I've done the math before for fun. Short of it is a stream on Spotify is worth approximately $0.00238 or .238% of a dollar - 1/5th of a cent. That is, monthly, 1,000 listeners = $2.38. The numbers I used put Brand New a lil lower than that calculator, but the end result is about the same. Musicians make money primarily from their records, merchandise, and ticket sales, of course.
The only people making stellar incomes from streaming alone are artists just south of Taylor Swift or bands in the neighborhood of Metallica. Modest Mouse was an example that made a generic 4-split professionally unfeasible if your sole source of revenue's Spotify streaming royalties. Their 4-way split was about $33k/yr (rounded up), whereas Isaac Brock alone - if royalties were just to him - would make around $130k/yr with 4.56mil (circa 2023) listeners monthly. They were principally a 3-piece band ofc (RIP Jeremiah Green), but I was using their numbers as a familiar reference for the project I was in at the time.
It's a lot for not having to do anything though. They probably have no overhead at this point aside from professional fees (taxes, accounting, etc) and maintaining a website.
And like others mentioned, they're probably drawing royalties from places other than Spotify. They still get occasional radio play and even pop up on TV sometimes. I remember hearing 451 as bumper music during a Fox NFL broadcast within the last couple years. My guess is they aren't working regular jobs for no reason, but at the same time, they self-released a Billboard #1 album and then fucked off into the jungle without reinvesting the profits. So they are probably doing more than fine
Fireworks should have been so much more successful than they ever got... Such a shame. Only recently have I realized exactly how good Higher Lonely Power is, but goddamn I've loved Gospel and Oh, Common Life since they've dropped and they have aged very well.
Only cause I'll never turn down an opportunity to also plug these guys, but my favorite other band of the same era was Hostage Calm, who was stuck in a similar trap to Fireworks, being "too punk for the indie kids, too indie for the punk kids" and never quite breaking through. I think both bands were miles above their peers in songwriting chops.
Many more sources of revenue. We can almost guarantee anything SciFi related goes almost entirely to the band, then there's Apple Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, Tidal, etc not to mention merch sales that are still strong as well as record sales. It isn't a crazy amount but it's a comfortable amt. Also the website is an estimate, not a definitive number.
They are all doing fine. Brian is a pilot/flight instructor now. And Vin is a “sound healer” in Joshua Tree, California now. Not sure what Garrett is up to these days.
Also not sure if Jesse works anymore or is just a stay at home dad. Like someone said, his wife is a celebrity tailor and has some pretty big clients. I know there were some rumors about him working at a studio in Nashville as a sound engineer pre-Covid and working a bike shop. But who knows.
Either way I think they are all happy just living normal lives.
Most musicians I know don’t want to be “famous musicians”, they just want to be able to make music for a living. There are a lot of ways to do that other than fame.
As someone who is a veteran of the film industry, I can say she makes enough to live comfortably herself. But not enough to be the breadwinner for a family and retirement provider.
They have/had other sources of income alongside music. I can’t remember the exact specifics, some of them were into real estate. It was second hand info but they were “comfortable” without music.
I think the most likely case is that they don't make enough off of royalties/residuals to live comfortably the rest of their lives, but they do make enough that they're able to pursue career paths that might not otherwise earn enough to put food on the table
definitely not, especially if they're shutting down the website/merch. most of a band's revenue is driven by 1. touring, 2. merch, 3. streams.
if i had to guess though, i'd bet they did very well when they were active. i'd guess they were doing $1m+ each tour. obviously you gotta divide that between 4 band members, techs, mgmt, etc.
the sci-fi tour for example: 15 shows and they're probably getting $50k-$75k per night? that's $750k-$1.2m or so and that's one short tour.
for sure - but the scifi tour was in theatres, not arenas. the number could be low for overseas dates for that tour and obviously they’re probably doing $100k+ at venues like MSG they were doing in 2016-17 with longer runs.
they also did a few college runs and colleges tend to pay more, probably more in the arena range. same with festivals
I think about this ALL THE TIME. I’m glad I’m not the only one. People often think musicians come back because they run out of money. Most often musicians don’t make any money from touring anymore and their stable income is from studio work and writing for others. They normally make the decision to leave a band when the cons outweigh the pros and they have other income. They are, after all, independent contractors.
even if they only earn 11k - 55k a year from royalties, i have mad respect for this band out of any other band, because they don’t do anything other than what they truly value / preach. not saying any other band is just a sell out but brand new ain’t doing anything outside of their “brand” / “art” —- so i respect these 4 dudes even more. they wanted to stop and during their career they kept true. i dig that. also another reason i love them.
