Musician Income Quotes

I'm a DJ, but I'm also a ridiculously high-grossing musician due to doing productions.

The first time I ever got paid to play was 1/18/99, Fire Hall in Bordentown, New Jersey. Played first on the bill - we got paid $20!

I had a $1.50 from playing the ukulele after owning it seven minutes. I thought, "Hmmm, this has some possibilities."

My standing gig in college was playing the El Chico patio on Murfreesboro Road. I got $100, tips, and free quesadillas.

I'd seen musicians act, and it scares me. And they make more money than me.

The Misfits pretty much funds the Misfits. It used to cost me money to be in the band. I think we got paid the last gig we ever did. After that, we had to work to support our families.

As musicians, we are quite literally singing for our supper. Don't get me wrong, I love touring, but the reality is that our idols from the '70s and '80s never toured this hard. They'd do a record, have one big world tour, maybe two, then break to do another record.

A long time ago, Prince said that no musician is ever gonna make money off the Internet, and he was right.

I find it ironic that now water is more expensive than music. On the one hand, record companies can't go crying when they've gouged consumers for decades, charging exorbitant prices for CDs that cost 29 cents to make. On the other hand, when music is free, musicians starve.

The wage for most musicians is a modest amount, and that includes me some of the time.

I'm lucky that I enjoy playing live; it's my passion to do that. There's certain artists that never want to play live. They just want to be in the studio. Good luck, because there is no income.

If you can play live and support yourself, it's one of the few ways you're going to actually get paid in this business these days.

Musicians by and large make a living with a relationship with an audience that is economically harnessed through performance and ticket sales.

I need the money. People don't understand how little money you make in a band.

We all know the record biz don't pay. All musicians have day jobs - no matter how big they are.