Have you ever wondered how much an artist makes on a release? Recently, producer Nick Thayer broke down a hypothetical profit and expenses sheet to showcase the result of income from both touring and production and educated his fans on how much money there is in music production and touring.

The below is a scenario-based example based off Nick Thayer’s “Like Boom” EP. There are some approximations used, however, this doesn’t deviate from the fact that the costs are quite high.

Track Profit

Like Boom (50% to sample clearance, 25% share to three vocalists) – $162.5

Facepalm – $1467
Totalitaria – $562.5
Haters Gonna Hate (50% to vocalist) – $326
Top Of The World (50% to vocalist) – $177.5
What Props Ya Got (30% to vocalist) – $158
Rise Up – $329
Like Boom Nick Thayer Rmx (see above) – $122
Facepalm Rmx (50% to remixer) – $242
What Props Rmx (50% to remixer) – $127

Total profit $3673.50

The above is based on sales being at about $2 per unit, neglecting Spotify and Youtube for their poor monetary value.

Expenses
Management at 15% – $551.03
Mastering at $150 – $200 per track – $1500
Decent Artwork (Aprox.) – $1000
Publicity and Marketing  – $300 – $500

Estimated profit made – Around $200

Another concept talked about that isn’t uncommon in the record industry, is the fronting of costs, i.e studio time and other resources, which are then paid back via royalties and other sources of income on the artists behalf. Once the fronted costs are paid back, the artists start to see the fruits of their labour. It goes with out saying that this can be a gamble to take if an artist doesn’t have a well based brand.

As noted by Nick Thayer, there were other small costs that were not included. This ended up costing him money, although not a lot, it was still not a project that resulted in a profit. Based on this anecdotal evidence, after stripping off the expenses, this paints a picture of how his work is carried out due to love of the music as apposed to desired financial goals. Artists toil away to produce something that gives them and their fans a sense of artistic satisfaction.

Inclusive of the above, an example was given about touring. This touring example was a scenario based of fame from his “Like Boom” EP.

Profit:

9 US shows post EP release (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) at $1250

Total $11,250

Expenses and loses:
Booking agent 15% – $1867.50
Tax (US ) 30% *
Flights to US (return) – $1500
9 Flights between shows (aprox $200) –  $1800
Accommodation (10 club night paid); 9 Nights at aprox. $100 p/night :  – $900
Management (15%)
Food aprox. 30$ p/day if each meal if each meal is $10 each: – $600

Total profit – Around $800

*”This is reclaimable, however Australia has a reciprocal tax agreement with US so it comes out of the amount of tax owed here in Australia.”

As a conclusion to this hypothetical, Nick Thayer doesn’t come back empty handed but there is not a substantial income received. As outlined by the man himself, this isn’t a “sob story”, it’s to show how hard artists work for something they love so much and is more of a plea for fans to show support for the artists and their hard work. This can be achieved by simply buying more than just a single track from an EP and sharing links on social media.

A good point to take away from this, is that whilst downloading some music may not ruin the careers of major artists, it may have some potential to stifle the careers of emerging artists, making it more difficult for them to continue doing what they love. Share, buy and support.

Source: Nick Thayer’s Tumblr