A session musician is a musician that is hired to play at a recording session or at a live performance. A session musician will not often be a permanent member of a band, and will move and play with different groups when opportunities arise. Session musicians have been around since the 50s with many well known musicians being session players such as Jimmy Page and Steve Gadd. Similarly, The Wrecking Crew, A group of session musicians contributed to many famous commercial hits such as playing on The Monkees first 2 albums as well as Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys 13(Wikipedia, 2024). Session Musician’s are always being utilised in many different areas of the music industry from film music and live gigs, to recordings and backing stems. Whether in studio or on stage, session musicians play a vital role in the sound of many projects, yet many times are unsung in the industry.
What are the (academic and professional) qualifications and/or experience required to enter the profession?
Session musicians do not require any academic qualifications. However, they require lots of experience and skill on their instrument to make up for that. It is suggested you should be able to sight read well and have extensive skill on your instrument with a wide knowledge of different genres. Away from the instrument, you should be self-motivated, reliable and adaptable as well being able to work well socially12 (Ukmusic, n.d.). Overall, successful session musicians are versatile and reliable, excel on their instrument and have good networking and social skills.
What are the duties and responsibilities of the profession – what does a typical day’s work involve?
Session musicians days vary depending on the work they are doing. Most duties and responsibilities are mainly common sense such as being punctual and sociable. They should be flexible and reliable as well as open-minded and welcoming to ensure the greatest amount of work received.
A person may do a remote recording session which could see them spending most of a day working on the project. The work is alone without physical contact from the client. The Musician’s union (2023) suggests £75 for a half day of work or £150 for a full day of work but to remember to be open with the engager as each session varies.5
A person may play a gig as a session player with a band. Live performances can take many forms such as a small gig in a pub, A wedding function gig, or even a bigger music venue. The music is sometimes to be learnt at the gig with other times music or demos being sent to the musician before hand. The Musician’s Union (2024) suggests the following for single gig rates for a casual engagement:
Single performance fees
- For musicians in groups performing in pubs and clubs of up to 3 hours: £154.50 per musician
- For musicians in groups performing at functions of up to 4 hours:£206.00 per musician6
Pay can very depending on function and amount of musicians and is never set to a defined rate for every encounter.
A person may go to a recording session. A recording session can range in length but normally tends to be 3-5 hours. At the session, the musician should ensure they are fully focused and they listen carefully to what the session leader or producer has in mind to be able to quickly adapt and change their playing. For an average 3 hour session for a commercial audio release, The Musician’s Union (2023) suggests a pay of £130.7
What are the main financial and legal issues that impact on this profession?
As many jobs in the industry, session players do not earn a set income. Income can be dependent on many factors. A session musician, Jamie Ellis (2023), talks about one of the factors that affects income for him in the profession.
It’s also important to factor in the time of year. Summer is great for live shows and festivals. Christmas time is fantastic for function/party bands.
But the early months of every year are usually quiet for every musician – however, this is a perfect time to teach!2
This suggests that having a standalone career as a session musician is maybe not financially stable and musicians should look towards a more portfolio career style. This could include producing for others if working from a personal studio as a remote player or as the blog states, teaching in spare time.
Another factor to consider is geographical location. Work will be more available in busier places like city centres than in smaller towns and countryside. This can put a struggle on money since it is expensive to live and operate in a city.
Session musicians will need to fund their own instruments to perform and play which can cost lots of money but even more if they are damaged or stolen. Along with different types of insurance ranging from public liability to instrument cover, The Musician’s Union (n.d.) provides financial and mental support as well as opportunities for growth by connecting you with like minded people. New members can join from under £23 a month and some may be illegible for their join for a pound scheme.8
When recording on a track at a session or playing live, issues could arise about pay from royalties. Payment can come from many sources from stems being used in live shows to a instrumental part used in the background of a song put on spotify. When a sound recording the musician performed on is played or broadcast to the public they have the right to Equitable Renumeration, also known as Neighbouring Rights (Musician’s union, 2021). Ann Harrison (2021:103) explains how Neighbouring rights has become more popular in the last few years and how it operates in the US.
