not that its any of our business....but how much $ does moe. make?

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

just curious as to how much a band member in moe. can make in a year (these days)

they are pretty much "huge" in many respects...but at the same time, being totally independant must run them a huge overhead.

[Commodore Jenkins]

Nobody truly appreciates moe. the way I do.

It must be a brown thing.

[Hartamophone]

they are pretty much "huge" in many respects

I wouldn't call them "huge" at all. They are a very talented band and have an extremely devoted following, but outside of one limited grassroots community they have had hardly any exposure. True, they can fill some decent sized rooms, but I think "huge" is quite a stretch.

[bouche]

that's a weird question. How much do you make?

[can-o-phish]

that's a weird question. How much do you make?

My thoughts exactly

Useless Thread of the Week Award goes to Dima

[questcequecest?]

i don't think it's that weird a question. lots of celebrities, athletes, public servants and executives are required to publish their salaries. i'm sure a little internet searching could tell you how much eric clapton or avril lavigne make for an appearance... why not moe.? on the other hand, it makes no difference to me.

[zero]

My guess would be $100 K american annually at least. Also a lot of there expenses on the road i.e. accomodation, meals, treats would be taken care of. Maybe I'm being naive, it's not like they have record sales but even after management/agents etc. get their cut each player must make a decent take home and they play a lot of dates a year.

By comparison to give you a sense Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene makes $95 K Canadian.

[p.p.]

There's a magazine called "pollstar" that I used to read. Music industry people subscribe to it. It shows all kinds of financial stats and attendance stats for a lot of bands. I havn't looked in a while, but I'm sure it mentions how much they grossed at each particular show.

And.... Moe. does rule!

[TheGoodRev]

My guess would be $100 K american annually at least. Also a lot of there expenses on the road i.e. accomodation, meals, treats would be taken care of. Maybe I'm being naive, it's not like they have record sales but even after management/agents etc. get their cut each player must make a decent take home and they play a lot of dates a year.

By comparison to give you a sense Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene makes $95 K Canadian.

I'm sorry man, I just don't think your moe. figure is close. BSS has toured worldwide over the past couple of years, headlining massive concerts. 95K makes sense for those guys.

I'm sure moe. doesn't LOSE money, or else they wouldn't still be doing what they're doing. They are entirely grassroots, though, and if I had to guess, I'd say that everything they do - tour, put out a record - is funded by a company comprised of the five band members having equal shares. In fact, they've been through their share of drummers over the years, though the current guy has been around a while. I wouldn't be surprised if the three frontmen own the name and the other two are either on salary or are disconnected in some way.

I remember a couple years back when moe. did one of the first Coca-Cola Instant Live tours (the year they came to the Phoenix in Toronto, 2002 I think). There was huge murmuring online about selling out and whatnot, and one of the drummers (either Jim the percussionist or Vinnie the kit drummer) came along and basically said, holy shit, I've lived a relatively simple life so I can continue to make music, and somebody wants to come along and pay me just a little bit extra this year, what's the big deal? I'd like to be able to move out of my one-bedroom apartment eventually. That's a paraphrase of course, but it was close.

Now I can see that they've begun to do better in the last few years; they've made some really clever moves by hosting their own festivals (several per year as I understand it) and I'm sure they've been able to up their per-appearance rate. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if they still play in Toronto for $7000 on a weeknight. I have nothing to base this upon, of course, just a hunch.

By comparison, Derek Trucks fetches over $10k a night, and there was a time when Gov't Mule did, too (don't know about recently though).

[Kanada Kev]

There's a magazine called "pollstar" that I used to read.

Great way to find out about upcoming shows as well.

Always check it before you travel .

http://pollstar.com

And.... Moe. does rule!

And ... that'd be moe.

Edited August 21, 2006 by Guest

[mattm]

This is from an interview from 2005:

Q. You guys are building a loyal fan base through touring, and that's increasingly rare in the music industry these days.

A. It is? I didn't know there was another way of doing it! [Laughs] But I think the only way to do this is by touring and running your own label. Obviously, there's not that huge label support where you can get played on the radio and get on "Letterman" or whatever. Lack of funds is the downside, but whatever we make, we just take a salary as a band and the rest goes in to building the organization.

http://www.jimdero.com/News2005/MoeliveFeb18.htm

[guigsy]

I'm sorry man, I just don't think your moe. figure is close. BSS has toured worldwide over the past couple of years, headlining massive concerts. 95K makes sense for those guys.

I'm sure moe. doesn't LOSE money, or else they wouldn't still be doing what they're doing. They are entirely grassroots, though, and if I had to guess, I'd say that everything they do - tour, put out a record - is funded by a company comprised of the five band members having equal shares.

the whole bss/arts and crafts crew is pretty grassroots as well - maybe someone can correct me if im wrong, but doesnt kevin drew own arts and crafts? or is at least a part owner?

the amount of touring moe. does, and with their festivals as well, i wouldnt be surprised if the guys made 100k a year... they probably had to get close to that point just to be able to start doing 2 festivals a year.

but, regardless, im mostly with questcequecest... i really couldnt give a flying fuck.

