It's widely reported how much the wealthiest pop stars make. Pick up a fi nancial magazine and you'll read about the 2007 earnings of the Rolling Stones ($88 million), U2 ($30 million), and Britney Spears ($9 million). Even Elvis Presley took in $49 million last year -- and he's been dead for 30 years. But what about everyone else -- the musicians, record execs, technicians, bloggers, and photographers? How much do they bring home -- and how have the realities of a depressed music business affected everyone from A&R reps to record store employees?
To find out, we asked more than two dozen men and women in the biz to list their perks, pains, and yearly pay. We won't pretend to call this a scientific survey, but we can say that these are all legitimate players and workers, some of whom have appeared in this very magazine. (For obvious reasons, they agreed to participate on the condition of anonymity.) For those thinking about entering the business (or those already in it who wonder about their futures), these comments and figures can be considered pieces of advice -- or, in some cases, words of warning.
TOURING SOUND ENGINEER
New York City
Perks: "When you're young, it's pretty great: You meet a lot of people. You're hanging out with bands. You don't have too much trouble getting into shows you want to when you're home. I'm not as worried about hearing loss as I once was. The older I get, the quieter the shows I mix get. I just did Neko Case, and that was positively heaven."
Pains: "You can wreck a lot of good relationships being away. It's not so much the fear of infidelity -- you just forget each other when you're away four months straight. That, and you get a really dusty apartment."
Pay: $50,000
SUPERSTAR TOURING DJ
New York City
Perks: "Being by yourself is better than being in a band. You don't have to deal with any other personalities, and all the money goes to you. I literally bring headphones and a CD case to the gig. In the vinyl days, I'd spend maybe $300 a month on records; now I can get anything from anywhere. Maybe I download three songs from Beatport before a show, but I wouldn't call that big overhead."
Pains: "I usually travel alone, and sometimes it would be good to have one person there watching over things. There are a lot of people doing drugs, and out of love, they're annoying as fuck. I've been almost yanked out of a DJ booth. They've got my arm, and all of a sudden I'm off the ground. I'll be in a corner by myself, and I can't flag anybody for help. I don't want to escalate the situation, so I just nod my head and try to snake out of it. They start repeating the same things, and I'm like, 'I gotcha, dude.' Cocaine makes people feel like they're Superman."
Pay: $400,000
TOUR MERCHANDISE SELLER
Los Angeles
Perks: "It's like a vacation. I get my own room and tour the country. You count the merch around 2 p.m., and then you do whatever you want until showtime. I'm even into counting merch. I like going, 'Oh, I can get rid of this box and consolidate that and label this box.' It's weird, because I'm not that organized in my home life."
Pains: "People wanting to know if there's something on the back of the shirt. Or they're standing there forever and there's a giant line behind them. Other people on the tour think that the merch people are the lowest on the totem pole, and it's bullshit. We're making the money that makes the tour go. On the White Stripes' tour, we'd sell $19,000 to $25,000 worth of merch a night, and that was paying for everybody's payroll for that day."
Pay: $3,000 (for one-month tour)
