Background Vocalist PRIMARY GENRE R&B The following is the breakdown of 2009-2010 income from a Soul Background Vocalist, who performs as a background singer on Pop network TV, live on tour, and on recordings. She also writes songs and SECONDARY GENRE performs and records her own music as a solo artist. She produces Jazz records for herself and others. Electronica Rock For the purposes of this case study, we will look at her income from her work as a session musician and background vocalist only – both in ROLES the studio and live on tour. TV background performer Film background performer Live background performer This Background Vocalist tours regularly as a background vocalist Background recording artist for several different featured artists. Previous tours have included performances at concert halls, theaters, opera houses, resorts, YEARS ACTIVE and festivals. She is also part of the regular “music crew” – as a 1997 – present background vocalist – on a live network television program with a house band, appearing on 34 episodes over four seasons. She has TIME SPENT ON MUSIC 100% also performed on over 50 recordings as a background vocalist for more than 30 different artists. INCOME DERIVED FROM MUSIC 100% The Background Vocalist does not have formal musical training. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA, NARAS, SoundExchange, and ASCAP, and is registered with the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund. Through her affiliation with SAG-AFTRA, she qualifies for health insurance and earns pension credits. She does not have a manager or bookkeeper. money.futureofmusic.org/case-studies CASE STUDY | Background Vocalist A note about session work They might call themselves background musicians or sidemen, guest musicians, session musicians, freelance musicians, or backup singers. To simplify the language for this study we call them all session musicians. These are the musicians and singers who are usually hired by a producer, record label, featured artist or bandleader to perform in a live or broadcast setting or on a recording. Session musicians can solo, may get billing, or even appear to be a regular member of a band. What makes them different than featured artists is that session musicians are paid a fee or a predictable salary for their time and expertise as musicians or singers. Generally, they do not assume any of the risk in a recording or live performance endeavor; they get paid even if the recording or tour loses money. Session musicians often accept a buyout – a one-time payment for work in a recording studio or in a live performance in exchange for signing over most or all of their rights. While they are entitled to some income that flows from copyright, session musicians are not considered the featured artist in a performance or recording. This is not a hard and fast category. Like everything else in the music business, the lines between roles are fluid. Color coding for Background Vocalist We have tried to use a consistent color palette across all the graphs and charts we have generated as part of the Artist Revenue Streams work. For instance, income from compositions is red, and live performance work is blue. We have used shades of these colors to signify specific types of revenue in these broad categories. If we were to religiously stick to this color palette when describing this Background Vocalist’s income, the graphs and charts would all be shades of teal, as all of her income included in this case study is session work, in one form or another. In order to provide a visual differentiation, we have added another color to the palette. In the case of AY, her TV- and film-based session work is brown. money.futureofmusic.org/case-studies 2 CASE STUDY | Background Vocalist About Television and Film Work, Appearance Fees and Mailbox Money All payments for this Background Vocalist’s television and film appearances are governed by the union scale, which is a standardized rate negotiated by SAG-AFTRA (AFL-CIO) – the union that represents vocalists who perform on television, film and radio. (Instrumentalists are represented by AFM, the American Federation of Musicians.) These rates for film and television session work are usually renegotiated every three years between SAG-AFTRA and the employers (record companies, TV and film producers, commercial producers, network TV, etc). • Musician appearances on television can range from being in a house band for a live show (as on many late night shows), to appearing on a scripted television show with musical numbers (ex. Glee), appearing as a special guest on a program like a talk show, or appearing on a musical contest show. • Musician appearances on film can range from on-camera acting or singing to off- camera singing (i.e. an animated musical feature film of the kind that Disney often makes) to using previously recorded tracks (if these tracks were originally recorded under a union contract). There are set rates for each kind of appearance. For more specifics on how much artists who are covered by SAG-AFTRA get paid for various television and recording appearances, refer to http://www.sagaftra.org/production-center. In this report, we refer to two different categories of payment for television and film work. When the artist goes into the television or film studio and performs, we call it a “TV/Film Appearance.” If the television show or film does well, the artist shares in the success of the show and will continue to get royalty checks or residual payments (which we call “TV/ Film Mailbox Money”) when the show is rebroadcast, when there are new uses (e.g. DVD, iTunes), and when the artist is entitled to a portion of royalties (e.g. foreign use) from various uses of the show. We use the phrase “mailbox money” here because artists sometimes refer to this second category of payments that way. Some of these additional payments are explained below in Appendix A which is an overview of how SAG-AFTRA calculates mailbox money in different media. money.futureofmusic.org/case-studies 3 CASE STUDY | Background Vocalist Gross Revenue This section reviews the overall gross income numbers for 2009-2010 for this Background Vocalist, as well as definitions for each category. Gross Revenue, 2009-2010 Recording TV/Film Live Performance 2009 2010 In 2009-2010, the Background Vocalist makes 52% of her income from TV and film work, both from appearance fees as a background/session vocalist on a popular TV network talent show where she is a salaried performer, and from TV/film “mailbox money” from previous TV and film appearances as a background/session vocalist. Performing as a background vocalist in live performances on tour, primarily with one artist, makes up 41% of her income in 2009-2010. The remaining 7% comes from her work as a background/session musician in the recording studio, and consists of both direct session payments for her time spent in the recording studio and regular (annual) income streams from “recording mailbox money” from the AFM & SAG- AFTRA Fund for her work as a background/session musician. Graphs do not have a Y-axis dollar value in order to observe the conditions of our privacy policy. In addition, graphs and visuals in case studies are not comparable within or between case studies. Information detailed in case studies is based on data received directly from the artist or their authorized representative. The data analysis and lessons learned here are based on individual experience, and do not necessarily reflect the experiences of all musicians in genre or roles. Case studies are one of three ways this project is looking at musician income. Learn about methodology at money.futureofmusic.org. money.futureofmusic.org/case-studies 4 CASE STUDY | Background Vocalist Gross Revenue, 2009 Gross Revenue, 2009 In 2009, the Background Vocalist performed TV/Film Appearance as a live background vocalist on many 22% performances with mostly one featured artist, and also appeared as a live background Live Performance Studio Recording 4% vocalist at a few other events. As a salaried 56% crew member, she taped episodes of her TV/Film Mailbox Recording Money current primary TV show. Since her primary TV Mailbox Money 17% 1% show is popular, she also received new use fees for taping episodes of a related spin-off talent show that uses footage from the primary show. This Background Vocalist also received fees for performing on studio soundtrack recordings of her primary TV show. She received TV mailbox money for two previous seasons of her current primary show, from her previous primary television show (on which she appeared on numerous episodes over six seasons in the late 90s-early 00s) as well as from other television appearances. Most of this mailbox money was for domestic syndication and foreign use. She also received recording mailbox money from studio recording credits with seven artists from recordings released from 1998-2002; all were recorded under SAG-AFTRA contracts. This Background Vocalist appeared on three recordings that came out in 2009. Two of these were soundtrack collections related to her current and previous television work. One was a greatest hits compilation of songs recorded with a featured artist years previously. All were released on major labels. Only one of these was recorded in 2009; the others were recorded in previous years. Revenue Category 2009 Details Background Vocalist 55.4% 72 engagements with five different groups Live Performance TV/Film Appearances 21.5% For 10 appearances on 2 television shows for work as a salaried performer Cable, Domestic Syndication, and Foreign royalties for 2 seasons of Artist AY’s TV/Film Mailbox Money 17.4% current primary show, 6 other television appearances, 1 film appearance from 2009 and 1 film appearance from 2004 Session Musician in Fees for recording sessions associated with current primary show for 1 audio major 4.4% Studio label release.