Ongoing History Daily: How much do bands get paid?

When a band plays a gig, how do they get paid? It depends on the status and commercial viability of the group.

If you’re playing background music at an event or some kind of retail space, a rule of thumb is anywhere from $50 to $100 per member. If it’s a local bar gig, that varies wildly depending on the arrangement with the venue. You might be guaranteed as little as $100 and as high as—well, the sky’s the limit if you’re a superstar act who wants to play a small venue or private event. That may exceed $3-5 million.

You may get a piece of or all of ticket sales while the venue gets the bar. You can make money from merch sales, although the venue will often want a percentage of that. And if you’re super-big, you can negotiate a percentage of overall ticket sales plus a slice of ticket sales, food and beverage, and merch.

Bottom line? It all depends on what you can negotiate.