In the US these royalties are collected by one agency, SoundExchange, which is owned by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It has been around for about 20 years but has come to prominence in the last 2–3 years as a result in part of the greater interest in this area but also of course by the increase in the amount of music being streamed. This company collects and distributes royalties for the featured artist and the sound recording copyright owner when content is played on a non-interactive digital source, but it does not collect anything from broadcast on radio.3
Some legal issues can arise when payment is a factor. A session musician should ensure with the rest of the band members that they know their role as either a featured or non-featured musician before anything financial takes place. A contract can be made to legally bind the agreement between the party and ensure it can be enforced if there is a problem. For example, a time when an issue arose was between Kesha and Flo Rida. “Kesha entered the pop-music landscape as an uncredited back-up singer on rapper Flo Rida’s 2009 chart-topping single ‘Right Round’. Although she made a significant contribution to the song, Kesha did not receive any compensation for her performance”10(TeachRock, n.d.). Kesha in the end did not file a lawsuit against Flo Rida despite being integral to the song’s composition. Contracts should be used to ensure there is no dispute and if there is, it can be resolved easier. When researching, not many incidents such as this are documented as they are less common with people having more knowledge in the music industry nowadays. In 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed by a group of session musicians who believed their contributions were more integral and significant to due them compensation. In 2022, The district court of New York confirmed that $45 million had been payed to nearly 60,000 musicians as an action of the lawsuit16 (Zukoski, Mandel, 2022).
What would the potential marketing and promotional aspects of this profession look like?
It is essential to market yourself and make yourself known to others to get hired for work. Building a social media presence can help to reach a wider audience and could potentially be used to make money on the side. TikTok (2021), a leading social media app, pays out to it’s creators who meet the following criteria:
- Are based in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain or Italy.
- Are at least 18 years old
- Have at least 10,000 followers
- Have at least 100,000 video views in the last 30 days
- Have an account that fits with our TikTok Community Guidelines and terms of service11
Creators are then payed by their view count. “TikTok pays between$0.02 – $0.04 per 1000 views for a creator’s video via the ‘TikTok Creators Fund’”9(Ruby, 2025).
Another way people can promote themselves is through online freelancing websites. Session musicians can post asking for hire or respond to others to get work. In summary, Shawn Leonhardt (n.d.) says, “Besides constant practice of your instrument or voice, it is essential to market and sell what you do. Look for local music businesses, freelance, gig sites, and anywhere that a client may need a session artist.”4
What are the intellectual and personal challenges presented by the profession and how might these be dealt with?
For many, one of the personal challenges in the music industry is finding steady work. Cory Wong (2020), a well-known YouTuber, addresses this challenge by sharing his own experience: “The majority of the time when I get hired to do session work, it’s by a producer or the artist that’s doing the album themselves.” He later further explains, “It’s normally a word of mouth thing because the studio environment is very demanding and it requires an extreme amount of mental focus.”15 This shows the significance of networking and having a strong reputation in a highly competitive field. Giving a good impression to publishers and producers is also necessary in finding more work. A working session musician, Richard Curran (2024) , posted “If a producer hears you and likes your style they’ll invite you to other sessions. They might recommend you to other artists and producers. They might go on to mention you too. You start to get a few noteworthy credits and it goes on from there.”1 This ties in with how to develop and progress as a session musician by gaining work and creating a strong reputation.
What career-progression/development opportunities are available within the profession?
Apart from becoming more well known in the industry, most developments are made outside of the profession but still in the music industry. Session musicians should be open to a more portfolio career lifestyle to generate more income. From directly doing session work, you could be asked to join a band or even take part in a touring group. For example, before Jimmy Page joined Led Zeppelin in 1968, He was a well renowned session musician who toured and played with bands such as The Who and The Kinks 14(Wikipedia, 2024). Many other linked professions include tutoring and mentoring, producing or even songwriting.
