This is part of a substantial list leaked from booking agency Degy Entertainment, and first published by Priceonomics.
These are the bands that pull in more than $100,000 a gig, with a large number attracting more than several hundred dollars per show. A select group pulls more than $500,000, with artists like Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Dave Matthews, Madonna, and even James Taylor attracting more than $1 million for one performance.
Keep in mind that most of these artists are making at least $100,000, with a ‘+’ indicator suggesting that this is a starting point.
A long list of other pricing tiers below $100,000, here. Here’s a quick breakdown of artists starting at the $100,000 floor (ie, don’t even pitch them on a lower amount):
- Alanis Morissette
- Axwell
- Avenged Sevenfold
- Bassnectar
- Bonnie Raitt
- Big & Rich
- Ben Harper
- Caifanes
- CeeLo Green
- Creed
- Damian Marley
- David Gray
- 311
- DJ Red Foo
- Dieks Bentley
- Demi Lovato
- Fallout Boy
- Ellie Goulding
- Frank Ocean
- Flo Rida
- Fantasia
- Katherine McPhee
- Kaskade
- Jane’s Addiction
- Hank Williams, Jr.
- LL Cool J
- Little Big Town
- Kip Moore
- Morrissey
- Merle Haggard
- Sublime w/ Rome
- One Republic
- The Offspring
- Myth Busters
- The Flaming Lips
- Passion Pit
- Vampire Weekend
- Phoenix
- Weezer
- Willie Nelson
- PSY
- Rob Thomas
- Sebastian Ingrosso
- Steve Miller Band
Swinging over to the higher end of things, these are the artists commanding at least $1 million for one show:
- Bon Jovi
- Bruce Springsteen
- Justin Bieber
- Justin Timberlake
- James Taylor
- Madonna
- Taylor Swift
Adele is listed here as commanding a $750,000 floor, though that figure has probably pushed past $1 million at this stage. Perhaps James Taylor is the surprising member of the million-plus club, though older fanbases (combined with emerging, younger fanbases) can drive up a performer’s price significantly. Also, keep in mind that these figures are mere starting points: just recently, word leaked that Justin Bieber received a $5 million offer to play the Republican National Convention, which he allegedly turned down in part because of the Democratic leanings of his manager, Scooter Braun.
Top image by Thomas Galvez, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0).
Gross or net? ‘Make’ implies net, but the sources imply gross. If you don’t know the difference you should shut your site now.
So, Madonna’s crew doesn’t work for free? You sure about that?
Neither.
They don’t rep any of these people and aren’t even a third tier agency.
These are numbers that we’re probably guesstimated off the top of their head or they over heard at and d list party.
Show me the leak from CAA, WME, Paradigm or UTA…hell even windish…oh yeah, you won’t see one.
Hi Anonymous:
See my reply to JW below for an explanation of what Degy is.
In which case this now sounds like more of a PR grab than a “leak”.
Take is where you can get it I guess…
Hi Anonymous:
I’m not sure who the PR would be for. For Degy? Leaking suggested fees wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense for them or the artists they broker deals for, and knowing Ari, that’s definitely not his style. I don’t really see a PR angle for them. Maybe traffic for Priceonomics.
I’m sure they know the difference you fucking ass wipe
Related- list of some of the top name djs and how much they make per gig. I have no way of verifying the numbers, though-
http://acidcow.com/famous/59587-find-out-how-much-these-djs-make-at-every-show-12.html
I’ve played along side 90% of the dj’s on that list, many many times. Why does it matter what they get paid? It’s a free market. If they command X and Get X then so be it. All of those djs are good djs, some of the are great Producers. But their overall “Team” has branded them proper and from Ibiza to the US, they get what they get as far as “earnings”.
So, this should be a inspiration to all those “Basement Djs/producers”, to build a good team, to make sure they brand you well and to be the best on the decks and in the studio that you can be.
Hey JW:
I know Ari Nisman who runs Degy. Degy is a college booking agency and a middle agent for colleges and military shows along with some corporate events. While some of these artists make these amounts and more on hard ticket shows, my guess is that these prices are what Degy may quote to middle these shows to the clients for which they provide talent. I don’t know this for sure, though. As far as Anonymous’ comment that Degy is not even a third tier agency, he or she made that comment not knowing what Degy does. Again, they are an agency that books artists into colleges primarily and middles soft ticket shows. Their business model is not that of a traditional booking agency like those mentioned. In the area in which they specialize, they are arguably the top of the top tier…but it’s a completely different business than what most of us think as a booking agency.
Thanks for the clarification, Seth.
These are for corporate/college/one-off gigs right? Or does this include points on the back end?
Points on the back end?? WTF? these are not record sales… they are gigs. You get a guarantee, and sometime you get a bonus over a certain number of tickets.. its not really ‘points on the back end’
A lot of live show deals include 85% of the ticket sales after expenses/promoter profit. Guessing that’s what he’s referring to…
Don’t even bother. This idiot has no clue how live touring works.
Most live shows have a % backend.
And 95% this list is crap.
Not buying these numbers. Imagine Dragons cannot possibly get that much.
ID is the most popular new rock act around, and are about to (or maybe already are) on an arena-headlining tour. If you want them to play a random date at your college, you better believe they can ask you to cough up half a mil.
No F’n way!
Oh yeah – their album has sold 4 million worldwide, which is more than any other band in the last 3-5 years, save for Coldplay and Mumford and Sons. I bet they can charge a hefty fee now, which is funny as a friend saw them in Europe a year ago when they were playing for maybe 1500 people.
Imagine dragons is selling live nation touring events out at 15k-20k capacity for avg ticket price of $50. Do the math.
Bruno Mars sold out two nights at the Staples center. 200=400k would hardly cut that for him now.
yes… seems light.. I would thing he is $400 +
no Rush?
And no Roger Waters?
What about Elton John? how much does he make per show?
any others here who are talent buyers, or sellers?
I can only vouch for them I know. Looking at the numbers for those I know, what I see is reasonable based on my personal experiences, and those of my peers and colleagues. Most I have no such knowledge of. But based on what I do know, I would suspect most of this list is within reasonable market parameters.
No ‘tallica ’cause they’re doing over 1kk?
Lorde seems low… and Bieber must be way down now
These numbers are pretty good estimates. What’s funny about some of these numbers is that a promoter would never get their money back on many of the names on this list.
Fuck Justin Biber and Kanye West they have not talent.
no one that I really like? no ac dc led zeppelin pink Floyd come on lets hear their money? screw drake…..lol.
Wait, WOT?
No Boy George?
I know the date on this says 2014 but how old is the list? I’m skeptical of Creed?