Do magicians make good money? Is it worth the time and effort to become a magician? With the grime, dirt, and stains that magicians get when they perform their tricks on stage, you might be surprised by what they are actually paid.
While not as lucrative as either doctors or lawyers, professional magicians do make decent money but that heavily relies on skill level, experience, and where you perform most of the time.
Do Magicians get paid well?
Lance Burton’s famous magic act “The Illusionist” made him a millionaire, but that is more the exception than the rule. Most magicians are paid $80-$400 per show which can be as little as ten minutes.
Most do an average of three shows per day and have to drive between shows as they are not close to each other. The tent circuit pays much better, but most magicians aren’t doing that anymore because they don’t have the energy (or stamina) to perform in such conditions.
The way you start as a magician depends on where you live. If you live in a small town, the chances is good that your local magic store or club may hire you on an hourly basis.
Most jobs are at least part-time though, with most magicians doing performing on weekends. A traveling magician can earn $500-$2000 per week, depending upon the number of shows and how good they are.
Factors affecting how much a Magician Gets Paid
Experience:
As a magician earning money depends on how much experience you have. As your experience increases, the money you make will too. Magicians often have to invest in their own tricks and props, but the more experienced ones make more money from those investments.
Skill Level:
How skilled you are as a magician matters too when it comes to making money as a magician. The more skilled you are, the better shows you can put together and the more people will want to see them and want to pay for them too.
Location:
The place where a magician spends most of their time making money as a magician can have a big impact too.
A local market may not be as lucrative as the big time cities like Las Vegas or New York, but they aren’t as competitive either, so even smaller markets can be good for a start in your career as a magician. If you get on tv , you’ll make more money than if you don’t too as tv often brings in a lot of audiences in to watch.
Patience:
Making money as a magician takes time and effort simply because you have to build up your reputation first.
Along with that, there are plenty of shows out there where the audience doesn’t want to watch magic so that makes it much harder for a magician to make any money from their show and often puts them out of work for weeks until they find another opportunity.
Time:
for some, magic is a hobby and they do it for fun, but for others, magic is their job. Many magicians have their skills honed to perfection and are able to perform a trick in less than a second. For example, David Blaine can do a number of tricks in less than five seconds using only the power of his lungs and hands which makes him very attractive to those who need something fast.
Can you make a living as a magician?
it’s possible to live a comfortable lifestyle with an average salary of $25,000 per year while performing two shows a week.” It depends on where you live and to whom you perform. At one time, it was possible to perform three shows a day.
Some magicians only had one show a week though and that was still good money if they were booked solid. Now, most people only get two shows a week because of the competition. To be Frank, making enough money as a magician is not easy and most people who do it are trying to become famous. The only way to do that is to join a magic show.
Final Thoughts
Depending on your location, skill level, and experience, you can live a comfortable lifestyle while performing two shows a week and taking part in the magicians community or you can be broke as a joke. If what you want is to make money as a magician, then don’t expect to make it easily.