Berklee Survey Unveils Pro Audio Salaries

[Jind]

I just saw this story come up in my daily email from ProSound news and though some might be interested in this survey that Berklee College of Music conducted a survey titles: "Salary Ranges for U.S. Music Positions in Performance, Writing, Business, Audio Technology, Education, and Music Therapy".

Interesting results at least to me - pretty glad I have a day job and this is just a hobby. While the ranges are quite broad, the starting pay is just way too low and the obvious really high pay is for a select few.

Here is a link to the Story

Here is a link to a PDF version of the results

 

[amarshism]

Obviously just a guide. As a sound guy/guitar tech or TM I can charge up to 300/day plus a 50$/day pd payable each day. Add that on to a tour doing 5-6 shows a week for a month and you're looking at a reasonable salary. Obviously you cant always charge that much it be on tour all year round but for those who make touring their main profession there's definitely money there.

 

[LeSedna]

I'm surprised at some possibilities still. Like orchestra player, I didn't know it could be that high.

 

[cloy26]

Glad I'm halfway on my way to law school. The only thing that pays a decent salary. If I don't get a decent break in the next 2 years, I'm going. lol

 

[Ermz]

Seems like a fairly broad guide. In freelance audio work your salary is what you make of it yourself, so it could range anywhere from a few hundred per year to a few hundred thousand.

 

[egan.]

Thanks for posting this Jind.
These numbers look reasonable but of course any "job" where there is a 500% pay swing you can bet where most of the people are. The trick with a lot of audio and music stuff is not how much you make per job, but how many jobs you get. It's all very competitive. A buddy of mine was a score editor on a hit show and was making some obscene amount of money ($10k+/month IIRC) but that job was only 4 months a year and he was scrapping the rest of the time and the job went away after a couple of years.

 

[HeadCrusher]

Obviously just a guide. As a sound guy/guitar tech or TM I can charge up to 300/day plus a 50$/day pd payable each day.

You're either lucky or working with some really big names! Some of the figures I've heard had your pd as their daily salary (for guitar tech). They were international tours with well-known bands nonetheless.

 

[ahjteam]

The Finnish musicians union has the salary list on their website, for example the TV companies and YLE (the Finnish Broadcast Company) always pays those.

http://www.muusikkojenliitto.fi/pdf/liksalista.pdf (in Finnish, sorry. But for example mixing per hour is 32.86&#8364


edit: english version here: http://www.muusikkojenliitto.fi/fca

 

[Jind]

I agree with all the observations, but as I stated above, I'm really glad I have "another" profession that pays the bills and allows me to buy the toys I require for my "hobby". Would I love to do this full time? Absolutely, but then again, I do really like my job and I've been fortunate to get where I am today given our economic environment.

I really do envy those that can turn a hobby into a profession so keep up the good work and never give up on your dreams - I really do envy many of you that are attempting a living in music.

 

[nwright]

These numbers look reasonable but of course any "job" where there is a 500% pay swing you can bet where most of the people are.

+1

I do know that the salary for a musician in the symphony orchestra here in Indy is (or was) REALLY good. I've read the median was around 60-70K, which did surprise me.

 

[Ermz]

I think that's respectable given the amount of effort required to get to that level of ability. You know, the sort that exists in like 1 or 2 metal players, who are immediately elevated to 'God' status, even though an average violin lead chair could run circles around them. Their ability level and general respectability of the profession is certainly much higher than that of many corporate types sitting around raking well into the half million mark.

I found that was one of the prime life choices people were faced with after school. Chase your dreams and do something with integrity, but run the risk of forever being broke, or become part of the status quo that facilitate the 'system' and earn a comfortable wage until you're put in the ground, ultimately having achieved nothing.

So it's heartening to hear that in some parts of the world, orchestral players actually do get a comfortable salary.

 

[LeSedna]

Actually, my first post didn't seem so, but it was a good surprise.

I'm a profund classical music fan myself, and for trying to play a little of it, it's just so difficult it needs a life of pure commitment to get a decent level. So I'm saying those people actually diserve that money. They worked in an average much more than most people to get to their own equivalent of professional level, and hopefully they get rewarded or this artistic industry would just die.

I agree on the fact modern music do not need as much commitment for most styles, and that any average real orchestra player could laugh on how many guitar players in rock or metal suck more than they think they do.

However, who earns 1 000 000 a record ? I think I have seen that in the pdf... hu ?

 

[nwright]

I found that was one of the prime life choices people were faced with after school. Chase your dreams and do something with integrity, but run the risk of forever being broke, or become part of the status quo that facilitate the 'system' and earn a comfortable wage until you're put in the ground, ultimately having achieved nothing.

This could be easily twisted many different ways to totally contradict the intent of your meaning in this statement, haha. Chasing dreams, integrity, wealth (or lack thereof) and the notion of achieving "nothing" can be quite subjective to a great many people.

 

[arv_foh]

I would be so motherfucking happy if I made 60k as a FOH engineer

 

[Seth Munson]

I would be so motherfucking happy if I made 60k as a FOH engineer

I think they were leaning more towards a touring FOH with a band that can afford one.

 

[Sacha]

I'm actually really glad to not do music for a full time income at this point. That means I can work with whoever I want, whenever I want, and write / record and play whatever the fuck I want.

Everyone always thinks the 'dream' is to make a living from music, but the reality is that often leads down a dark path of compromising your art (and yourself) and i'm not in a rush to go there personally. Music is my joy and my obsession instead of something I punch the clock for.

No disrespect to people that do it full time, I totally appreciate that, just like anything in life it's not black and white and there are pros and cons to everything. Myself I like earning income from a variety of sources right now.

 

[NSGUITAR]

The Orchestra salary thing is completely true.

I'm part of the Holland (Michigan) Jazz Orchestra and we get paid GOOD money for what we do, which is quite minimal compared to a symphony orchestra, but it's still work.

I've been a guest player for orchestras and talked to people making well over $150,000 a year doing what they do, and said they'll never do a different job again. It's a good route to choose.

 

[arv_foh]

I think they were leaning more towards a touring FOH with a band that can afford one.

60k starting point is still kinda high for that, because you don't tour all 52 weeks a year

 

[egan.]

60k starting point is still kinda high for that, because you don't tour all 52 weeks a year

This. Some days/weeks I make good money but then that doesn't count the days/weeks at home and if you are a US citizen it is important to understand the value of retirement and health benefits and also just what a PITA self-employment taxes (1099 income) are. You can do a lot under the table but the more lucrative the band is the more likely they are to do things on the up and up.