Nick Thayer spells out actual sales and tour earnings for DJs and producers
In 2013, Forbes named Calvin Harris and Tiësto two of the ‘Highest Paid Musicians‘ of the year – in company with Jay Z, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, and Katy Perry, to name a few. In 2014, Avicii, Zedd and Calvin Harris (again) joined the Forbes list alumni on the ‘30 Under 30‘ in music along with Bruno Mars, Drake, and Miley Cyrus.
From the outside looking in, it’s no surprise that it seems as though superstar DJ figures have money pouring in from every direction. Often artists even face heavy criticism from fans who lament about overpriced tickets and money-grubbing antics. In lieu of the persistent topic of conversation, Australia’s Nick Thayer took to his Tumblr to clarify an actual breakdown of profit an artist experiences with releases and touring. Looking at his own Like Boom EP, which released in March of 2012, Thayer crunched numbers of his thirteen-week #2 Beatport release. Though the EP had an impressive total of 12,722 sales and a $3,675 profit margin even after being split 50/50 for site/platform cost, the producer continued by introducing several other paid ‘behind-the-scenes’ costs like management, mastering, artwork, and publicity. He also further explicates that artists often are required to pay costs up front before ever receiving profit – and sometimes, will never even profit overall.
Thayer then continues to slam real figures for the glamorous aspect of touring as performing, explaining that ‘up front,’ though he may earn anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500 for one show, other unseen costs like booking agents, management, tax, flights, lodging, and even daily necessities like food can rapidly knock off a majority of his earnings. For a run of nine shows over three weeks, Nick Thayer can earn $11,250 but end up with only $800 to walk away with.
He concluded his post by explaining that his eye-opening study of his and many other DJ peers’ earnings is not meant to be a “sob story,” but rather a sincere thank you to his fans who have purchased songs and EPs, attended shows, and shared his music online to spread the word. “We do it because we LOVE THE ABSOLUTE SHIT out of writing music, playing music and sharing music.”
To see the full article via Tumblr, read here.
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