[TheGoodRev]

but, regardless, im mostly with questcequecest... i really couldnt give a flying fuck.

I don't really care either, it's just that by my estimation they can't make anywhere near $100K - we're talking each, right? - and I think by falsely stating that, it's discouraging people from spending their money on guys like moe.

Arts and Crafts may be grassroots...but they sell a ton of records. Multiple artists on the roster, many of whom selling very well. I just don't think there's a comparison between what one of the guys in moe. makes and one of the guys in BSS. It doesn't make sense.

[guigsy]

and I think by falsely stating that, it's discouraging people from spending their money on guys like moe.

admirable of you to have moe.'s best interests at heart, but i think most people decide to spend their money on a band based on whether or not they like their sound - not what they know about their chequing accounts.

[Del]

Amen!

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

that's a weird question. How much do you make?

i knew some douche would write that....

i'm dissapointed it was you.

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

I pay to go see professional athletes perform and they are making millions. Does Moe make 100k? Don't really care. Its kind of irrelevant to me in regards to how much they make, they set a price for a ticket, and I get to choose whether or not I am interested in paying that money to check out their music--live.

Also, I think I can download just about any moe show I want. Which is pretty heady.

[TheGoodRev]

and I think by falsely stating that' date=' it's discouraging people from spending their money on guys like moe.

[/quote']

admirable of you to have moe.'s best interests at heart, but i think most people decide to spend their money on a band based on whether or not they like their sound - not what they know about their chequing accounts.

I don't mean that I'm going to give money to a band just because they need it, whether I like them or not. What I mean is, if the hypothetical situation arises where I'm holding a moe. record and a Stones record in a record store, and I know I want to buy one and download the other, moe. needs the dough more.

What I meant by the statement above is that, if this false impression is proliferated that moe. makes a ton of cash, people might be tempted to rip them off more readily. Let's be honest, it's a lot easier to rip off a rock band than people in many other lines of work these days.

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

Let's be honest, it's a lot easier to rip off a rock band than people in many other lines of work these days.

First of all, I am not trying to offend anyone, or pick on anyone, but I really want to respond to this previous statement....

Personally I don't agree with that. If a musician is not making money, that is not my problem. If I am going to donate money to a cause, as much as I love the music industry, its not near the top of my list of individuals that are in need of my money. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem of spending some of my limited resources going to a show or a festival, but, I do it out of interest more than out of sympathy.

Edited August 22, 2006 by Guest

[TheGoodRev]

Look man. I don't care whether moe. makes a ton of money either. If I was to find out that each member of moe. makes a half million dollars a year, I wouldn't then decide to skip their next local show because they don't need my money.

What I'm saying is, I think we all have some notion that supporting independant artists we like is important, because we realize that it isn't always easy to make a living in entertainment. Same reason you might pay a little more to shop at the corner grocery because you know it's harder for the dude behind the counter to compete against the local mega-marts. You're not making huge decisions here, in the end you're out an extra buck and a half or whatever but you've voted with what few dollars you have. But if the rumour spread that the dude behind the counter drove a Bentley on the weekends and had a yacht off the coast, you wouldn't really care about voting with that buck and a half anymore, no matter how small it is. See what I mean?

[guigsy]

now you're equating money and ideology.

i wish all my grassroots corner grocery guys drove a bentley to their yacht on the coast on the weekends cuz that would likely mean that they're all doing well in standing up to the mega-marts and succeeding, which in my mind, means society is succeeding. if the grassroots guy can rally that kind of support why doesnt he deserve to do as well as he can, without the notion of doing too well?

[MarcO]

how could someone do "too well"?

"We Hate It When Our Friends Become Succesful"

-Morrisey

[boiler]

100K isn't really all that much.

[zero]

I'm right you're wrong. I buy the three core members own the name/corporation and two are affiliated and paid per performance etc. That said then they all pull an annual salary which would have to be at least $65 K american annually PLUS they own equity in moe. i.e. live recording catalogue, equity in name, merchandise.

[TheGoodRev]

I'm right you're wrong.

HAHA! I appreciate your directness, Luke. I'm being serious.

In any event, the whole thing with equating money and ideology...ok, I'm guilty of that naivete, I admit. I guess I just seem to have formed an opinion over time that (1) my "wealth" should be spread and (2) no matter how little I have to spread, I should always consciously be allocating my money to places I deem worthy. Most often there's a benefit for me (e.g. concert ticket), sometimes not (e.g. corner grocery). I imagine that'll all change one day when I have a mortgage or kids to feed.

Maybe I'm fighting on this because all of a sudden I seem to be a regularly gigging musician, whereas I wasn't six months ago. I'm starting to feel the low financial return, staring down the prospect of putting out a record on my/our own dime and probably giving half the copies away. Thems the breaks, though; I wouldn't trade it.