{"id":999,"date":"2019-01-24T13:12:03","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T13:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lastminutemusicians.com\/blog\/?p=999"},"modified":"2026-03-22T15:55:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T15:55:06","slug":"musicians-wages-the-great-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lastminutemusicians.com\/blog\/musicians-wages-the-great-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Musicians wages – the great debate…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last updated: March 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently it seems like “the” hot topic is how much musicians get paid, so I thought I’d share my thoughts and experiences for anyone that is interested…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My background as a professional pianist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To give you a bit of background, I am joint-founder of www.lastminutemusicians.com<\/a>, the UK’s leading entertainment directory and have been performing as a professional pianist for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the age of 6 I started out trying to learn the violin and (thank goodness!) moved on to piano when I was about 9. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst at school I made the most of the local music services, rehearsing weekly with a whole variety of ensembles, including my town and county youth jazz orchestras, school wind band (where I played percussion) and even our sixth form male voice choir! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After school I was lucky enough to be appointed conductor of my local youth choir as well as the Bournemouth University big band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"register\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whilst I can’t remember my very first paid gig, I have a memory of performing with a funk band in a local pub when I was about 15 – I’m sure that wouldn’t be allowed these days..! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a young musician starting out I was advised by my uncle, who happened to be Musicians Union branch secretary at the time, to say yes to pretty much everything as that’s the way to build up experience whilst improving – great advice for anyone starting out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first regular gig was at a seaside fish restaurant performing on a Friday and Saturday evening. With the help of my uncle, I negotiated a fee of \u00a365 for 2 x 1 hour sets which I was quite happy with as a young musician. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was in the late ’90s – I can’t remember what the musicians union suggested rates were at the time, but I think we checked that they were in line with their rates at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musicians Union recommended live rates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In May 2025 the Musicians Union updated their recommended live rates<\/a> as follows:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\u2022 Casual engagements for groups performing in pubs and clubs for up to 3 hours:
\u00a3162.30<\/mark>\u00a0
(per musician)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Casual engagements for groups performing at functions of up to 4 hours:\u00a0
\u00a3216.40<\/mark>
(per musician)<\/p>\n

There are also various extras like travel expenses, setting up time, overtime, porterage etc. that should be added to these fees.
See the full breakdown<\/a><\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n

\"UK<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What other musicians think about gig pay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On our Facebook group UK Musicians for Gigs<\/a> we had a whole variety of reactions to the new rates, for instance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I remember the days of those pink MU contracts when every pub had a band on a  weekend and many throughout the week and local pub entertainers made a decent living. Those days have gone – so many pubs have closed and the ones that remain don’t make enough to pay live entertainment what they should. In Bristol there are so many bands and solo acts who would like to get paid but prefer to play more often even if it’s for free. The Musicians union is now really only representing session musicians – the rest they don’t have a clue about!<\/p>\nVincent Brown<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Those rates would be laughed at in my neck of the woods, you’d never get a gig again. Lucky to get half those rates.<\/p>\nDave Smith<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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We decided a little while back, perhaps before the “recession”, that a few fewer gigs at a slightly higher price was a good aim – less travel etc meant the end money was close, for less effort. The recession has meant people cutting back, what they will hire and what they will pay, so keeping the price up is really hard.  It’s not only that someone will always work for less than you, it’s also that some money is better than none – which is of course what keeps the price down too.  And it’s not always true that a \u00a32k band will make the crowd any more pleased than a \u00a3500 band.  Or we get to the position where someone will spend their budget on 4-piece rather than 6 or 7  – more money for those 4, fewer musicians paying the rent…so, get a good trio going and keep the money up??<\/p>\nSean McBride<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Time the MU got real. If any of us have the least possible chance of achieving these rates, then please let me know how it’s done? Your lucky if you can get \u00a380 to \u00a390 up here in the north, different world in the south I suppose?<\/p>\nPeter Brent<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Getting started in the London music scene<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To continue my story, when I was about 19 I moved to London to attend Trinity College of Music. By this time I’d been performing quite a lot at local venues so I felt confident approaching venues in London to introduce myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I quickly learned that the competition is fairly high and often venues are inundated with CDs and promo packs from musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best paid gigs seemed to be weddings<\/a>, private events and corporate events, so we sat down and worked out a way to get noticed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Last<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This resulted in the birth of www.lastminutemusicians.com<\/a> in 2003, now used to organise events daily by over 2500 customers. Our musicians have performed at a massive variety of events and occasions, including the Royal Wedding and the London Olympics. We even had a sax player booked to wake up the housemates on a hit reality TV show!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I almost exclusively perform at private events, I am pleased to report I have been charging Musicians Union rates for almost every gig I’ve played. I now charge higher rates than my peers as I feel after 18 years performing at over 2000 events I feel my level of skill and experience are worth it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, I would expect to pay a lot more to a piano teacher per hour the better their level of skill and experience – I’d expect to pay maybe \u00a350 for an hour for your average teacher, but would also quite happily sell my car for just one lesson from say Herbie Hancock!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What factors affect musician fees?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I think musicians fees mainly tend to be affected by the following factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n