Musician Fees, Expenses and the Season Budget

Money is the least musical part of running an ensemble, and often the most stressful. A treasurer juggles soloist fees, a conductor’s travel, the hall deposit, ticket income and a grant report, usually in a spreadsheet only one person understands.

This guide sets out a simple structure that works for community bands, orchestras and choirs, whatever tool you use.

Who gets paid, and how much?

In most amateur ensembles regular members play or sing for free, and money goes to people brought in for specific events: soloists, an accompanist, a leader, section principals or extra players to fill a part.

How much is a local question. As a reference point, the UK network Making Music publishes average fees paid by amateur groups to soloists: an average of £269 per concert including one rehearsal, with most fees between £150 and £350, excluding expenses. In Switzerland, the musicians’ union SMV offers fee calculators for orchestras and small formations. Use figures like these to set rates that are fair and defensible to your committee.

Step 1: Set rates per role and event type

Write a short rate table instead of negotiating every concert from scratch:

Role	Rehearsal	Concert	Sectional
Accompanist	your rate	your rate	—
Section principal	your rate	your rate	your rate
Extra player	—	your rate	—

Then handle exceptions, a guest soloist or a well-known leader, as individual overrides rather than editing the table.

In WePlayIn.Band these are compensation tiers: a rate for each event type, attached to positions, with overrides for individual musicians.

Step 2: Generate fees after each event, once attendance is final

Pay for who actually played. After the concert, correct the attendance, then create the fee entries from it. With tiers in place, WePlayIn.Band generates one entry per musician from the rates, and you approve them and mark them paid, one by one or all at once.

Step 3: Reimburse expenses against the event

Expenses get lost when they arrive as a crumpled receipt in a folder. Ask members to file each claim against the event it belongs to, with a category and a photo of the receipt. A manager then approves, rejects or marks it paid. Rejections deserve a short message explaining why.

Step 4: Record income where it happens

Ticket sales, a fee from the town for the summer concert, a donation at the door: record each one on its event. Money that belongs to no event, such as an annual grant or membership fees, goes in a general list.

Step 5: Read the season cashbook every month

Put income against fees and expenses month by month, and look at the net: positive or negative, and why. Checking monthly turns “we ran out of money in May” into “we knew in February”.

WePlayIn.Band’s season cashbook shows income, expenses, compensation and the net for any year or month, with a monthly chart, and exports to Excel and PDF for the committee.

Keep it simple and transparent

• One rate table, agreed by the committee. Fewer arguments.
• Every euro tied to an event. Easier to explain to a funder.
• Members see their own status. In WePlayIn.Band, musicians follow their fees and claims in their own tab, so the treasurer stops answering “has it been paid?”.
• Export, don’t retype. Excel and PDF exports go straight to the accountant.

Before the first concert of the season

1. Agree the rate table and who can approve payments.
2. Decide which expenses you reimburse and the receipt you need.
3. Set the currency and invite the treasurer as a manager.
4. After each event: attendance, fees, approvals, then a glance at the cashbook.

Musician fees, expense claims, income and the season cashbook are included in WePlayIn.Band Professional, €150 a year. Book a demo and we’ll walk through your own rate table.

This article is general guidance, not tax or accounting advice. Check payment and tax rules for your country with your accountant.