Salary of a Concert Pianist

Many concert pianist salaries include more than just live performance work.

Flag this photo

It's difficult to determine an exact because most are self-employed freelance musicians. Also, your earnings can vary significantly according to your level of talent, experience, popularity, professional reputation and setting. Musical artists who can fill larger venues, such as stadiums, arenas and concert halls are typically paid more generously than those who perform in small clubs. Fortunately for concert pianists, solo musicians typically earn higher wages than members of ensembles.

Related Searches: Broad Statistics

In May of 2010, the mean hourly wage for all musicians and singers was $30.22, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest earning 10th percentile of musicians surveyed reported making as little as $8.50 an hour. The 90th percentile made more than seven times that amount at $60.02 an hour. The 25th percentile of musicians earned $12.94, and the 75th earned $39.54. During the reporting period, the 50 percent median of workers made an hourly pay rate close to $22.39.

Regional Variances

BLS also reported some regional variances in musicians' salaries. In 2010 wages ranged from $12.96 per hour in New Orlando to $53.49 in San Francisco. Some of the higher paying areas included Oakland, California ($54.97), Dayton, Ohio ($43.54) and New York City ($39.06). Lower paying regions included Utica, New York ($16.15), New Orleans ($13.83) and non-metropolitan areas of eastern Tennessee ($16.31).

Work Environments

Concert pianists do not always perform before large audiences in traditional concert or recital venues, according to the "Musician's Wages" website. In fact, many concert pianists find work performing in restaurants, hotel lobbies, upscale shopping malls and giving lessons. Concert pianists take on accompanying positions with other artists for recording and live performances and participate in symphony orchestras. Salaries vary significantly among positions.

Considerations

The amount of money earned by a single performance can range from nothing to $50,000, according to concert pianist Greg Anderson. "Most large concert organizations can't afford to pay more than $5,000-$15,000 in artist fees per event," Anderson states, "and many have much, much smaller budgets." You must also take into consideration the costs of travel, transportation and lodging -- expenses that often fall on the musician.

Supplemental Income

In many instances, part of a concert pianist's annual salary consists of musical projects that supplement their live performance income. Some receive royalties and commissions from musical recordings used in films and advertisements and sell recordings -- such as CDs and DVDs -- to the public. Others generate supplemental income through viral video campaigns, pay-per-click marketing and social networking. "I'm a YouTube partner," says Anderson, "so YouTube pays me when you watch my videos."

ReferencesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Musicians, Singers, and Related WorkersU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Musicians and SingersAnderson Piano: Ask Greg"Musician Wages"; How to Get a Job as a Pianist; David J. Hahn; 2011ResourcesMy Majors: Concert PianistU.S. Bureau of labor Statistics: MusicianPhoto Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty ImagesRead Next:

Print this articleCommentsFollow eHowFollow

View the Original article