Rumors and statistics, be they accurate or not, fly around the internet stating how producers and DJs just make absolutely ridiculous bank, enough to where Forbes released a “World’s Highest Paid DJs” back in 2013. But that list referenced only a fraction of the world’s Producer/Djs as a whole, so what about the acts that aren’t household names as of yet? The guys who do not headline, but might be a supporting act that you randomly discover, and who likewise change your taste of music all within a single night?

The versatile Australian beats and bass producer (and OWSLA-man) Nick Thayer published to his Tumblr something you don’t see that often: A comprehensive breakdown of just how much money he makes from releasing an album and going on tour.

With his most recent EP ‘Like Boom‘ that was released back in March of 2012, Nick Thayer used this as a model to breakdown the financial side of its release. He first stated a list of all the sales from that single EP alone, via Beatport, iTunes, and others. Something to keep in mind for these numbers is that this EP was a mainstay in the Beatport charts, sitting comfortably at the #2 position for almost thirteen weeks.

It’s a fascinating look at the financial challenges facing artists. If you want a convincing argument as to why you should buy that album rather than torrenting it, read on. If you’re an aspiring producer, look away now.

​

Do you wanna know just how much money I make?

I wanted to take a second to break some numbers down for you. I’m doing this to be transparent. To let you know what the life of producer/DJ looks like from the financial end. People often think there’s a huge amount of money in this scene. There is, but it is very concentrated and in the hands of a very, VERY few people. The vast majority are on similar numbers to me, running on fumes most of the time to make this thing work. We do it because we LOVE THE ABSOLUTE SHIT out of writing music, playing music and sharing music.

Let’s start with a release.

Here’s the TOTAL sales breakdown for my Like Boom EP (March 2012). This is sales across all platforms (iTunes / Beatport / etc etc). Bear in mind this EP was the #2 overall release for thirteen weeks on Beatport so you can assume it was a comparative success.

• Like Boom - 2600
• Facepalm - 2932
• Totalitaria - 1125
• Haters Gonna Hate - 652
• Top Of The World - 710
• What Props Ya Got - 614
• Rise Up - 658
• Like Boom Nick Thayer Rmx - 1953
• Facepalm Rmx - 969
• What Props Rmx - 509

So that’s 12,722 total sales.

For the sake of making this as simple as possible, let’s be generous and call these sales $2 each (most are a bit less). Then let’s split 50% (give or take) for whatever site you sell through, meaning the site takes $1 and there’s $1 left. Most labels these days run on a profit share arrangement which means you split what’s left of that down the middle too. Let’s also allow for any writing splits where other artists have been involved adding vocals etc. So here we have total income that gets to me after the site, the label and the other artists involved have all taken their cut.

• Like Boom (50% to sample clearance, 25% share to three vocalists) - $162.5
• Facepalm - $1467
• Totalitaria - $562.5
• Haters Gonna Hate (50% to vocalist) - $326
• Top Of The World (50% to vocalist) - $177.5
• What Props Ya Got (30% to vocalist) - $158
• Rise Up - $329
• Like Boom – Nick Thayer Remix (50% to sample clearance, 25% share to three vocalists) - $122
• Facepalm Remix (50% to remixer) - $242
• What Props Remix (50% to remixer) - $127

So that’s a total income from the EP of $3673.50. (I’m not going to include Spotify or YouTube here as they total less than the price of a beer overall).

At this point you pay your management 15% of what you have. Mastering comes in at approximately $150-$200 per track, so that’s $1500 total. Artwork is $1000 for anything half decent that’s usable across all platforms. A decent publicity campaign is about $300-$500. There’s a myriad of other smaller costs involved too. Some labels will cover these costs up front but it will be a ‘recoupable advance’ meaning you have to pay them back before they give you any money so it’s the same as fronting the money yourself.

So you can see at the end that this EP, which probably represented a year of work, actually ended up COSTING me money (though not a lot) to release. If somebody said to you ‘put your heart and soul into this project for a year and at the end give us some money for the privilege of having us listen to it’, what would YOU do?

What about touring?

At this point people usually say ‘well you make a lot of money from gigs right?’ Well, not really. Around six months after this EP came out, so in late 2012 – enough time to potentially see the benefits – in the US I was earning between $1000 and $1500 for a show. That might sound like a lot of money, but that is TOTAL.

Let’s say I did a run of nine shows across three weeks (Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights for weeks) at $1250. That’s $11,250. That’s A LOT right? Well. Right off the bat the booking agent will take 15%. As an Australian in the US I pay 30% up front on tax too (this is reclaimable but Australia has a reciprocal tax agreement with the US so it comes out of the amount of tax I owe here in Australia). So that’s down to $6200 straight away. Then I have to pay for travel. Let’s say return flights from Australia ($1500 economy fare) plus travel in between shows ($200 per flight if lucky) and we’re down to $2687. You can usually get the club to pay for a hotel on the night of your show, but that’s it. So that leaves maybe ten nights where you are covering it at $100 a night if you can find it. Often they will be much more expensive so you survive by sleeping on couches in friends’ places every second night. That’s $1687 left. Now pay management 15% and we’re at around $1434. Then there is food to pay for ‘cause you can’t live on bar snacks for three weeks. At $30 per day (that’s $10 for breakfast, lunch and dinner) for three weeks is around $600 and at that point all you’re left with is around $800 for three weeks’ work, which is not exactly a fortune.

