Sound familiar? Half of UK Working Musicians earn less than $17.5K a year

A census of almost 6,000 working musicians in the UK has found that nearly half earn less than $17.560 / £14,000 a year from music. On average, UK musicians’ annual income from music was $25,950 / £20,700.

Just 3% earned $87,750 / £70,000 per year or more, and 80% of those were men.

Despite high levels of education and training – 70% have a degree or higher, and 50% have a music degree – more than half still have to piece together a living through various music and non-music jobs.

40% said that financial barriers were holding them back, particularly the equipment and transportation costs.

These are all stats and obstacles that musicians in the US and elsewhere will find painfully familiar.

Musicians are resilient and agile

The survey found that despite the challenges, musicians are hardworking and persistent.

80% consider themselves performers, but on average, a working musician holds 3 to 4 different roles in music, highlighting the need and ability to juggle different types of roles to sustain a career.

Responses also suggested that a typical musician works across 4-5 genres and plays 2-3 instruments, with 20% saying that they play four or more instruments.

This first-of-its-kind Musicians’ Census was conducted by the UK Musicians’ Union and the charity Help Musicians with the help of industry partners. The goal is to repeat the survey every 3 to 5 years.

Read more of the survey here.

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.