[Harp-L] List of harmonica players who have achieved becoming millionaires?

[46long Blake]

Yeah, come to think of it, it may have included selling 2 physical CDs in
that $23, LOL.

On Tue, Dec 12, 2023 at 10:13 AM Mike Fugazzi <harpninjamike at xxxxx>
wrote:

> $23 is like 2 billion listens! Way to go!
>
> On Tue, Dec 12, 2023 at 9:10 AM 46long Blake <46long at xxxxx> wrote:
>
>> I got a $23 royalty check from streams of my duo's original music this
>> year! Like Weird Al said, "Thanks for the sandwich!!" ;)
>>
>> On Tue, Dec 12, 2023 at 10:01 AM Mike Fugazzi <harpninjamike at xxxxx>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> In fairness, if a harmonica player makes $40,000 a year and has a 25 year
>>> career, they have made a million dollars.  That being said, the list of
>>> harmonica players making a decent living - Forbes reports that the
>>> average
>>> annual salary in the US is $59,428 - is probably very very low.  For
>>> those that are making "good" money, they are surely diverse in revenue
>>> streams.  Meaning, they aren't just playing music for people to listen
>>> to.
>>> Those that do make a significant amount of money gigging probably do
>>> things
>>> other than play harmonica too.
>>>
>>> Anecdotally, in my head, many of the "famous" harmonica players I know
>>> supplement their income working jobs outside of music.  Those that don't
>>> are few and far between like Jason Ricci and Dennis Gruenling (I assume).
>>> The elder statesmen have either been that established over decades OR, I
>>> am
>>> guessing, have benefits from being at retirement age that make things
>>> more
>>> manageable?
>>>
>>> Many years ago, I read the Little Walter biography, and I swear I read
>>> that
>>> even at peak popularity, LW was playing covers on guitar to make most of
>>> his money.  To make an average salary, a harp player would have to make
>>> $1,250 a week, year round.  Let's say you have no expenses and three
>>> great
>>> gigs a week making a couple hundred dollars for a couple of sets, so
>>> roughly $600.  I am not saying you can't make more than that, but am
>>> looking at it realistically.  You could teach a few lessons a day at $50
>>> and get close to $1,250.  But you are also probably booking your own
>>> gigs,
>>> doing your own promo materials, and trying to be a content creator....so
>>> you'd be working full time as a musician.
>>>
>>> The best way to make a livable wage as a musician is to perform in a
>>> cover
>>> band.  I know guys locally charging several thousand a show.  Assuming
>>> it's
>>> $6,000 a night, almost half probably goes to expenses.  The other $3,000
>>> would be split between 5 band members, maybe?  So, they are making about
>>> $600 a gig.  Pros are the amount of effort to sustain booking shows is
>>> lesser and you don't have to work as much off stage.  Locally, the
>>> seasons
>>> create a stronger demand for shows part of the year, so winters might be
>>> slower.
>>>
>>> Another workable model is to not play in a band but to do duo or trio.
>>> You
>>> can charge $300-400 a show with lesser expenses and overhead.
>>>
>>> At the end of the day, there is a lot of nuance to the topic of who makes
>>> money with harmonica and how much.  There is also popularity vs money or
>>> online presence vs gigging to consider too.  I've noticed a lot of
>>> contemporary harmonica content creators get views, but are intermediates
>>> at
>>> best.  They seem to teach content at their level or maybe a step below.
>>> My
>>> point being there is a doable floor of entry for trying to make income
>>> as a
>>> content creator.
>>>
>>> Finally, the case can be made at times that the better you are from a
>>> technical standpoint, the more you hit a point of diminishing returns
>>> where
>>> the general public cares less about what you are able to do or how "good"
>>> you are.
>>>
>>> I started playing in the early 2000's and was too late for the 5-7 shows
>>> a
>>> week and too early to get in on the YouTube train before it became
>>> saturated.  I long ago decided that harmonica was a hobby and I would
>>> only
>>> do it under my terms, whatever they are at the time.  I view it like the
>>> lottery, you put a little effort in and some day you might get lucky
>>> meeting the right person at the right time (kind of like Mickey Raphael).
>>> Could I sing and/or play harmonica at a professional level? Absolutely.
>>> Have I ever really tried to do that?  No.  I like having a steady job,
>>> income, and supporting my kids.  Since returning to gigging (I took a
>>> long
>>> time off when I went to grad school), I've booked limited winter dates
>>> and
>>> as much as I can in the summer.  I play in a dad band (wide range of
>>> covers
>>> on a very small scale of $75-$100 a night) and a duo (which I LOVE LOVE
>>> LOVE to do), where I clear $150-300 depending on the gig.
>>>
>>> As a duo, I basically get to do whatever I want.  I get to play stuff
>>> like
>>> this https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7IvCJu7ifl8 and still get to do this
>>> https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NPICWtlg1k0.  FWIW, when it comes to
>>> posting
>>> gig content, I consistently get the most views from Facebook.  TikTok is
>>> consistent, but not as many, and YouTube is all over.  I posted clips
>>> from
>>> the same gig where the one I thought was kind of lame got a ton of views
>>> and then one that I think is really good got like 100.  I can't figure
>>> out
>>> YouTube.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Dec 12, 2023 at 5:49 AM Ken H in Ohio <airmojoken at xxxxx>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> > Not sure a list exists... but I bet these three are at the top of it !
>>> >
>>> > 1. Bruce Willis -- $250 million
>>> > 2. Jim Belushi -- $50
>>> > 3. John Popper -- $10 million
>>> >
>>> > Ken H in OH
>>> >
>>> > On Sun, Dec 10, 2023 at 5:57 AM F F <franze52 at xxxxx> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > > Does anyone have statistics on the harmonica players who have
>>> achieved
>>> > the
>>> > > milestone of becoming millionaires?
>>> > >
>>> >
>>>
>>