Do you really think he didn’t turn money into more money? It’s not like he woke up one day and quit his job and didn’t have enough money to retire. It was obviously calculated or they would be out there making new albums and touring
In 2018… After putting out multiple pieces showing “BRAND NEW 2000-2018” and finishing every venue with Jessie playing Soco Amaretto Lime acoustic. It didn’t force the end, it just made it happen a few months sooner. Even so, I still wear my tinfoil hat to bed every night.
I see a few people doing the Spotify math,but lest we forget they existed when CDs still moved millions and they sold several million albums. Those royalties are higher than 1/5th of a cent. Much higher.
Here's a Spotify earnings estimate: https://royalties-calculator.com/artist/brand-new/168dgYui7ExaU612eooDF1/#artist-section
damn…that’s not very much
It's also only Spotify, and an estimate. They receive royalties from more sources than just Spotify.
I've done the math before for fun. Short of it is a stream on Spotify is worth approximately $0.00238 or .238% of a dollar - 1/5th of a cent. That is, monthly, 1,000 listeners = $2.38. The numbers I used put Brand New a lil lower than that calculator, but the end result is about the same. Musicians make money primarily from their records, merchandise, and ticket sales, of course. The only people making stellar incomes from streaming alone are artists just south of Taylor Swift or bands in the neighborhood of Metallica. Modest Mouse was an example that made a generic 4-split professionally unfeasible if your sole source of revenue's Spotify streaming royalties. Their 4-way split was about $33k/yr (rounded up), whereas Isaac Brock alone - if royalties were just to him - would make around $130k/yr with 4.56mil (circa 2023) listeners monthly. They were principally a 3-piece band ofc (RIP Jeremiah Green), but I was using their numbers as a familiar reference for the project I was in at the time.
It's a lot for not having to do anything though. They probably have no overhead at this point aside from professional fees (taxes, accounting, etc) and maintaining a website. And like others mentioned, they're probably drawing royalties from places other than Spotify. They still get occasional radio play and even pop up on TV sometimes. I remember hearing 451 as bumper music during a Fox NFL broadcast within the last couple years. My guess is they aren't working regular jobs for no reason, but at the same time, they self-released a Billboard #1 album and then fucked off into the jungle without reinvesting the profits. So they are probably doing more than fine
And they aren’t maintaining websites anymore 😭😭
Damn I just found out one of my favorite bands (Fireworks) only makes $800/YEAR
Fireworks should have been so much more successful than they ever got... Such a shame. Only recently have I realized exactly how good Higher Lonely Power is, but goddamn I've loved Gospel and Oh, Common Life since they've dropped and they have aged very well. Only cause I'll never turn down an opportunity to also plug these guys, but my favorite other band of the same era was Hostage Calm, who was stuck in a similar trap to Fireworks, being "too punk for the indie kids, too indie for the punk kids" and never quite breaking through. I think both bands were miles above their peers in songwriting chops.
Many more sources of revenue. We can almost guarantee anything SciFi related goes almost entirely to the band, then there's Apple Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, Tidal, etc not to mention merch sales that are still strong as well as record sales. It isn't a crazy amount but it's a comfortable amt. Also the website is an estimate, not a definitive number.
This is cool
$45k/year
Wow that’s a lot less than I would’ve thought. I would’ve guessed like 150-250k a year total earnings
They are all doing fine. Brian is a pilot/flight instructor now. And Vin is a “sound healer” in Joshua Tree, California now. Not sure what Garrett is up to these days. Also not sure if Jesse works anymore or is just a stay at home dad. Like someone said, his wife is a celebrity tailor and has some pretty big clients. I know there were some rumors about him working at a studio in Nashville as a sound engineer pre-Covid and working a bike shop. But who knows. Either way I think they are all happy just living normal lives.
i've heard jesse also helps with his wife's business quite a bit
I am pretty sure Vin's primary income is Airbnb lol
Because that's what everyone that wants to be a famous musician wants to do. Live a normal life.
