Considering touring as a musician can be exciting for anyone.

Whether you have millions of monthly listeners or have yet to reach that milestone, beginning a tour is a huge deal.

However, do music artists make most of their annual income from touring around the world? Is doing this a good idea to make more money?

How does someone even launch a tour?

Luckily, we have the answers to these questions and other relevant information to get the ball rolling. Let’s begin!

Do Musicians Make Most Of Their Money From Touring?

Depending on the size of each venue and the tour, music artists will likely make the majority of their annual income while on the road.

Because tickets for a tour stop can go for hundreds of dollars (depending on your popularity), this can quickly become a lucrative choice for any musician wanting to up their financial game.

First, most music makers will begin touring with someone else to draw enough crowds to fill venues.

Another way to make good money from touring is to be an opener for someone else. That gives you the stage for the first 45-60 minutes of someone else’s show.

Recently, Taylor Swift asked GAYLE to be her opener on ‘The Eras Tour,’ and we’re sure the two are making plenty of cash.

One of the nice things about touring is that you can usually make your own rules.

Some people may be ready for a global tour, while newbies want to stay in their respective countries.

For example, musicians can still tour around regions of the United States and clear six figures while touring.

Let’s say your fanbase is mainly on the west coast. Your tour may be in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, Portland, etc.

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

You follow that area of the country there, adding stops in cities with high demand.

California is a big hitter for touring because it’s so large, and each region’s population tends to be denser.

Regardless, artists will make more money touring if they have more stops: wherever they may be.

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

What Percentage Of A Tour Do Musicians Get?

Artists will typically take home 85% of their touring money from each venue. The other 15% goes to promoters and will cover venue fees and other things that keep the tour moving.

With that said, your 85% may become even smaller, with other people needing to be paid, like dancers, makeup artists, stylists, managers, opening acts, etc.

As we mentioned above, the opener to a tour makes a nice income as well, which would be cut from your initial 85%.

Again, if the tour is large enough and ticket prices average $100-$200, a 1,500-capacity venue could mean over $150,000-$300,000 for a single evening.

Touring for musicians is incredibly lucrative.

On top of that 85% for performing, you might also make great money selling merchandise.

We’ve all seen how crowded the merch counter gets at concerts, usually selling out before the night ends.

Let’s do some math here (we promise this will be fun).

If you have shirts, hoodies, vinyls, hats, and other trinkets for fans to purchase at your show and the average total is $25, selling 200-500 items means you would make $5,000-$12,500.

And that is just from merchandise being sold alone.

One of the easiest side hustles in this business is making cute, somewhat affordable merchandise for your fans.

Being able to attend a concert AND get a cute sweater is like hitting the lottery for many fans, resulting in more money for you when the night ends.

Luckily, we have a handy-dandy discount link for anyone wanting to use Printful, which you can access here.

This company is a POD (print on demand) option and makes high-quality, medium-priced items perfect for reselling to fans with your design.

Give it a shot; we promise people will love their merch!

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

How Much Money Per Year Do Artists Make From Touring?

Many musicians make $10,000-$100,000+ touring. This varies by artist and venue size/quantity, so some may pocket much more or less.

As we said, touring around the country or world can be a great way to meet fans and make an amazing income.

We want to focus on the size of your crowds and average ticket prices when quoting potential salaries, as they are the greatest deciding factors.

According to salary reports from ZipRecruiter, here are the different percentiles of artists touring and what they make each year:

• Top Earners = $91,500 ($7,625 monthly)
• 75th Percentile = $60,500 ($5,041 monthly)
• Average = $50,286 ($4,190 monthly)
• 25th Percentile = $30,000 ($2,500 monthly)

However, it’s also worth mentioning that the annual salary of a touring musician can vary significantly.

Many experts see reports of people making as little as $11,000 or less yearly from touring while also seeing others make $110,000 or more.

Some artists will be able to clear six figures easily, while others will need to build a larger fanbase to get there.

Either way, with time and investment in yourself: you can succeed at this.

Your fans want to see you, whether touring or pop-up concerts.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor will a touring empire.

Artists like Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lizzo, etc., have been able to captivate hundreds of millions of fans over time, giving them sold-out arenas whenever they tour.

No artist can expect to make millions from touring while putting in little to no effort, so we’d recommend starting with growing a fanbase and keeping them happy.

Happy fans, happy life. Or something like that.

You could also try being an opening act for other music artists touring, which is an excellent way to get your beak wet. This is a great way to make money AND grow your fanbase.

Related: How Much Did Elton John Make On His Last Tour? [& His Current Net Worth]

Do Artists Make More Money From Touring Or Record Sales?

Almost always, artists make more money touring than from selling their records. This applies to physical albums and streaming: touring wins.

One of the most deceiving parts of the music business is people thinking that just because they sold a million records means they’ll also make one million dollars.

Unfortunately, royalties and record sales don’t pay artists that much.

Instead, musicians will go on tours to make the largest chunk of their income. This is because they receive a large percentage of each ticket price, far greater than the cost of a stream or record sale.

For those wondering how much streams/sales make artists, you can expect to pocket $3-$5 from 1,000 streams on Spotify.

A song or record sale is whatever you have it listed for on iTunes, so this could be around one dollar or up to $10 for an album or EP.

Regardless, we’d much prefer to make 85% off a $200 concert ticket…

Streaming and record sales numbers have always been low and depressing. Focus on secondary sources of income rather than those to the point that streaming royalties no longer matter to you.

Touring is where the money is at. Always.

Keep a close eye on your listener demographics, tease the idea of touring, and see what venues you believe your eager fans can fill.

We recommend hiring a manager for your tour or working with an agency to ensure everything happens without a hiccup.

Touring is the best way to make good money as an artist, and you’ll be okay with income from it and merchandise.

Good luck, and don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith! <3

Here are a few other posts we think you’ll love:

How Much Money Do Musicians Make In A Year?

How Much Money Do Independent Musicians Make? [And How To Get Rich]

Who Is The Highest Paid Independent Artist? [Inc. 15+ Indie Musicians You Should Stream]