What Is It Like to Be a Working Musician in Nashville?
- 2 sections
- 1 table
- 2 sources cited
It depends on which kind of work you mean, because “working musician” in Nashville covers several different jobs with different pay structures. A honky-tonk player on Lower Broadway works for the bar and the tip jar. Robert’s Western World, for example, never charges an entry fee and asks guests to tip its entertainment and servers. It says its house bands “have been playing our stage for years and years” and that it “very rarely” opens a house band shift (Robert’s Western World). A session player records other people’s music in studios, following a tradition that goes back to the Nashville A-Team. That rotating circle of musicians worked sessions together nearly every day from the late 1950s through the 1960s, and producers favored them for learning material quickly and not overplaying (Wikipedia). A staff songwriter works under a publishing deal, paid in advances against future royalties. None of these paths comes with a standard salary, so pay depends on the gig.
Four Kinds of Music Work
| Path | How the work is structured | Where to learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Honky-tonk performer | sets in Broadway bars; at no-cover venues such as Robert's, guests are asked to tip the band | Robert's Western World FAQ |
| Session musician | hired independently to record for producers and artists | Wikipedia, Nashville A-Team |
| Staff songwriter | a publishing deal with a monthly advance recouped from royalties, and a yearly song quota | Songtown, via the staff songwriter guide linked below |
| Touring player | hired to back an artist on the road | the artist's management or band leader |
How a publishing deal works is in what a staff songwriter is.
Before You Move for Music
- Budget for a slow start; income from any of these paths can take time to build.
- Get your songs heard safely first; the steps are in how to break into the Nashville music industry.
- Price the city: housing and other costs are in the cost of living in Nashville.