So what?

This is not a sob story. This is me saying to you please, PLEASE support artists you like in any way you can think of.

• Buy the whole EP when they release it instead of just one song. You would not believe the difference this can make. Even buying two songs instead of one helps chart positions, which creates exposure, which means more people listen and the cycle repeats itself.
  
• Share the links to their music on your Facebook or Twitter or re-post them on Soundcloud or wherever you can. Promoters keep an eye out for whoever is being talked about the most across social media so instead of bugging your favourite artist to come to your town talk about them as much as you can and bug the promoters to bring them.

I want to say now THANK YOU for every single person who has supported me in any of these ways: who has bought my music, shown their friends, stuck stickers on things, come to a show or whatever. THANK YOU.

Via Nick Thayer’s Tumblr : LIKE BOOM : Do you wanna know just how much money I make?

 

Excellent way to break it down.

I also have to say that when I played in bands, we ended up spending more than making money. And what's even sadder is that we sold more t-shirts than CDs at gigs (well, you can't download a T-shirt, can you?)

The thing is, making it cost a bit more here and there. but mate, did we have fun or what?

 

I don't like this way of wining...
It simply doesn't help.

First I would suggest him to get a rid of any label.
So he would keep one half for himself.
Splitting with a label these days is so outdated.

May consider to use this: http://youtunez.com/en/
This way he keeps releasing on all sites and keep most of the money.

You can't change how sites like iTunez charge for their service,
but hope that someone will come and make a site which gives better shares.

This Dotcom guy had a great idea, but it seems he is just a big talker.

His Megabox had the idea to give the author 90%, and that is the only fair deal.
This way music would become cheaper and more copies would be sold.
More sold copies means more money for the musicians.

...but all that is still a dream...

 

Couldn't agree more
Sounds like hes almost bankrupt and its a cry for help journel, Be Thankful you got reconized at all its a tough world out there, and I see no point in beggin on something like this
when I would rather donate or give money to some-one who really needs it like Cancer patience ect.. Grow up Dude and get off your high horse

 

I agree with some of your points, but I don't think the guy is whining much. He's just telling his story.
Lots of people are keen to talk (and brag) about success and the big time, I always find it refreshing when someone is honest about the other side.
Let's face it, that will be the truth for the overwhelming majority of anybody trying to make it in this field, no matter how they go about promoting their stuff.
So sharing this kind of facts and numbers can be helpful imho.

 

I thought this guys post was an excellent and informative read, i didnt see it as whining in any way shape or form. I think he is just showing the realities of working as a producer/Dj in this industry.

Maybe just maybe, this may open the eyes of some kids that want to get into music just to be rich and famous rather than the enjoyment of the art itself.

Good post...

 

great post. i don't thank alot of people realize how shady the music biz really is.

 

Every business

 

okey, but he is uprising, im sure as he keeps on doing his thing he might get more established and better payment. at least I hope for him!

 

Flights and hotels etc are tax deductible. Also mastering, artwork, marketing and things like that are business expenses.

No wonder he is broke as he hasn't got a clue how to run a business *yes*

You only pay tax on profit, and it is better to take it as a dividend. Also buy more gear to offset tax liability.

 

Like Boom? well thats certainly original and profound. *no*

Plenty really talented people making boatloads of money with catchy, well written, relevant tunes.

Maybe his music just isn't that great... maybe his business model sucks...

Maybe a bit of both.

There's always making a living the good, old fashioned honest way.

Get educated, and get a job.

Too many pie in the sky'ers around thesedays.. and.. waaaaay too many people out there with absolutely super awesome talent to compete with.

If your not teh best of teh best of the piranha's in the pond.. or REALLLLY lucky.. or.. know someone...Forget it.

Anyway, thanks for the breakdown, was enlightening but in no way convinces me to buy a track.. not because I could probably get it for free, more so because I wouldn't play it even it it was being given away. For me, it's nothing special.

Also, sitting high on the Beatport charts.. don't mean much.. as it translates to $$


Personally I think the days of anyone lower than the top 0.001% making a living with their music are numbered.

 

And you pepps believe in this bullshit marketing anti-file-share?

common i have 20 years old, i'm a very amateur dj, i only perform in party's here on my country about 4 years now, i'm not knowed by pepps that like the style that i perform and i got payed 150€ by 4 hours of show and if it is far way from my home i have bed, food, drinks, and much more!

or the dude is 0 left on business or this is pure anti-file-share marketing! i don't believe that the label of him let a performer earn that, cuz if it does the rival label's are going to steel him from his current label

please excuz my typo.bad.spell.misspalced.english

 

As a dj, first 2 things I got sorted are my flight and bed - I don't pay for those. No one should.

Paid solely by label - meaning if a label is trying to make you pay for one of those, you should not deal with them whatsoever.
Just my 2 cents :o)