How Much Are Hired Guns On Tour Paid ?

[meterman]

5 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

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

 

Daryl

I don’t have any Nashville experience but I do know quite a few session players in the UK that are still getting £150 per show or session, regardless of who they’re playing for. That’s the kind of money you’d expect maybe 20-25 years ago, which was okay then but not now. The money hasn’t changed with inflation.
 

Unless you actually are Guy Pratt or Leland Sklar or somebody at that level, and can command whatever fee you like, you could possibly earn more money by working on construction sites than as a touring sideman now. And you’d be home each night having a cooked dinner and sleeping in your own bed, instead of eating at motorway service stations at odd times of the night and sleeping in a bunk on a tour bus. 
 

 

[casapete]

1 hour ago, meterman said:

I don’t have any Nashville experience but I do know quite a few session players in the UK that are still getting £150 per show or session, regardless of who they’re playing for. That’s the kind of money you’d expect maybe 20-25 years ago, which was okay then but not now. The money hasn’t changed with inflation.

So true.

 

More than 25 years ago in my old function band we were temporarily without a guitarist. With a couple

of big gigs in London on the horizon, our agent put some feelers out to see if a dep could be found.

To my amazement we got offered quite a ‘name’ player for around the same fee as were getting each.

Only caveat was a hotel needed factoring in, but I was staggered to think that said guitarist would

have needed to do such gigs.*

From my experience the money has changed very little over the last couple of decades, and I regularly

still see dep gigs being advertised with fees still the same. 
 

* Anyway, in the end we got a local bass dep and I winged it on guitar! 😆

[meterman]

2 hours ago, casapete said:

* Anyway, in the end we got a local bass dep and I winged it on guitar! 😆

This is brilliant! 
 

The only reason I suspect I used to get a slightly higher fee is because often I’d be doubling on lead guitar and keys (plus BV’s, maybe percussion if needed, etc) which meant an artist or band leader could go out as a four piece instead of having to hire an fifth player, thus saving two lots of session fees, or an extra hotel room or extra plane ticket, so I could ask for a bit of extra dough. Didn’t always get it, but if you’re doing ‘double bubble’ there’d be a good chance of slightly better pay. Plus, most of my touring post-2000 was done in Europe where you’d be paid more anyway.
 

Session players in the UK shouldn’t still be on £150 a night in the UK if there’s artist management and crew involved. I don’t think it’s worth it if you’re having to learn two or three hours of repertoire, absolutely note for note as on the records, just for a one-nighter or maybe a pair of gigs at an 02 or somewhere. But plenty still do it.