Yearly Income For Luthier

November 13, 2009 at 12:59 AM ·

The stresses of the real world will make things very different, but start here:  a violin is supposed to take about 200 hours to make.  If you can sell it for $20,000, that comes to $100 per hour or maybe $200,000/year.

THat's gross, of course.  Lowering that amount are the expenses of production.  Wood, varnish, tools, running the shop, and so on.  Not to mention marketing-- whether that means dishing off to a dealer, Fedexing to prospective buyers, traveling to conventions, etc.   So net income would be less.

Raising potential net income is the possibility of using apprentices or other low-paid folk as assistants.  Stradivari did that and pushed out maybe  20 or more instruments per year instead of only 8 or 10.  He wasn't rich in Medici terms, but made a very nice living and left something of an estate.

November 13, 2009 at 01:12 AM ·

That’s assuming you can sell everything you make, which very few makers do.

November 13, 2009 at 03:02 AM ·

 I think the question contained the word "average".  I think you'd need to be above average to make 8 or 10 instruments a year that sold for $20,000 per instrument, and as Stephen hinted, you'd need a very good reputation and/or to be quite a marketer to sell 8 or 10 a year without "help" (wholesale or consignment to a dealer).

Not sure if it was on this board, but I believe there was a thread that discussed how few makers make a living exclusively making instruments (not taking in repairs, selling other instruments, or other related tasks).

November 13, 2009 at 05:56 AM ·

Here is another way to look at it.

When you take an average, consider that you are also looking at a career average. Assume the realistic scenario
For the first 10 years or longer, while you are learning the craft, you will earn well below average. It may actually cost you more than you make for the first few years; if you can outlast that, you may start making income.
For the next decade or two, your earnings will slowly increase as you develop both a reputation and the expertise to make a quality instrument
Finally, near the end of your career, you will have enough skill and knowledge to be able to craft the best you can produce (note this is your personal best; I haven't started comparing to the rest of the market yet).

Most of your income will be in the later years, with the curve starting slow, then having a reasonable but still modest increase in the mid part, and then when they get stable and dependable, will either have a high peak or a leveling off.
So, your average earnings will not occur until your mid-thirties at the earliest. Before that, get used to mac & cheese.

Next comparison; there are a number of good makers out there, and there is also a good demand for quality instruments. There is also a significant number of production violins produced that are not in the same category. There will always be external competition, aside from the need for you to build your skills.

If you are looking at the craft to get rich, there are easier ways to do it. If you are doing it because you love the craft, and have a passion for it, then it will be easy to tolerate the challenges you face starting out. No one makes a $20,000 violin the first time; it will take years of practice. What will sustain you will be your passion for the craft. If you don't feel that, somewhere along the way you will start settling for 'production' output, not always trying to make them better.

I am not trying to talk you out of it, but rather trying to let you recognize that it is an art rather than a job; you must accept it for itself. I hope you do go into the craft, and if you do, I hope you are prepared to be a success at it!

November 13, 2009 at 09:49 AM ·

This is a very competitive market today, and I agree there are easier ways to make money. As Jeffrey mentioned, the number of makers who live of new making is very low. 

November 13, 2009 at 06:00 PM ·

I know lot's of people who clear over $70,000 per year, but none of them hand craft violins for a living. Well, maybe one. People in the craft world make money buying something at one price and selling it at another, or hiring other people to do the work. You also need to think  about the financial ramifications of being self-employed, like lacking employer paid medical insurance and a retirement income. Young people don't generally  take these issues into consideration (I know I didn't) but they come back to haunt you eventually.

On the brighter side, your boss may still be a jerk but at least you have some control over that fact.  And, you get really good with your hands which may have some unlooked for benefits.

November 13, 2009 at 07:12 PM ·

Like in many fields, the best violin-makers have a good life, even only making new instruments, and even young, and the other are starving! It is more easy today to live only building than 30 years ago.

November 13, 2009 at 08:53 PM ·

If you rehair bows and do repairs you can make a lot more money than from just making instruments.

November 13, 2009 at 10:28 PM ·

Jacob, would it be OK if I pull some hypothetical questions from your general question?

Will an individual maker, doing all of the work alone and largely by hand, be able to have a standard of living above "middle class, without other sources of income"? Probably not.

Is becoming a successful full-time violin maker more probable than becoming a National Basketball Association star? Maybe a little. Neither is something I would have ever encouraged my kids to pursue or depend on, without a solid backup career.

If the question is whether you can keep yourself fed while going after this goal, the answer is a tentative "yes", if you are willing to work other jobs at the same time, and happen to have enough natural talent and persistence.

Stephen put up some good figures on the time it takes to make a violin. When all is said and done though, it's hard to put in four hours at the bench during an eight hour day. There will be phone and email inquiries, some grief with vendors, conventions to stay on top of things, and trips to buy wood, some of which will be fruitless. It all eats away at production time.

If money is at all an issue, your efforts can be better rewarded elsewhere.

November 14, 2009 at 03:22 AM ·

Well, there's good news and bad news.  The good news is that many luthiers are able to command high prices for their instruments.  But the bad news is, that doesn't happen until after they die. 

November 16, 2009 at 09:21 PM ·

 Hello Jacob.

In order to etch out a comfortable living in a musical career, you must be willing to have your hands in many "pots" as it were.  Very very few people are JUST a professional performing artist or violin maker.  

Very rarely will a luthier have his entire income based on only the instruments he makes.  Most shops offer repairs and will buy and trade instruments that are not their own.  This allows them to have at least a steady source of income, if not particularly lucrative at first.  As you become more established in your field, you can afford to be more picky.

It's the same with teaching or playing.  Most music teachers will play in weddings or orchestras on the side as a way to make extra money.  And most performers will have a few students on the side to make ends meet between gigs.

So if you are really interested in instrument making, go for it.  Just don't put all of your eggs in one basket.  A career in music is not as simple and straightforward as a 9-5 office job.  But it is entirely possible to make a decent living.