Artist Fees

My understanding is that most singers pay for their own accommodations and
transport. They pay for their coaches, voice lessons, management fees,
agents' fees and probably a lot of other "hidden" fees. My understanding is
that if they cancel a performance, they don't get paid. They also don't get
paid for rehearsals, if I am not mistaken. The big name stars can easily
afford to have personal assistants, secretaries. They can fly first class
and stay in 5 star hotels for a month at a time, during a typical run of
performances. But what about the middle level (for lack of a better term)
singer-One who is very good but is not very famous or hyped? They have many
of these same expenses-certainly hotels and flight expenses-and don't make
anywhere near the fees the handful of media stars earn. Those early years
of every singer's life are filled with uncertainty and huge expenses.
Lessons and coaching require large sums of money. They typically earn very
little for their small roles in major theatres or major roles in regional
theatres-with no guarantee of ever making these huge fees that we hear
about. I think they are entitled to a decent performance fee. I do wonder
if top administrators deserve million dollar salaries + perks.

Seth Welins