Musicians and Singers
Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Musicians and Singers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | Not published | $20.35 |
| 25th | Not published | $27.57 |
| 50th · Median | Not published | $47.80 |
| 75th | Not published | $75.33 |
| 90th | Not published | $132.56 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (48)
Typical tasks
- Perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings.
- Practice performances, individually or in rehearsal with other musicians, to master individual pieces of music or to maintain and improve skills.
- Specialize in playing a specific family of instruments or a particular type of music.
- Play musical instruments as soloists, or as members or guest artists of musical groups such as orchestras, ensembles, or bands.
- Provide the musical background for live shows, such as ballets, operas, musical theatre, and cabarets.
- Play from memory or by following scores.
Expand more tasks (20)
- Sight-read musical parts during rehearsals.
- Seek out and learn new music suitable for live performance or recording.
- Listen to recordings to master pieces or to maintain and improve skills.
- Make or participate in recordings.
- Make or participate in recordings in music studios.
- Sing as a soloist or as a member of a vocal group.
- Interpret or modify music, applying knowledge of harmony, melody, rhythm, and voice production to individualize presentations and maintain audience interest.
- Practice singing exercises and study with vocal coaches to develop voice and skills and to rehearse for upcoming roles.
- Sing a cappella or with musical accompaniment.
- Teach music for specific instruments.
- Transpose music to alternate keys, or to fit individual styles or purposes.
- Memorize musical selections and routines, or sing following printed text, musical notation, or customer instructions.
- Observe choral leaders or prompters for cues or directions in vocal presentation.
- Collaborate with a manager or agent who handles administrative details, finds work, and negotiates contracts.
- Arrange and edit music to fit style and purpose.
- Improvise music during performances.
- Audition for orchestras, bands, or other musical groups.
- Perform in television, radio, or movie productions.
- Promote their own or their group's music by participating in media interviews and other activities.
- Research particular roles to find out more about a character, or the time and place in which a piece is set.
Skills used in this work
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Expand more skills (29)
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
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