How much do pro sidemen make?

kurkomat · #1 12-23-2006, 02:47 AM

Just wondering. At one point in my life I had to make the decision about whether I was going to try and be a pro musician as a sideman or go back to school and pursue a more traditional career. I remember doing some quick calculations and figured I'd be able to make $25-30k a year playing bass. This was with regular studio work and no endorsement deals. Now that I live in a big city (and have a career that isn't in music) I can't imagine getting by on that amount of bread in NYC or LA... I just can't see it happening. The other concerning factor is the steady adoption of pro-level home recording software.... I've heard of more than one large studio going out of business as demand for cutting demos / albums is tailing off as people are able to get somewhat decent results at home.

So how much do pro working bassists make? (and I'm not talking about someone who luckily made it big with a band ala dave matthews / et all.) For instance I have a buddy who is fairly close to Dave Weckl. Now in my mind Weckl is waaaaayy beyond where most of us could ever hope to be in terms of skills, reputation, resume, network, etc. Yet apparently he has a roommate to help pay for his pad in LA because he can't do it on his own. This surprised me. I also was talking to a guy at Yoshi's the other night during a Mike Stern / Richard Bona / Dennis Chambers show (excellent show BTW) and he'd mentioned that Chambers had been on the road with Santana playing rock all summer because he needed to make some steady bread.

I'm just really surprised these top shelf players can't make a steady living playing the music they want to (you can't tell me Chambers isn't bored out of his gourd with Santana). Does anyone have any credible info to add here or have I just been given mis-information? I'd love to know that there is still a decent living to be made playing bass for those who are fortunate to be in the right situations with the right preparation.

tks all.

Seattle_BassMan · #2 12-24-2006, 05:03 PM

I think your points above are why many musicians are touring out of Nashville or Austin these days. These areas are far more affordable (you can actually buy a house for ~$100k) so they accomodate a musicians lifestyle a little more easily. I have a friend of mine that plays guitar out of Nashville. He plays as a sideman for an artist that is signed to a major label, but he is not a major act. My friend recieves $250 per show if the date was booked by an outside agency and he receives $350 per show if the date was booked by the label.

This sounds pretty decent if you're playing lots of gigs (say 150 dates or more a year). But the unfortunate reality is that lots of "non-major" acts only play 50-60 dates a year.

The band I play in opens for a lot of acts out of Nashville and the going rate seems to be anywhere from $250-500 night depending on status of the artist you're playing with. I consider myself to be "semi-pro". I play for an artist that is signed to an independent label out of Nashville. We currently play 60-75 dates a year and I generally receive $150/date. Sometimes I'll get up to $200/night and very rarely I'll make less than $150/night. Obviously this is not enough to live on, so I have a day job as well (own my own business, so I have very flexible schedule). The artist I play for is getting ready to release a new CD this month and has lot more financial backing from this new label, so it's possible we may be playing alot more dates this year (and hopefully the pay will go up as well).

As for studio work: I don't know anything about the New York/LA scene, but in Nashville it's pretty much all Union work. So you have to belong to the union and the pay for studio sessions is set by the union depending on whether you're recording for a Master track (major release), limited release, or demo session. The problem for new guys is that there are about 3 dozen session guys that get ALL the work. I've produced a few demo sessions in Nashville and I was able to get just about any major studio player I wanted for just my little demo project. So that means it's tough (not impossible) for new players to break into the studio scene. I know a number of guys that play on tour with major artists that also do some studio work on the side as well. But they have to keep touring because they can't get enough studio work on a regular basis to survive.

In Austin the studios are non-union so if you're a good player and trying to break into the studio scene, you could just drop your rate until you get established. Even so, I think it's probably still pretty difficult to break into. The nice thing about living out of Austin or Nashville is that there are plenty of places to play when you're not on the road. They may not pay much, but at least you can make some money.

In Nashville a lot of guys will play lower Broadway. You can play from Noon until 3am if you want. The clubs hardly pay anything (like maybe $20-30 per guy), but you can quite often make a lot more in tips. I know a couple of guys that just play lower Broadway and make $20-30k year doing that. Granted they're playing A LOT, but at least they're making somewhat of a living playing music. And $30k a year in Nashville is not really a bad living.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some insight.

blipndub · #3 12-26-2006, 05:12 PM

That was a really interesting post. Thanks for your insights and sharing your experiences.

Munjibunga · #4 12-26-2006, 05:44 PM

I'll bet first-call guys make over a quarter million a year. Somebody like Nathan East probably makes a lot more than that.

JoshRomance · #5 12-26-2006, 08:00 PM

Well, I guess there is more money to be had if you are actually a full-time member of a band.

Matt Rubano was doing session gigs on grammy-winning albums(The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill) before he accepted the offer to play bass full-time for an emo band. (Taking Back Sunday)

kurkomat · #6 12-29-2006, 09:18 PM

Seattle- good post, thanks for the insight.
Munji- You really think first call guys are making 250k? I would LOVE to think that was the case but I just don't think it could happen. I studied with a first-call guy that we all know and love and he is of very modest means. If anyone else has any more first hand (or second hand

) information here please chime in. tks.

Seattle_BassMan · #7 12-30-2006, 09:01 PM

I don't really know much about what guys like Nathan East or any of the other big name guys would make, especially since I'm really focused on the country scene, but I have heard from what I consider reliable sources that sidemen for Tim McGraw, Faith Hill are making about $100k year salary. They may do some freelance work outside of those gigs to supplement as well. I met the bassist & drummer for Lee Ann Rhimes when they were doing a studio session for the act that I work with...so they were obviously able to play for a well known national act and do some studio work (which would pay union scale).

Anyone else have any insight? I'd love to get more input on this thread as well.....

ArnoldoAC · #8 01-11-2007, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

I'll bet first-call guys make over a quarter million a year. Somebody like Nathan East probably makes a lot more than that.

He does earn much more than that.

Top gigs pay $4,000+
In Nathan's case I've heard he earns anything between $1-5m. I'm sure he couldn't fly his own planes every week just for a hobby if he wasn't earning well. Of course he has numerous endorsements etc. and A-session players charge much more than just the union rate.

JimmyM · #9 01-11-2007, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seattle_BassMan

I don't really know much about what guys like Nathan East or any of the other big name guys would make, especially since I'm really focused on the country scene, but I have heard from what I consider reliable sources that sidemen for Tim McGraw, Faith Hill are making about $100k year salary. They may do some freelance work outside of those gigs to supplement as well. I met the bassist & drummer for Lee Ann Rhimes when they were doing a studio session for the act that I work with...so they were obviously able to play for a well known national act and do some studio work (which would pay union scale).

Anyone else have any insight? I'd love to get more input on this thread as well.....

Don't know about Tim McGraw but Faith Hill used to pay $400 a night to a drummer I know who used to work for her. This was 4 or 5 years ago and it may have gone up a little, but I doubt it went up considerably.

The sad truth of the music business is that being a sideman does not pay very well. The acts use the fact that nobody's paying to see the sidemen as a reason to pay them zilch. You'll never get rich working for someone else, as my dad used to say. There are some bandleaders who pay really well (for example, I've heard Eric Clapton pays a fortune), but they're all so filthy rich that they just don't care anymore, and they're few and far between.

Nobody should ever get into the music business thinking they'll one day become rich over it. It happens for so few people that you're better off playing Lotto.