Following the announcement that this year’s Soundwave tour would be the last to visit Adelaide, promoter AJ Maddah gave a rare behind-the-scenes look at the numbers behind the event.
According to Maddah, “Your average Soundwave bill is somewhere between 10-15 million dollars in artist fees, and it costs between 2-2.5-million dollars to put on each show.”
But how much would it cost to bring together some of the most iconic musicians of all time? How much would it run promoters to put together a bill that features, say, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Janis Joplin.
Well, according to a recently resurfaced archived document detailing the amounts each act on the legendary Woodstock festival got paid, actually not that much. Provided, of course, you’re booking the acts in 1969.
For those unfamiliar with the event, it’s perhaps the most famous music festival in history. Coming at the denouement of the ’60s and the countercultural revolution, many Woodstock performances are now considered iconic pop culture moments.
[include_post id=”431034″]
To get those pop culture moments, organisers had to fork out $18,000 for headliner Jimi Hendrix. Even adjusting for inflation, that’s roughly $112,000 in 2015. Considering someone like Justin Timberlake comes with a price tag of $1 million, that’s a steal.
The guitar god was the most handsomely compensated artist on the lineup, followed by Blood, Sweat and Tears ($15,000), Joan Baez ($10,000), Creedence Clearwater Revival ($10,000), and The Band ($7,500), who round out the top five.
What’s most surprising is the amounts earned by some of today’s most lucrative and iconic touring acts, like The Who, who took home $6,250 (about $39,800 in 2015), the late Joe Cocker, who earned just $1,375, and Santana, who nabbed $750.
While the original Woodstock was certainly a big-money event, it wasn’t as pricey as some of today’s biggest events. As Consequence of Sound notes, if you want to put the whole thing in perspective, remember that Deadmau5 costs twice as much as Hendrix did in his prime.
Woodstock Payroll
1. Jimi Hendrix – $18,000
2. Blood, Sweat and Tears – $15,000
3. Joan Baez – $10,000
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival – $10,000
5. The Band – $7,500
6. Janis Joplin – $7,500
7. Jefferson Airplane – $7,500
8. Sly and the Family Stone – $7,000
9. Canned Heat – $6,500
10. The Who – $6,250
11. Richie Havens – $6,000
12. Arlo Guthrie – $5,000
13. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – $5,000
14. Ravi Shankar – $4,500
15. Johnny Winter – $3,750
16. Ten Years After – $3,250
17. Country Joe and the Fish – $2,500
18. Grateful Dead – $2,500
19. The Incredible String Band – $2,250
20. Mountain – $2,000
21. Tim Hardin – $2,000
22. Joe Cocker – $1,375
23. Sweetwater – $1,250
24. John B. Sebastian – $1,000
25. Melanie – $750
26. Santana – $750
27. Sha Na Na – $700
28. Keef Hartley – $500
29. Quill – $375
