Question on Tour Musicians [Archive]

ShangriLaTroubl

07-03-2002, 04:25 PM

I dont know if any of you have any idea about this...its just a question out of pure curiousity....I have always wondered since it is obvious that Stevie has built many strong friendships with her past tour musicians (And vocalists)...i was wondering how she pays them...of course she does...im sure its pretty well..but i wonder how she determines how much each makes...it would be hard being the boss (in a way) of lots of your friends i think....does anyone have any idea how much the average road musician makes?

RoxyRockstar

07-03-2002, 07:30 PM

When it comes to Union requirements it depends on what union you are a part of and what area you are in. Each state has different requirements so pay scale can swing.

It also depends on the artist, the length of the show. the musican's required job, and their reputation and experience.

For top artists it can avaerage about $3000-5000 per musician, per show. But it also depends on what expenses are being covered by the artist as well. Do you have to pay for your own hotel or is Stevie covering that, do you pay for food, phone calls, medical needs, equipement, travel costs, etc. Some artists will cover it, some won't. Also depending on the length of the tour and the number of shows artists can offer a grand sum and just do it like a paycheck. But once again it all comes down to the union requirements and the "status" of the musician and of the artist they are playing for. Obviously you are gonna make more money of of Brittney Spears, Elton John, Cher, etc than you are off of Stevie or Melissa Etheridge because those names can fill a huge stadium in an hour where as stevie and melissa can't.

I actually just recieved a newsletter from LAMA a few weeks ago that has a section called "On Tour With...". The teachers and graduates of the school write about their experiences on the road. in this issue Mark Schulman writes about being on tour with Stevie. He talks about how stevie pays for a yoga instructor to tour with them so she and those in the band, who are interested can get a daily workout. And he goes on to describe his day and the bus she provides for them, and it says the the tour covers the cost of the room but not the extra little charges.