American Idol Alum Booking Fees – Check them Out!

By On 06/12/2011 · 195 Comments · In American Idol

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Want to book an American Idol alum for a gig? A list of booking fees that include some Idols can be found via Degy Booking International.

Not surprisingly, Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are at the top of the heap. If the figures are correct, Clay Aiken is still commanding a decent fee.

We Are The Fallen (Carly Smithson) $5-10k
Blake Lewis $10k+
Lee DeWyze $15-25k
Crystal Bowersox $15-25k
Danny Gokey $30k+
David Archuleta $30-40k
David Cook $30-50k
Adam Lambert $40-50k+
Kellie Pickler $50-60k
Fantasia $50-75k
Clay Aiken $85-100k+
Jennifer Hudson $100k+
Daughtry $200-300k+
Kelly Clarkson $350-500k+
Carrie Underwood $350-500k+

Thanks to Ozarka for compiling these.  Keep in mind  I haven’t confirmed these figures with a second source–there could be some wrong or out-of-date info on the list.

 
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  • Barometz02

    A venue tweeted that Kris’s asked-for guarantee was $50K when explaining why it was too expensive for them to book him at their club

    Can you tell me the name of the venue that tweeted it?

  • Oksana2000

    McCreerian says:
    06/13/2011 at 6:06 pm
    haha just the same tired S8 fanwars…

    I’m waiting with supply of popcorn for brand new, fresh S10 fanwars… (Season 9 didn’t happen, right?)

  • sylve

    To isisdagmar:What makes u think CLAY is not popular anymore?He has the right to pick & choose when & where he wants to perform.I know thats your opinion ,but to make it sound so concrete is ,in my opinion , misleading.

    To isisdagmar:For u to say CLAY is not popular anymore, in my opinion, is misleading. Did u take a poll or something?How did u come to that conclusion?Iknow that’s your opinion, & u have every right to your opinion, but please don’t try to speak for anyone else.At least not for me. “tennie”

  • Elliegrll

    If Kris makes $50K for a small part in an event, then why was anyone questioning that Adam made $75K in Moscow for an actual concert? Frankly, I thought he would have made more.

    Did someone question it? If Kris was a small part of the Mint Jubilee Ball, then Adam was also a small part of the festival in Moscow, since he was one of several singers who performed. Maybe what people were questioning is how would anyone know that Adam made $70K to perform. It seems like it’s a figure that came about only because there was a tweet from some venue that said that Kris was asking for a guarantee of $50K. It’s perfectly believable that he would be offered that much money, but based on the way the thread has gone, and your own repeated posts that Adam has to be paid more than Kris, it seems like the figure was just thrown out to make it clear that Adam’s booking price is more than what Kris gets.

  • Eileen99

    A venue tweeted that Kris’s asked-for guarantee was $50K when explaining why it was too expensive for them to book him at their club

    Can you tell me the name of the venue that tweeted it?

    Lots of people saw the tweets, including me, but disclosing the name of the venue doesn’t seem like a very good idea to me. I can just imagine the phone calls they might get, with people demanding to know all the details about Kris’ booking fees, judging by what a sensitive topic this has seemed to be for some.

  • ross

    If Kris makes $50K for a small part in an event

    You mean the Mint Jubilee Ball? Jordin and Kris headlined the event. He didn’t have a small part.

    Jordin Sparks And Kris Allen To Headline Celebrity Charity Mint Jubilee

    There was a thread for the event here on the blog.

    Jordin Sparks and Kris Allen perform at the Kentucky Derby Mint Jubilee

    (“the finale was another American Idol star named Kris Allen who I had little expectations for, but put on a fantastic show…”)

    I suppose you could disagree, but Jordin and Kris, being American Idol winners, can be relied upon to put on a good show, on a consistent basis – so they’re well paid for it. Idol winners are usually good performers. Whether they happen to be your cup of tea or not, winners can expect to be paid well for their performances. Their talents are usually in demand. This is not really a surprise to most people, imho.

  • ross

    oops, nvm

  • isisdagmar

    To isisdagmar:For u to say CLAY is not popular anymore, in my opinion, is misleading. Did u take a poll or something?How did u come to that conclusion?Iknow that’s your opinion, & u have every right to your opinion, but please don’t try to speak for anyone else.At least not for me

    Er…I wasn’t trying to “speak for anyone else” and didn’t mean that he has no fans, or something. obvs he does. I just mean that he’s not ~popular in the sense of having mainstream success right now.

    I mean, that’s a pretty clear fact, right? In terms of the discussion about fees, some of these things seem to be facts:

    Clay does not seem popular enough to command that fee.

    Adam is more successful/popular than Kris, and will therefore command a higher fee, whatever Kris’s fee is (since i gather that’s being hotly disputed on both sides, lol). Though it doesn’t seem out of the question to me that Kris could earn 50K, if this list is old and some of the others’ fees are now higher.

