Generally, going on tour can be a great way to meet fans and make money simultaneously, but how much?

Do musicians make boatloads of money while on tour? Is the whole idea a waste of time? Well, we have the answer below!

Although tour salaries vary by artist and run time, you can generally expect to make between $11,000 and $104,500 annually touring.

Of course, that’s a stark difference, so this depends on the volume of shows and attendees you have going on. For most artists, this salary falls closer to $30,000-$60,000, so we recommend aiming for around these numbers.

As we jump into this post, we will discuss annual touring salaries among musicians and share insight into “what” makes a successful tour.

Whether you’re a big artist with millions of streams or just beginning your journey to stardom, we’re here to help! Let’s begin.

How Much Money Do Musicians Make From Touring?

Generally, a musician on tour will make anywhere from $11,000 to well over $100,000 each year they are touring.

As we said, that final paycheck can vary significantly, often falling between $30,000 and $60,000 for many musicians.

According to ZipRecruiter, touring artists in the United States fall into various percentiles. These include:

• 25th percentile making $29,500 touring
• 75th percentile making $57,000 touring
• 90th percentile making $83,000 touring

Again, these numbers come from various tours, artists, and jobs. So, not every artist will make the same amount by year’s end.

One of the biggest factors for touring income is how many people come to your shows.

The more hype you have, the more adoring fans will show up to your concerts. This takes time, so be patient.

For example, someone with an average ticket price of $25 selling out venues that hold 2,000-ish people comes to nearly $50,000 per night.

However, that’s not accounting for paying your managers, production staff, dancers, background singers, venue owners, ticket distributors, record labels, and the ever-hated IRS.

Let’s do that same equation, but your average ticket price is closer to $10, and you perform for 500 people each night on tour.

You make $5,000 per evening before all the fees and payouts in this situation. To be generous, let’s give you around $1,800 of that.

So, $1,800 x 20 nights on tour would be $36,000: not too shabby.

And that’s only for 20 shows, which is not uncommon for a standard US touring schedule.

Many tours, even starting out, are closer to 30 shows, so the money can be incredible on top of other things like merchandise.

Our post on selling merch on tour may be helpful.

How Many Shows Do I Need To Perform On Tour?

Before you even start your tour, you’ll need to plan it. Typically, artists begin at around 10-20 shows if they’re smaller and focus on big-ticket states.

For example, if you tour the US, you’ll need to hit California, New York, Florida, and Texas. For each of those states, you may need two or more stops.

Let’s say you’re in California but have fans in northern and southern cities.

In that case, you want to plan a San Diego/Los Angeles stop and a San Francisco or Sacramento-ish situation.

Furthermore, you must hit Las Vegas if you have fans in another state, like Nevada. The same goes for Phoenix in Arizona and so on.

By checking your streaming stats, you can leverage how many stops/nights you need on tour.

This travel sleep kit may come in handy for those on the road.

Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists are great tools here.

Let’s say you have an insane fan base out of Seattle, Washington. In this case, you want to schedule a show somewhere around that city.

If there is high demand, you might need two nights.

So, when you add all those extra nights and cities together, you could look at nearly 30 stops throughout the United States.

Again, that means more money for you, so don’t get nervous yet.

Related: How Do Artists Get Booked To Play At Coachella? [Inc. Agencies To Use]

How Much Do Big Musicians Make On Tour?

According to experts, the average rockstar/mega-star will cash in one million dollars PER NIGHT of their tour.

To get even crazier, Taylor Swift made roughly two million per stop on her ‘Reputation’ tour, totaling nearly $100,000,000 for 53 shows.

Her ‘Eras’ tour is also set to earn her over a billion dollars, so the future is bright for Taylor.

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 100 MILLION DOLLARS.

(Did you get the pun, or should we exit stage left?)

T-Swift is a mega-starlet who makes insurmountable money while on tour (and in general with her catalog).

Beyonce has also been dominating the touring scene with her Renaissance World Tour, so hats off to both queens.

On top of that, the prices for tickets to larger shows can be upwards of $200 for a bad seat and close to $600 or $800 for a good one.

Let’s plug those estimates into our magic mind calculator that we are trusting with our lives right now:

Suppose an arena fits 20,000 people. Of those 20,000 seats, the ticket prices average from $200-$800.

(200 + 800) / 2 = 500

So, $500 x 20,000 seats = 10 million dollars.

Ten million for one night is more than some people make in an entire lifetime of working 9-5. Let that sink in.

Remember, these numbers take time to reach, but we’re confident you’ll make it with the right team, music, and talent.

Related: How Much Do Opening Acts Make On Tour?

How Much Does An Opening Musician On Tour Make?

Now that you know why Taylor Swift is constantly doing expensive sh*t, it’s time to focus on the real MVP of touring: the opener!

Since you’re likely reading this as a small-mid-sized musician, you should consider negotiating opening for a larger talent for your first tour.

Luckily, the salaries for this depend on the contract your team can draft alongside the main acts management/people.

According to experts, an opener for a smaller tour that sells 400-1,000 tickets per show can expect to pocket around $500-$1,500.

Moreover, an opening act for a larger artist/venue seating 2,000+ people, you could make anywhere from $3,000 to over $5,000 per night.

That’s not even including merch or other negotiations you’re able to have added to your contract.

So, even if you aren’t headlining, there’s plenty of money to go around.

Here are some other industry articles worth a read:

How Much Money Do Musicians Make In A Year?

Record Labels Accepting Demos In 2023 [Our Top 15 Picks]

Do I Need A Clear Bag For Concerts? [10+ Stadium Approved Bags]