Musicians’ overall earnings come from various sources, including merchandise royalties, licensing income (such as music used in ads or films), touring income and more.
Thy Art Is Murder vocalist CJ McMahon recently left the band due to financial hardships cited as one of his reasons.
Touring
Heavy metal musicians must travel throughout the world in order to perform for fans, which can be both time consuming and costly. As a result, many bands make money off live performance fees which typically range from $20-100 per show.
Metal bands can make money through selling merchandise at their shows. This can be an invaluable revenue stream if they have an engaged fanbase. Furthermore, bands may gain revenue by advertising live performances via social media.
There may be bands who make a living solely from touring, but most bands need other jobs or hobbies that help offset the expenses associated with touring. For example, guitarists might work full-time as engineers or teach guitar lessons as an extra source of income. Furthermore, bands must spend time writing music together and practicing rehearsals.
Metal musicians use their websites as promotional tools to draw interest in their music and promote shows, while they may also use social media accounts such as Instagram to post links to songs and videos from their catalogue, reaching a wider audience and potentially increasing sales.
One of the greatest challenges faced by metal musicians is finding a balance between their music career and other obligations, like day jobs or family responsibilities. Some bands choose part-time touring arrangements in order to minimize how long they spend away from their homes and families – this can be particularly challenging when young children are involved.
Finding a manager with experience in music management can help a band balance touring with regular jobs. They may offer insight into running an effective metal band.
Recording
No one denies that the music business can be lucrative and difficult to break into, yet can also present challenges when trying to break in. Some bands have the luck to get signed to labels which can bring big bucks in terms of recording and touring fees; other bands may rely on merchandise sales which may generate revenue but requires time and effort in creating products that sell well; it is crucial that artists stay current with trends to maximise merch sales revenue.
Touring can be another major source of income for metal musicians, providing an ideal opportunity to reach new fans and build their following. However, touring can be expensive for bands as many require renting or purchasing a bus as well as hotel accommodations and food costs for both band members and crew.
Metal musicians can earn income through touring by selling tickets, merchandise and VIP tickets; or streaming their music through services like Spotify – though streaming revenue can be unpredictable and is therefore not considered a reliable source of income for bands.
Metal music first gained popularity during the late 1970s with bands like Deep Purple and Rainbow, later transitioning to more extreme subgenres like thrash and death metal. Metal has also long been known for its violent imagery which has resulted in accusations of misogyny against it.
Metal has recently been an increasingly popular genre of music among young people, leading it to grow even more widely inclusive of female artists and bands than before. Though most bands still focus on heavy metal sounds, some bands also explore softer sounds like groove and nu metal; and this trend looks set to continue into the future.
Merchandise
Metal musicians generate much of their income through merchandise sales such as T-shirts. Fans show their devotion by purchasing posters, T-shirts and other gear related to the band they follow – as well as providing revenue, this also promotes its music and image.
Merchandise sales can be extremely profitable for older artists with a large following among those over 40 who can afford band merchandise purchases, like Boomer bands like the Rolling Stones that draw huge audiences when touring. Younger bands may not make as much from merchandise sales since many of their fans may still be in high school or college and lack spending power similar to what an over-40 crowd might provide.
Although metal musicians might not make as much from merchandise sales as their rock counterparts do, they still have plenty of ways to generate income. They can compose songs for other artists or compose soundtracks for films and TV shows, record covers of popular songs or write book proposals and create podcasts – not forgetting licensing their music to other companies for use in commercials, videos or products!
As an example, a metal musician could secure a contract from a video game developer for one or more songs, providing both an upfront fee and percentage of any profits from sales of said song. Some bands even make their living performing live as solo acts.
As a metal musician, having the appropriate equipment is key. Guitarists in particular must utilize guitars with high-output pickups, which deliver powerful sounds perfect for this genre – Schecter, ESP and Jackson guitars all offer this feature.
Metalheads may have an unfortunate reputation of being violent individuals; however, many actually possess considerable intelligence. Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain holds an engineering degree while former Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Ben Weinman earned an MBA. Furthermore, many metalheads engage in charitable causes; indeed Behemoth’s Nergal has his own watchmaker atelier and holds a PhD in art history!
Publishing
Metal musicians usually don’t earn much in royalties unless they sell millions of records and become household names, yet many sell enough records to remain touring and releasing music; most don’t reach enough sales volumes where they could quit their day jobs entirely.
If your band is popular enough to land gigs with other major acts, you might earn extra income through those gigs. But many bands that earn this sort of income typically supplement it with additional sources – whether this includes advertising revenue (such as product endorsements from Nike or Coke), teaching commercials/broadway shows/session musicians work or day jobs (like sorting mail).
Many musicians also sign contracts with music publishers, who license their compositions for use in films and TV shows, collect royalties to the appropriate copyright holders, collect royalties themselves from these entities and act as liaisons between artists and companies looking to license their work.
Metal musicians should join a music union to ensure they receive optimal compensation when working on musical projects for television, movies and advertising campaigns. Working on such projects will result in payment determined based on experience and the budget for that specific project.
Overall, an average musician probably earns between $20,000 and $25,000. Unfortunately, streaming does not seem to have made much of a difference either.