how much do bands make?

xoxo

From the "Use Other Facts, Please" file, publishing is where the money is at. Too bad the singer of the band is the nominal songwriter, and gets something like 75% of the publishing as well. They make most of their income from liscencing songs to advertisements and for TV background music use.

It's kind of unbelievable when you find out how little musicians *actually* make. You have this image of pop stars as being super rich, but unless you have a really good lawyer and a really good accountant... well, back in the 60s, Steve Marriott said that at the height of their fame, he barely had enough money to buy a new pair of socks. All the sharp mod gear was on credit from shops on Carnaby St that used to use them as walking billboards. And things haven't changed much since then.

Remind me again why I'm doing this?

In my experience it's the casino mentality of most musicians (all or nothing, flush or bust) which causes their insolvency. All they need to do is give up their foolish dreams of stardom, be a little realistic, and then they can have a metier and make about the same money as your average office worker. If that sounds boring, it's up to the artists to put their money and free time into some interesting experiences, and put their imagination into the records, where we can all enjoy it, rather than dreams of personal glory.

That's assuming they have any dreams beyond pictures of their names in lights, of course.

Artists in a similar position to Nick have realised about LICENSING their material to labels in various territories rather than properly signing to any label worldwide. So they get a few grand in each place and deal with things on a more personal level with various companies, or by using a trusted manager.

yeah man it sucks - HBO or bust

I do agree with Momus, but yes, dividing profit earnings between band members (particularly those with drug problems) equates a royal flush. Musicians should know better, and use, I dunno, resources like the Net to their advantage instead of just relying on labels for distro.

Yeah, but that's the point. For the most part, not even touring will cut it if you don't have a high demand.

Somewhat related - I've never found SoundScan numbers, but how many albums does a 'major' indie release (say, the last Sleater-Kinney album) sell on average? 100k+?
-- miloauckerman (suspectdevic...), January 18th, 2004.

I'd dare say 50k.

You sound like any band on SST circa 1983. or Fugazi.

How much can bands hope to make from touring, for that matter (assuming you have a good manager and booker who can get you decent gigs)?

The frustrating thing is that all I'd ever want is to make a "living" from music. I have no dreams of superstardom, Cribs, or whatever. I'd just like to do as well as I could being a teacher or journalist or some other job I might consider if I did not have music.

How long does it take to get to that point, and how likely is it? I'm not talking starting from scratch -- we've had some good press, played decent venues, opened for some somewhat well known acts (Dickey Betts, Clem Snide, Papa M, Nina Nastasia etc.) We're supposedly on the "farm team" of a major manager, though it's tough to say whether that's going to pan out. Right now, I just want to be able to do this without racking up debt, pay the rent on an apartment so I have a place to sleep when I'm not out on the road, and have health insurance.