How much money do the top drummers make?

[DSOP]

i heard VC was making 10,000 a week w sting in the 90's....

How much do you make weekly?

[Josiah]

i heard VC was making 10,000 a week w sting in the 90's....

That was until he decided to don a Batman suit and pounce on Sting.

I heard it was the hay maker that did him in.

If you want to know so bad, just pay someone to look up his taxes..... most of that info is quasi public, credit checks, etc



I would hope those guys make at least 10x what I do, if not, that's a damn shame.

[Spagnuolo]

i make enough to sit at home and ask how much he makes.

[Clint Hopkins]

i make enough to sit at home and ask how much he makes.

That's exactly how much top drummers make. Consider yourself lucky.

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

As Pat Metheny says, "If you're doing it for the money, don't do it."


With a little luck, hard work and networking as well as seeing music as it's own reward everything is possible. There are still plenty of people doing it. Especially artists with small, but loyal fans have it probably better than ever as you can't download their stuff, their fans want to support them and will buy anything they put out.

[Josiah]

As Pat Metheny says, "If you're doing it for the money, don't do it."

With a little luck, hard work and networking as well as seeing music as it's own reward everything is possible. There are still plenty of people doing it. Especially artists with small, but loyal fans have it probably better than ever as you can't download their stuff, their fans want to support them and will buy anything they put out.

This is very true. My original band gives away our music digitally. Why fight it? The return has made for more loyal paying fans then we could have imagined. They pay for tickets to shows. Buy stickers, t-shirts and even ask for autographs. We've even had may people buy our album only to tell use they had already downloaded it off the website, but wanted to support the music.

Like a friend of mine says (hes not the first) "I get paid to move my gear and set it up, the music I play for free."

Now session work is a whole different ball game. Those top dogs still command some pretty hefty pricing. Even as a local guy it's still not cheap, but cover bands pull some good coin. And studio's still charge a lot per hour for recording, use of session guys, engineers


If you want to make boat loads of cash, just go be an anesthesiologist. 6-8 years of school in exchange for a lifetime of (one of) the highest paying jobs on the planet.

[DSOP]

Now session work is a whole different ball game. Those top dogs still command some pretty hefty pricing.

It depends what you consider hefty. I think you'd be surprised at the level of talent you can get for a fraction of what it used to cost even just five years ago. Musicians are hurting everywhere.

http://www.sessionplayers.com/

[Josiah]

It depends what you consider hefty. I think you'd be surprised at the level of talent you can get for a fraction of what it used to cost even just five years ago. Musicians are hurting everywhere.

The question isn't about the level of talent you can get. The question is about what the "big names" make. Their name alone commands a price, and they haven't dropped their prices.

The conversation isn't about how much I (the little guy) make as a session player... because that would be a whole different discussion. And the plain fact is, it depends on the project, the budget, the personal involved, etc

Do we want to talk Union rates? Cause those have gone up every year....



That site is garbage by the way. And certainly no notable source for citing session rates. The "membership fee" is always the red flag of scams. Anyone in the business knows nobody is getting "talent" off websites, it's who's in their phone, who recommends who. It's all about networking. That site is like the SonicBids of musicians. A joke.

[DSOP]

That site is garbage by the way. And certainly no notable source for citing session rates. The "membership fee" is always the red flag of scams. Anyone in the business knows nobody is getting "talent" off websites, it's who's in their phone or who recommends who.

Nope. It's legit. The fee is to minimize contact from people who aren't serious about paying. Although I didn't end up using him, I almost booked Jimmy Johnson through that website. I could have contacted Jimmy directly, through mutual friends, but I preferred the buffer of the service, to keep it all legit, and not like I was looking for a favor.

Most of the guys on there have the ability to record tracks at their studio or home, and the site is just another lead generator for them. I guess the guy running the site takes a small % and doles out the money (I think he's a drummer too).

Anyway, point is, there are tons of "vanity" projects that like to use "name" players, and these guys can crank it out from home and make a few bucks.

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Here's what it's about these days.



Sounds a lot like the background music to the games I used to play on my Commodore 64 as a kid.

Pay attention to the interplay between the muscians, the clever use of dynamics and the inventive harmonic structure.