

I’ve known a few touring guys and this all seems to echo what they say. 
 

When I realised the life of a professional musician was playing Oliver or Grease in a pit for decades I decided against it.

[gjones]

I have a friend who was a pro touring sound engineer, about ten years ago, and she used to get paid £150 per day plus £50 per diems every day (to pay for food, drink). The last tour she was on was with a Grammy winning act.

 

I assume touring musicians would be on a similar rate.

[Phill]

Not gonna name any names here but it depends on the level of the act, label backing & own negotiated contracts & venues to some extent (all from my personal experience) Playing at O2 Academy's for me paid slightly less than arenas & such say £200 + against £500+ and per diems every day on or off while travelling which sort of mirrored the union's fee guidelines mostly. It is really dependent on each tour though 

[Old Man Riva]

1 hour ago, Phill said:

Not gonna name any names here but it depends on the level of the act, label backing & own negotiated contracts & venues to some extent (all from my personal experience) Playing at O2 Academy's for me paid slightly less than arenas & such say £200 + against £500+ and per diems every day on or off while travelling which sort of mirrored the union's fee guidelines mostly. It is really dependent on each tour though 

I'd agree that rates could/would fluctuate significantly depending on the gig.

 

The surprising thing for me is that when I was doing it in the 90s the rates seemed comparable or higher (by and large) then than those being referenced now - and at the time the players who had been touring in the 80s were bemoaning how rates were higher then!

 

If the tour had catering and the per diems were good you could pretty much leave the gig/retainer money alone. This allowed you to then cave in to peer pressure and buy nonsense items that you never needed or would ever use - hello Mr MiniDisc player, how have you been stuck in the attic for nearly 30 years after being used just a handful of times?! 

 

Nothing more sobering than being on a bus with a bunch of guys all showing off their snazzy digital cameras then realising nobody had the faintest clue how to download the images, or knew anyone at the time with a home computer!

 

Good times...

Edited May 17 by Old Man Riva

[meterman]

By the last few tours I did, I was on £250 per gig. Sometimes restaurant meals were part of the deal, other times we got per diems to cover daily expenses. And this was playing as a sideman for signed artists, with record label support and gold discs etc.

 

Very occasionally I might get a bit more (say £300 or £500) for festival gigs or one-off special events but otherwise it was always £250. Rehearsal fees would differ from artist to artist, as might studio sessions. 
 

Bear in mind I stopped touring in May 2018 and almost every tour I did between 2006 until 2018 was in Europe. And I was still living in the UK then. No idea what it's like now. 

[YouMa]

My best mate toured in 90s with sisters of mercy playing keyboards. He made enough to buy a house so was quite lucrative. Cost him his marriage eventually though.

[Phill]

6 hours ago, Old Man Riva said:

I'd agree that rates could/would fluctuate significantly depending on the gig.

 

The surprising thing for me is that when I was doing it in the 90s the rates seemed comparable or higher (by and large) then than those being referenced now - and at the time the players who had been touring in the 80s were bemoaning how rates were higher then!

 

If the tour had catering and the per diems were good you could pretty much leave the gig/retainer money alone. This allowed you to then cave in to peer pressure and buy nonsense items that you never needed or would ever use - hello Mr MiniDisc player, how have you been stuck in the attic for nearly 30 years after being used just a handful of times?! 

 

Nothing more sobering than being on a bus with a bunch of guys all showing off their snazzy digital cameras then realising nobody had the faintest clue how to download the images, or knew anyone at the time with a home computer!

 

Good times...

Speaking to a guitarist earlier actually. Played with George Michael in the 90's & getting £2500 now on average £200/£250 

[peteb]

8 hours ago, Old Man Riva said:

The surprising thing for me is that when I was doing it in the 90s the rates seemed comparable or higher (by and large) then than those being referenced now - and at the time the players who had been touring in the 80s were bemoaning how rates were higher then!

 

 

1 hour ago, Phill said:

Speaking to a guitarist earlier actually. Played with George Michael in the 90's & getting £2500 now on average £200/£250 

 

Funnily enough, looking at how the market conditions are now for live music (although at a more modest level for guys like me), this doesn't surprise me at all. 

