What It Costs to Book Your Favorite Bands and Musicians

2024-10-12

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift – Author: Cat Badra, Photo via Republic Records

Maybe you have a big event coming up that you’d love to have your favorite band or musician play, or maybe you’re just curious about what kind of money famous musicians make on their concert dates. Whatever the reason, it’s always interesting to look into how much it costs to book your favorite bands and musicians. The experts at Celebrity Talent International have an interesting report of booking fees for different bands and musicians for 2024. Celebrity Talent International is a well-known agency that connects buyers to talent management agencies, so they have respect, but it’s always possible these numbers are off, due to inflated or deflated pricing or other reason. So, if you see your favorite band or artist for a steal, don’t get too happy before you actually check it out for yourself.

Report: How Much It Costs to Book Your Favorite Bands

Looking at the roster of talent from the experts at Celebrity Talent International, one thing that surprises me is how much niche rock and metal bands could be making for a one-off show. It’s nice to see metal getting some dough, but it definitely is not expected. Some of these bands aren’t even very active anymore, such as 12 Stones, who are listed as $15,000-$24,999, and 36 Crazyfists, who are listed as $7,500-$14,999. Looking at some larger rock and metal acts, Shinedown is $300,000-$499,000,  Judas Priest is $150,000-$299,000 and Iron Maiden is listed as “please contact for fee,” so you know it’s high. That actually seems like a steal for Judas Priest, since they’re one of the biggest metal bands on the planet. If you’re wondering, Metallica isn’t even included on the tally, so their concert fee would probably, and rightly so, blow your mind.

Getting into some classic rockers, Roger Waters is listed as $999,999-$1,499,000, Rush, who has said they will never tour again, is still included at a sky-high $2,500,000-$6,000,000 and classic metal band Slayer is $150,000-$299,000. Slayer is another band that “retired,” but they’re back this year for a small reunion.

Looking at some pop acts, names such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Shakira and The Weeknd are listed on the site, but you have to contact the agency to inquire about their rates, so you know they’re very high. Detroit rapper Eminem, however, is listed as $2,500,000-$6,000,000. So, yes, these artists are all making much more than your average musician.

Now, if you really want to find out exactly how much your favorite artist costs to book, you can find out how to book many bands and musicians through their website. Many bands, even big ones, have a booking agent listed, so you can book them through their agent. You’ll often find contact information for booking agents on bands and artists’ sites, so that’s the foolproof way to make it happen. Sonicbids also suggests when you contact the booking agent to provide them with a lot of information upfront. Soundfly also suggests that you do lots of research on the act and booking agent. You’ll obviously need some big bucks to get these acts, though. Also, if you’re not looking for a big name, it’s nice to know that many smaller bands will perform at your event for less than a grand.

If booking your favorite bands is too expensive for you, you’re not alone, so sit back, relax and listen to your favorite bands on vinyl, CD or digitally, or go to see your favorite bands live. Sure, concert tickets are expensive, but they’re nothing like what you would pay for a private show.

Cat Badra
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Posted by Cat Badra | Music, Rock, Rock News