Music is an art form that has been part of this society for thousands of years. Some people may argue that it is not a physical commodity but many still insist that it has both merit and appeal. The fact that most people appreciate music is evidence of its value. But exactly how much is music worth? How much money should artists make for their contribution to this timeless culture?

Well, the highest paid musician in Kenya goes by the stage name, Jaguar and makes about KES 300,000 per appearance. He has contracts with East Africa Breweries, Unilever and Safaricom. For a half-year contract deal, he can earn up to KES 18 million. This would mean that Jaguar’s contracts alone can get him up to KES 3 million a month for six consecutive months.

Other artists like Daddy Owen rake in KES 250,000 per appearance. Jua Kali, one of the country’s most famous Genge musicians had a KES 1 million endorsement deal with Motorolla. According to Wasanii, he also signed a KES 10 million deal with Telkom Orange as part of their 2009 Hello Tunes Campaign.

Local gospel group, MOG, along with other artists like Juliani, Allan Aaron and Eko Dydda got an offer for a KES 2 to KES 4 million contract with Safarticom in 2010.

Aside from performances and endorsement deals, local artists also have platforms like Mdundo with which to increase their profit margins. The mobile phone music provider gives them free scratch cards which they can use to sell their music. In such cases, the artist is free to keep 100% of the profit from the cards. On the other hand, corporate music selling deals made through Mdundo only gives them 30% of the sales. Exclusive deals with Mdundo can earn the artist up to 50% of sales.

Local Musicians versus United States Artistes

According to a Music Salary Guide from the Berklee College of Music, Vocal Artists should not earn anything less than KES 13,000 per gig. However, this applies to musicians living within the United States. For a local artist, the cost of living should be accounted for in order to make a slightly more accurate assessment.

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Nairobi is currently ranked as the 424^th most expensive city in the world, out of a total of 780. Several living expense calculators have even described Nairobi as average when considering the cost of living in other parts of the world. Meanwhile, Mercer’s 2012 Cost of Living Guide lists Tokyo, Japan as the most expensive city in the world where a single cup of coffee goes for KES 714.

Since the Musicians’ Salary Guide was done by a United States University, the cost of living should be compared accordingly. Keep in mind that the US has 52 states and the cost of living varies depending on each particular region.

Nonetheless, such comparisons are done according to major cities so the cost of living in the US capital can be weighed against that of Kenya’s very own capital city.

In which case, the cost of living in Washington DC is about 79% more expensive than Nairobi (based on a Cost of Living Index from Expatistan). However, New York is the arts and cultural capital of the United States. Using the same Index, it is 105% more expensive to live in New York than in Nairobi.

This means that a vocal musician in Kenya should earn nothing short of KES 6300 per gig.

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The study notes that Songwriters and Lyricists should make no less than USD 250 (KES 21,500) for Independent Films, nothing below USD 7500 (KES 645,800) for a feature film by a major studio and no less than USD 4000 (344,400) for a Promotional Theatrical Trailer.

If the same artists were living in Kenya, they would be entitled to no less than KES 10,500 for independent films. Those working on feature films would get nothing below KES 315,000 while the ones performing for a major studio would receive no less than KES 168,000.

Meanwhile, Film Score Composers (in New York) should make between USD 2500 (KES 215,300) and USD 500,000 (KES 43.1 million) for independent (Indie) films and between USD 35,000 (KES 3.01 million) and USD 2 million (KES 172.2 million) for a Studio Feature. The same kind of composer should make KES 84 million for a Studio Feature made locally.

It is rumoured that world-renowned German composer, Hans Zimmer made a fortune from Director, Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise. While the actual amount remains a mystery, Zimmer’s net worth currently stands at USD 90 million (KES 7.75 billion).

He has composed the score for cult-classic films such as The Lion King, Gladiator, The Dark Knight and Inception. He plans to compose the score for Zack Snyder’s upcoming 2013 film, Man of Steel.

Below is a table showing how much the College believes Kenyan musicians should earn based on their job description (Note that the rates have been adjusted to suit the cost of living in Nairobi):

*Salaries may vary based on the popularity of the artist and the agreed-upon deal.