 

[peteb]

19 hours ago, Bluewine said:

This is for the guys in this for money. Not so much for those primarily in this for fun.

 

I think this guy is credible.  I always thought if you were on tour on a bus with a popular signed act you'd be rolling in cash. 

 

Let me know what you think 

 

Daryl

 

 

That was really interesting Daryl and, unfortunately, not at all surprising. There just isn't the money in live music these days that there used to be, save for a very small number of top acts! 

 

Funnily enough, I came across this guy a couple of days ago and nearly posted his video on how to get gigs in response to a post you made on getting deps on another thread. 

 

[meterman]

3 hours ago, YouMa said:

My best mate toured in 90s with sisters of mercy playing keyboards. He made enough to buy a house so was quite lucrative. Cost him his marriage eventually though.

Enviable gig, definitely, but that’s exactly what a lot of players don’t factor in - being away from home for a good part of the year really can ruin things between you and your other half, unless you’re super tight as a couple.
 

Mind you, I used to come home after being away for a month and it’d be, “Can you unblock the toilet?” or “The washing machine’s packed in, can you fix it?” or “I bought a load of stuff at IKEA, can you put it all together by tomorrow, I’ve invited family to stay” - aaaarrrgh! I swear my wife just used to store things up for when I got home. 😂

[Bluewine]

18 hours ago, gjones said:

I have a friend who was a pro touring sound engineer, about ten years ago, and she used to get paid £150 per day plus £50 per diems every day (to pay for food, drink). The last tour she was on was with a Grammy winning act.

 

I assume touring musicians would be on a similar rate.

 

That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

6 hours ago, meterman said:

Enviable gig, definitely, but that’s exactly what a lot of players don’t factor in - being away from home for a good part of the year really can ruin things between you and your other half, unless you’re super tight as a couple.
 

Mind you, I used to come home after being away for a month and it’d be, “Can you unblock the toilet?” or “The washing machine’s packed in, can you fix it?” or “I bought a load of stuff at IKEA, can you put it all together by tomorrow, I’ve invited family to stay” - aaaarrrgh! I swear my wife just used to store things up for when I got home. 😂

 

 

I wouldn't like that.

 

Daryl

[meterman]

5 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

I wouldn't like that.

 

Daryl

Well, the IKEA thing was a bit much, but that wasn’t done maliciously, just my wife’s a bit absent minded and that occasion happened before I had a mobile phone. Back then I relied on finding a pay phone somewhere at a convenient time which sometimes didn’t happen every day.

 

Even when I got a phone it still would be tricky. Once I came offstage at a festival in France in 2007 to find something like 30 missed calls, all from my wife. I rang her back and she was frantic, as our flat had been burgled and loads of our stuff had been stolen. I felt like $hīt and not just because I still had one more festival to do before the band returned to London. Ordinarily I’d have just flown home, but when you’re on someone else’s payroll you cant just quit a tour before the last date. That’s a key thing about committing to a tour - once the schedule is in place, there’s not often much flexibility for you personally. You just have to do what’s expected of you at exact times every day. I sometimes miss doing one-nighters, but definitely don’t miss touring. 
 

Sorry, I’ve taken the thread off course - carry on folks 👍

[Bluewine]

10 hours ago, meterman said:

Well, the IKEA thing was a bit much, but that wasn’t done maliciously, just my wife’s a bit absent minded and that occasion happened before I had a mobile phone. Back then I relied on finding a pay phone somewhere at a convenient time which sometimes didn’t happen every day.

 

Even when I got a phone it still would be tricky. Once I came offstage at a festival in France in 2007 to find something like 30 missed calls, all from my wife. I rang her back and she was frantic, as our flat had been burgled and loads of our stuff had been stolen. I felt like $hīt and not just because I still had one more festival to do before the band returned to London. Ordinarily I’d have just flown home, but when you’re on someone else’s payroll you cant just quit a tour before the last date. That’s a key thing about committing to a tour - once the schedule is in place, there’s not often much flexibility for you personally. You just have to do what’s expected of you at exact times every day. I sometimes miss doing one-nighters, but definitely don’t miss touring. 
 

Sorry, I’ve taken the thread off course - carry on folks 👍

 

I was dating a young lady I met at a gig. It almost lasted a year. At the end of the day she wasn't into the whole band and gigging scene at all.