In conclusion, Session Musicians are skilled professionals who contribute to the many areas in the music industry. Being a session musicians can be sustainable but many session musicians look to develop in the industry and open themselves to a more portfolio career style. However, being a session musician is a fun way to be free and to feel fresh in the music industry with every day being different. The versatility and dedication of the players make it rewarding leaving their contributions to last in music forever.
References
1 – Curran, R. (2024) What skills are needed to be a successful session musician? Quora. Aug 4 2019. https://www.quora.com/What-skills-are-needed-to-be-a-successful-session-musician?encoded_access_token=9fa13dda8fd64f9ea8604fb5e03102ef&force_dialog=1&provider=google&success=True [Accessed 3 Jan 2025].
2 – Ellis, J. (2023) An Insight Into A Week In The Life Of A Session Musician [Blog post]. Musicgateway. 13 March. https://www.musicgateway.com/blog/music-business/session-musician-a-week-in-the-life [Accessed 31 Dec 2024].
3 – Harrison, A. (2021) Music: the business (8th edition) : License deals. Virgin Books.
4 – Leonhardt, S. (n.d.) How to promote yourself as a session musician. https://www.fusion-bags.com/blogs/news/how-to-promote-yourself-as-a-session-musician [Accessed 2 Jan 2025].
5 – Musician’s Union (2023) Rate guidelines for remote recording session work. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/recording-and-broadcasting/working-as-a-recording-session-musician/rate-guidelines-for-remote-recording-session-work [Accessed 1 Jan 2025].
6 – Musician’s Union (2024) National gig rates. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/gigs-and-live-performances/live-engagement-rates-of-pay/national-gig-rates [Accessed 6 Jan].
7 – Musician’s Union (2023) BPI agreement and consent forms. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/recording-and-broadcasting/recording-agreements-rates-of-pay-and-consent-forms/bpi-agreement-and-consent-forms [Accessed 6 Jan].
8 – Musician’s Union (n.d.) Benefits of MU membership. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/membership-benefits#protect-yourself-and-your-gear [Accessed 6 Jan].
9 – Ruby, D. (2025) How much does TikTok pay in 2025 (free calculator). https://www.demandsage.com/how-much-do-you-get-paid-on-tiktok/#:~:text=TikTok%20pays%20between%20%240.02%20%2D%20%240.04,and%20the%20influencers%20on%20TikTok. [Accessed 2 Jan 2025].
10 – TeachRock (n.d.) Kesha (aka Ke$ha). https://teachrock.org/traceitback/kesha-aka-keha/#:~:text=Kesha%20entered%20the%20pop%2Dmusic,any%20compensation%20for%20her%20performance. [Accessed 6 Jan].
11 – TikTok (2021) TikTok creator fund: your questions answered. https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/tiktok-creator-fund-your-questions-answered [Accessed 2 Jan 2025].
12 – Ukmusic (n.d.) Session musician. https://www.ukmusic.org/job-profiles/session-musician/#:~:text=A%20session%20musician%20works%20mainly,music%20and%20music%20for%20radio. [Accessed 1 Jan 2025].
13 – Wikipedia (2024) The wrecking crew (music). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrecking_Crew_(music) [Accessed 5 Jan].
14 – Wikipedia (2024) Jimmy Page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Page [Accessed 6 Jan]
15 – Wong, C. (2020) How To *Musician* EPISODE 7 : Session Work – How To Musician with Cory Wong [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXQC0EeoFLE&t=458s [Accessed 1 Jan 2025].
16 – Zukoski, E. and Mandel, R. (2022) Session player royalties: making harmony out of discord. https://performermag.com/band-management/session-player-royalties-making-harmony-out-of-discord/#:~:text=On%20June%2029%2C%202022%2C%20a,of%20a%20class%20action%20lawsuit. [Accessed 5 Jan].