    Kelly, Carrie, and Daughtry command really high fees because they are clearly the most successful.

    Those are just factual statements, not attempts to speak for other people. :)

  • Elliegrll

    Clay does not seem popular enough to command that fee.

    Adam is more successful/popular than Kris, and will therefore command a higher fee

    I think people can command whatever these promoters, bookers, corporations etc. are willing to pay them. Clay’s popularity was clearly waning when he joined Spamalot, he was several years removed from AI, and he never truly had a radio presence, but the producers of that show gave him a cut of the boxoffice. That type of thing is unheard of. His mainstream popularity was non existent when PBS decided to launch a big fundraising drive around him, and when some promoter launched a tour featuring him and Ruben.

    Taylor Hick’s had no record deal, or a strong mainstream presence, but the producers of Grease paid him a couple of million for just fifteen or twenty minutes of work a night, and promoted him as the focal point of their show.

    There are a lot of older acts who haven’t released music for decades, but they are still in demand for music festivals and private events. There are some sites that list how much these people are asking for, and for some of them, it’s a lot more than what the idols on this list are getting.

    What Kris is getting has nothing to do with Adam, and vice versa.

  • Fullmoon

    If Kris makes $50K for a small part in an event, then why was anyone questioning that Adam made $75K in Moscow for an actual concert? Frankly, I thought he would have made more.

    Did someone question it?

    I don’t see any post questioning Adam’s 75k fee.

    It seems like it’s a figure that came about only because there was a tweet from some venue that said that Kris was asking for a guarantee of $50K.

    Kris wasn’t on the list so there is no bases to determine what his booking fee is. The last known fee we know of is from the smoking gun article.

    http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/drake/who-rascal-flatts-guy-and-why-he-earning-702500-gig

    It seems like the tweet came only when Adam’s name was on the list and was used along side to determine Kris worth. Cook was on the list also why not use him as a reference. Since Cook is an actual Idol winner.

    What Kris is getting has nothing to do with Adam, and vice versa

    Agree. I’m not sure why Adam’s name keeps being used as a reference point when it comes to Kris. I brought up the 75k fee because I questioned how up to date the #’s were and none of my posts questioned Kris’ fee. Kris never entered my thought because I just don’t see these two artists career related in any way. He wasn’t even on the list.

  • Elliegrll

    Kris wasn’t on the list so there is no bases to determine what is booking fee is. The last known fee we know of is from the smoking gun article.

    The Smoking Gun piece mentions tours, and I think we’ve pretty much established the point that these fees don’t refer to touring.

    I’m not sure why Adam’s name keeps being used as a reference point when it comes to Kris

    It doesn’t matter, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how the discussion spiraled out of control. No comparison to anyone was being made when the tweet was mentioned, and no one was being used as a reference point. Why would they be, since each artist’s asking price has nothing to do with what any of the others are getting, whether they won AI or not? The purpose of posting about the tweet was just to show what one venue said about Kris’ booking fees. For some reason, that the price mentioned was the same as what is mentioned for Adam on this list, seemed to be an issue. I think that’s when the comparisons and reference points started.

  • Fullmoon

    The Smoking Gun piece mentions tours, and I think we’ve pretty much established the point that these fees don’t refer to touring.

    Oh Ok.

    ross says:
    06/13/2011 at 5:34 pm
    girlygirl replied to CindyM

    A venue tweeted that Kris’s asked-for guarantee was $50K when explaining why it was too expensive for them to book him at their club

    No reason to doubt what girlygirl said, since she obviously saw the tweet. Why try to prove that the fee was only for private events, when she clearly said, “a venue tweeted” and just as clearly wrote what the amount was?

    So if the 50k was quoted in reference with a tweet regarding “a venue” than there really is no knowledge of what Kris’ booking fees are in relations to private events.

  • isisdagmar

    I think people can command whatever these promoters, bookers, corporations etc. are willing to pay them. Clay’s popularity was clearly waning when he joined Spamalot, he was several years removed from AI, and he never truly had a radio presence, but the producers of that show gave him a cut of the boxoffice. That type of thing is unheard of. His mainstream popularity was non existent when PBS decided to launch a big fundraising drive around him, and when some promoter launched a tour featuring him and Ruben.

    Taylor Hick’s had no record deal, or a strong mainstream presence, but the producers of Grease paid him a couple of million for just fifteen or twenty minutes of work a night, and promoted him as the focal point of their show.

    There are a lot of older acts who haven’t released music for decades, but they are still in demand for music festivals and private events. There are some sites that list how much these people are asking for, and for some of them, it’s a lot more than what the idols on this list are getting.

    What Kris is getting has nothing to do with Adam, and vice versa.

    Sure, I can imagine that legendary performers would still command huge fees even years after they stop making music…but culturally irrelevant american idol winners and runners-up? I mean, given what you say about Taylor Hicks, I guess it’s true. But wow, lol, I can’t imagine why those people would be a draw. But I guess that’s probably because they’re not a draw to people my age.