 

Not comparable, however gigging and relationships can be tough.

 

Daryl

[MacDaddy]

On 16/05/2024 at 23:38, Bluewine said:

This is for the guys in this for money. Not so much for those primarily in this for fun.

 

I think this guy is credible.  I always thought if you were on tour on a bus with a popular signed act you'd be rolling in cash. 

 

Let me know what you think 

 

Daryl

 

 

 

 

Interesting, but it seems to be about the Nashville and/or country scene?

[acidbass]

The difference between the small time and the big time is £50 a night!

[jimmyb625]

I think (from my limited experience) he's pretty much right.

Obviously, a lot is going to depend on the employing artist or band, the status of the player and the tour they're on. So someone like Lee Sklar, Pino, or Guy Pratt will be getting a pretty good rate, but if you're in the background for someone like Mel C, you're not going to be buying a Rolls Royce anytime soon. I mention Mel C, as our band played on the same bill as her for a festival and the backing band (except for the keys player/MD) had never met her before the gig.

A friend of mine works LX2 for a pretty well known touring musical and she's pretty much on minimum wage, with £350 per week food and accommodation allowances. They usually try for something like an Air BnB and split the cost between a few of them.

It's never great money, unless you're absolutely at the top of the tree.

[Bluewine]

9 hours ago, acidbass said:

The difference between the small time and the big time is £50 a night!

 

It's starting to seem that way.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

On 19/05/2024 at 11:58, jimmyb625 said:

I think (from my limited experience) he's pretty much right.

Obviously, a lot is going to depend on the employing artist or band, the status of the player and the tour they're on. So someone like Lee Sklar, Pino, or Guy Pratt will be getting a pretty good rate, but if you're in the background for someone like Mel C, you're not going to be buying a Rolls Royce anytime soon. I mention Mel C, as our band played on the same bill as her for a festival and the backing band (except for the keys player/MD) had never met her before the gig.

A friend of mine works LX2 for a pretty well known touring musical and she's pretty much on minimum wage, with £350 per week food and accommodation allowances. They usually try for something like an Air BnB and split the cost between a few of them.

It's never great money, unless you're absolutely at the top of the tree.

Off topic. Back at The local small time level. A close friend a drummers 9 peice ( 3 horns) booked a corporate gig in the upper peninsula.  $300.00 per man plus 1 overnight hotel accommodation. Not bad.

 

Daryl

Edited May 24 by Bluewine

[Bluewine]

After thinking about it. It depends on the deal. The pay, length of tour caliber of venues and accommodations.

 

If I was presented with a good deal where I would come home at a profit and put money in the bank even at 70 years old I'd take it.

 

Daryl

 

 

[mike257]

14 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

 

A friend of mine works LX2 for a pretty well known touring musical and she's pretty much on minimum wage, with £350 per week food and accommodation allowances. They usually try for something like an Air BnB and split the cost between a few of them.

It's never great money, unless you're absolutely at the top of the tree.

 

Theatre pay is generally poor for technical crew in comparison to music or corporate events. I'm stunned at some of the rates I see thrown about for that stuff. 

 

As far as rates in live music go, obviously your man in the video is very much entrenched in the Nashville world and how it works over there, although I don't think it's a million miles removed from the rest of us. 

 

Session players in touring bands can get a real bum deal. I've looked after (and ran budgets for) all sorts of artists as a tour manager, and have seen some moderately recognisable names paying hired hands significantly less than I used to get for playing bass on the function gig scene 6+ years ago. In my experience it pays much better to be touring crew than it does to be a hired gun on stage. 

Edited May 20 by mike257

[jimmyb625]

34 minutes ago, mike257 said:

 

Theatre pay is generally poor for technical crew in comparison to music or corporate events. I'm stunned at some of the rates I see thrown about for that stuff. 

Yep, it's really poor, especially when you look at the ticket prices for some of those shows.

[Bluewine]

On 19/05/2024 at 05:30, MacDaddy said:

 

Interesting, but it seems to be about the Nashville and/or country scene?

I doubt there's much difference between rock and country. Rock probably pays even less.

 

Daryl