Musicians Getting Paid Now A Days? Is There Such A Thing? Almost All The Successful Musicians Now A Days Got That Way From Selling Merch, Not Music...LOL.
I think that’s true in many cases!
I can’t help but think about how well-paid my high school and college bands were in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s.
When I started playing out in bands, $10,000 a year was considered an ‘executive’ salary. In college the band split our revenue equally, and I was pulling down $300 a weekend, nearly every weekend, between frat gigs, bar gigs, etc.
In those days, a really nice new muscle car cost around 3 grand, so $300 was a nice chunk of change.
Sophomore year I bought a Firebird 400 brand-new, and paid cash for it out of my band earnings, with enough left over to have a pretty lavish lifestyle for a student!
Even adults can barely do that today.
One of many reasons this was the case is that back in the day, bands had to join the musician’s union to get bar gigs, and they made sure we got paid decently.
The unions were pretty much busted in the ‘80s, EXCEPT for the ad/TV work I do, major label sessions, and orchestras, who are generally union signatories. As the session leader I get double scale.
Of course, the AFM rates are laughable compared to SAG/AFTRA that singers and actors get, but I’ll take it since I can neither sing nor act!!
