Following your passion is never an easy thing to do and playing the guitar for a living is the same, but if you never give up the sky really is the limit as far as salary goes. It’s difficult to give you exact numbers so we’ll have to break a few things down to partly answer this conundrum.
Experience
Experience is necessary to see a bump in potential salary for a guitarist in Canada. The more time you’ve put into the craft, the more your skills increase the more likely you are to be a desirable candidate for potential employment as a guitarist. The proof truly is in the pudding, if you’ve put in the time and effort your skills will be undeniable and you may find people knocking at your door.
A beginner may have more trouble finding work. When you don’t have much to show for your talents it can be tough to find work. Many up and comers may have humble beginnings and turn to things such as busking (playing music on the street for tips) to try and get their name out there.
Knowledge & Skill
Despite not being a total celebrity, skill and experience will go a long way when securing guitar gigs. If you have put in the work and your playing abilities show for it, it will be undeniable how good you are and you may use this to help negotiate higher rates.
There will also again be more opportunities for you given your abilities as many people would be happy to have you play for them or potentially have you join their band. Knowledge truly is power, the more you know, the more hours you have specializing in your field will help speed up any process and make sure you get the job done efficiently and effectively.
Type of work
There are many different potential streams of income a guitarist can receive. You may simply specialize in one or two, or you may find giving them all a shot may help you bring in the dough. Many guitarists and many people in general will have multiple streams of income to help sustain their efforts. Some potential employment opportunities and other ways to make a living as a guitarist may include:
- Live performances and concerts - There are many different levels of live performances and they can range by type and venue. As a beginner you could look to secure a gig at a birthday, bar mitzvah, a bar or a wedding. Professionals will usually have larger followings and may be able to sell out huge arenas which accumulate huge potential earnings.
- Royalties, licensing and streaming - Although selling CD's and Vinyl's is almost an outdated way of making money there is a new way to make income from your music. These days everyone is listening to music online and streaming it to their devices. Artists still see proper compensation in the royalties and licensing of their music being streamed online.
- Touring - If you have a large enough following you may set up tour dates to play shows in a consistent basis across the country or internationally. Touring is a huge way top artists make most of their income as they can provide a show for thousands all at once.
- Merch - If people really like you and what you do they may want to support you buy wearing some of your merch. Merch can include t-shirts, socks, backpacks and really anything else under the sun with your name or likeness on it.
- Appearances - If you have sustained celebrity status it is very possible that people may hire you to attend certain events or have you speak in front of an audience. These cameos could be in film, on tv, or happen online.
- Teaching or tutoring - Many may look to share their talents with up and comers as teachers or guitar tutors. Teaching can be a joyous experience as you can share you love of guitar with fresh talent.
- Composer - Symphony, Film score. - If you are at an elite level you may even be hired to create your own music for orchestra, tv or film. Certain sounds and genres are needed to create different atmospheres and will excite different kinds of audiences.
- Online content - Having an online platform and accumulating a following will allow you different opportunities for streams of income. Frist and foremost you can make ad revenue off on any online content posted but you can also potentially sell your music, merch or other affiliated products as well as having sponsorships and crown funding opportunities like Patreon or Kickstarter.
- Session work - If you’re good enough bands may hire you to help record their music for albums. Although you may not be a part of their band full time you may lend your playing abilities to them for some time, and some money of course.
- Commercial work - There are many opportunities for different types of commercial work that is used to market products, this could be radio jingles or tv ads.
- Busking - Play on the streets for everyone to hear! This can be a great way to start making money as a guitarist. Setting up in a highly populated area and playing your heart out can be a great way to get your name out there.
- Audio Engineer - As a master of guitar it is possible to be hired to overlook the production of music. This can include live performances or film, radio, tv, and video game opportunities.
Potential earnings & numbers
Now we can’t really give you any specific numbers as there is such a wide spectrum but we can give you a few examples that may help to ballpark potential income levels
According to ZipRecruiter the national average salary for guitarists in America was equivalent to $70,120 CAD per year. This number works out to $39.69 an hour or $1,586 per week and $6,878 a month.
The top end of this report was $178,065 and the bottom score was around $27,607.
It must be said that these numbers are highly dependent on the work you do and how consistently you find work. It's highly likely as a guitarist you may be working as a freelancer and may need to try and fill your schedule up with bookings. There are some jobs in the music industry that may be related to guitar playing and offer a salary but those may not be included in professional guitarists.
As a guitarist you may have to work your way up to a more stable stream of income by playing more, developing your skills and your network. Many musicians follow their musical pursuit out of passion and may not make a whole lot of money. Oftentimes up and coming musicians may try performing on the street for an audience to make tips, also known as busking.
No matter where you want to go with your guitar playing it's clear that you’ll have to get your name out there before you see consistent work and this may really take some time. This however really shouldn't be your main concern as it will lead to a lot of distress.
Star-power
Star-power can have a huge impact on your potential revenue. Once you build up a fan base they will be more than happy to support you by buying tickets to your shows, buying physical copies of your music or even by buying some of your bands merch. Larger artists get more opportunities to play shows at different events and may have access to larger venues to sell more tickets. Where this won't be the reality for many we thought it was a fun little piece to include! Never give up on your dreams and you might be able to reap some of these benefits yourself!
Find guitar classes with Superprof near you!
To ensure you make good use of your time on your journey to be the next big guitarist of the decade, look into hiring a personal tutor and getting some guitar classes. Superprof has thousands of tutors to choose from. Pick a tutor that offers in class lessons locally or even find an online guitar tutor that lives across the world. Lessons are extremely affordable and tutors are selected by you, based on your own preferences and criteria.
Conclusion
At the end of the day there really are endless opportunities for guitarists and other musicians. A world without music, truly would be a sad one. With growing industries relating to film, video, online content music is always going to be a necessary art form with plenty of employment opportunities for guitarists.
It can be hard to get your foot in the door and receive enough income to make it a worth while endeavour, at least at the start. Keep this in mind and have proper goals and expectations to get you get further with your guitar-playing career and increase your potential earnings.
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