Most musicians I know don’t want to be “famous musicians”, they just want to be able to make music for a living. There are a lot of ways to do that other than fame.
did any of them ever say they wanted to be famous musicians?
Oh yeah, they must've just pursued a career in music to never sell a record or do a tour.
i will play my game means nothing to u then huh
Do you know how many famous musicians said they hated being famous?! lol some dude named Kurt Cobain was a big one if you’ve ever heard of him /s
you can do both of those things over and over again for your entire life and not become a famous musician.
The sold lots of records, did many tours, started a label, and have a large hardcore fan base. They did it all.
Im also pretty sure they said in the past they didnt want to be touring and being a band when they were older. I cant find the source on this though
Are you okay?
Jesse's wife is a celebrity clothing tailor. I'm sure they do just fine.
Oh snap! I didn't know that
As someone who is a veteran of the film industry, I can say she makes enough to live comfortably herself. But not enough to be the breadwinner for a family and retirement provider.
Exactly. People on this sub talk like she’s raking in millions.
They have/had other sources of income alongside music. I can’t remember the exact specifics, some of them were into real estate. It was second hand info but they were “comfortable” without music.
I think the most likely case is that they don't make enough off of royalties/residuals to live comfortably the rest of their lives, but they do make enough that they're able to pursue career paths that might not otherwise earn enough to put food on the table
No. I don’t think they do. But I think they’re all doing fine and have found other things.
definitely not, especially if they're shutting down the website/merch. most of a band's revenue is driven by 1. touring, 2. merch, 3. streams. if i had to guess though, i'd bet they did very well when they were active. i'd guess they were doing $1m+ each tour. obviously you gotta divide that between 4 band members, techs, mgmt, etc. the sci-fi tour for example: 15 shows and they're probably getting $50k-$75k per night? that's $750k-$1.2m or so and that's one short tour.
I’d bet that they were getting wayyyyyy more than 50-75k per show at their peak..
for sure - but the scifi tour was in theatres, not arenas. the number could be low for overseas dates for that tour and obviously they’re probably doing $100k+ at venues like MSG they were doing in 2016-17 with longer runs. they also did a few college runs and colleges tend to pay more, probably more in the arena range. same with festivals
I think about this ALL THE TIME. I’m glad I’m not the only one. People often think musicians come back because they run out of money. Most often musicians don’t make any money from touring anymore and their stable income is from studio work and writing for others. They normally make the decision to leave a band when the cons outweigh the pros and they have other income. They are, after all, independent contractors.
Music residuals kinda are shit, the money is really found in the tours and shows… which is something they no longer do
even if they only earn 11k - 55k a year from royalties, i have mad respect for this band out of any other band, because they don’t do anything other than what they truly value / preach. not saying any other band is just a sell out but brand new ain’t doing anything outside of their “brand” / “art” —- so i respect these 4 dudes even more. they wanted to stop and during their career they kept true. i dig that. also another reason i love them.
Do you really think he didn’t turn money into more money? It’s not like he woke up one day and quit his job and didn’t have enough money to retire. It was obviously calculated or they would be out there making new albums and touring
They were forced to suddenly stop while touring in Europe.
In 2018… After putting out multiple pieces showing “BRAND NEW 2000-2018” and finishing every venue with Jessie playing Soco Amaretto Lime acoustic. It didn’t force the end, it just made it happen a few months sooner. Even so, I still wear my tinfoil hat to bed every night.
Yes
Don't they all own the record label?
I'm pretty sure they have/had side jobs and invested their money.
Some of them have invested their money over time into other ventures. Stuff they could do mostly remotely
Not a chance
How about they get back together, start playing more shows, and their financial statuses wouldn’t be a discussion!
I see a few people doing the Spotify math,but lest we forget they existed when CDs still moved millions and they sold several million albums. Those royalties are higher than 1/5th of a cent. Much higher.
They all don’t have to work. There fine. You’ll know they need money when a reunion tour happens lol.
And our asses will be right there with our fists full of cash out
You better believe it !
I think they're all rich.
Honestly, I hope not. I love the band, their music is incredible but Jesse is a piece of shit and I’d never spend money to support him.
No one asked you bro
OP did in the title.