    And of course their fees don’t depend on each other–wasn’t the discussion that people were trying to figure out if the list is up to date? And then someone said that a venue said in a tweet that kris was asking for 50k, so if that’s true, people figured that the list must be out of date because adam (and possibly david cook?) would obviously be worth more than kris since he’s more successful and popular? I can see how that discussion would rub some people the wrong way, but it did seem like fans of both were using it as a reference point: “If Kris is making 50K now, Adam must clearly be making more than that now.” “If Adam was making 50K then, Kris could have gone up to 50K by now.” I can see how the discussion started.

    Which, sure, probably has some fan war elements. Though I don’t see why–Adam’s success indicates that he obviously commands a higher price than Kris, but it’s not like Kris is such a failure that he couldn’t command a good price, so fans of both should be happy, yes?)

    It doesn’t seem to me like being a winner or a runner-up has much to do with fees because people don’t really care that much about that outside the idol bubble: the top 4 earners are two winners, a 4th place, and a 7th place. Though sure, as Ross says, maybe the attention of being “top 2″ on idol helps because people at least know you can sing and perform.

    But obviously a lot of the fees do depend on how well you do after the show is over. or maybe it depends–at least to start–on whoever in the season is considered the best artist/singer/performer, who gets the critical acclaim and awards, or sales, since that often seems to not be the winner–as was the case with Daughtry, Adam, and Jennifer to some extent. And then of course you have Kelly and Carrie.

  • agathe.hb

    isisdagmar, I could not agree more :)
    I am happy for all these people to be able to make good money, especially in today’s economy….
    I wonder about this season’s contestants… Scotty and Lauren should just fine considering their genre, but what about the rest? I have a feeling that with all new singing shows the market is very quickly becoming oversaturated….. and the best sign for this are lower tour fees paid to the contestants :(

  • sylve

    Just look how far CLAY has come WITHOUT radio play. I don’t blame him for not succumbing to PAYOLA.He has done VERY well without following the crowd.

  • workdog

    But wow, lol, I can’t imagine why those people would be a draw.

    Eh; why does anyone follow an artist so strongly? Taste is subjective and it’s not out of the realm that there are those out there that would certainly meet those fees. One person’s culturally irrelevant is another one’s “wouldn’t give a second thought” to pay and see that “irrelevant” artist. I’m not sure why it seems like if they aren’t necessarily someone’s cuppa that it means they aren’t for someone else and the point has to be driven home repeatedly. It’s odd, for me.

    I think they are all thanking their stars for having been on Idol and through it’s “machine”; they got a great start, learned some ropes and those “gettin’ paid” have been/are working it. Good on ya, idolettes; get that paper.:-)

  • easyrider707

    Someone is drinking too much spiked cool aid on most of these ranges and the actual logic of the apearances do not correspond to these numbers. I know what Adele just got here and what a friend of mine paid to get Jimmy Buffet at his daughters wedding. Too many variable.

  • ross

    It doesn’t seem to me like being a winner or a runner-up has much to do with fees because people don’t really care that much about that outside the idol bubble: the top 4 earners are two winners, a 4th place, and a 7th place. Though sure, as Ross says, maybe the attention of being “top 2? on idol helps because people at least know you can sing and perform.

    I was only talking about Idol winners. I was answering someone who kept repeatedly questioning why Kris should be able to ask for a certain amount of money for his performances. I made the point that Idol winners have a reputation for being reliable performers and good entertainers. I didn’t say Top 2.

  • Maura73

    According to Lindsey Parker, these numbers are accurate.
    She also found out what Kris’s asking price is: “According to Hyman, Season 8 winner Kris Allen, who is not listed on Degy’s pricing sheet, earns about the same as Lee or Crystal per concert, between $15,000 and $25,000.”

    http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/422590/whats-the-price-of-an-idol/

  • isisdagmar

    I was only talking about Idol winners. I was answering someone who kept repeatedly questioning why Kris should be able to ask for a certain amount of money for his performances. I made the point that Idol winners have a reputation for being reliable performers and good entertainers. I didn’t say Top 2.

    Oh sorry, I misread, or was just being really spacey. The “good live performer” thing does seem to extend to at least the top two–or maybe just any performer who does well and is considered really good in the top 10–but I see now that you were specifically answering that question. Sorry, I’m a space cadet sometimes.

    Although…based on what Lindsey Parker found out, doesn’t it seem like Kris can’t automatically ask for that kind of fee? Which is sort of what I was saying–it only goes so far, to win or get second or do well at all on idol. A lot of it depends on how well you do in the real world.

    (not that 15k-25K isn’t good, obviously that’s a really nice living. Just, clearly doing well on idol doesn’t mean you get 50K per appearance forever. Although I’m still kind of mystified about Clay’s fee, but obviously I don’t know how this all works.)

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