He is a staunch advocate and fan of music from other countries, and has long felt that the term 'world music' is absurd and reductive. 'But they also totally understand what I'm trying to do.'īyrne also spends considerable time in his book discussing art and music movements outside of the U.S., folding in observations from Balinese gamelan music, Japanese theater, Brazilian pop, and more. 'My business managers don't love that part,' Byrne said. Not bad, he writes - it's 'what an elementary school teacher makes in New Jersey.' Few musicians at Byrne's level have shared this financial information publicly.

After subtracting the considerable expenses involved in making the record, which he breaks down in detail, he notes that he took home $58,000. In one example, he notes that he got paid an advance of $225,000 for making his 2004 solo effort Grown Backwards. >'I also thought that by being transparent and using my own experience as an example, I could let other musicians see what their options are - and how their decisions might pan out.'īyrne is remarkably forthcoming in his book about how much he gets paid over the course of making an album. Then it hits home, and the reader can sense what it takes for a musician to survive.' 'It's all very abstract and confusing until you bring it down to what exactly one makes on a record, or for a year’s worth of work. 'I also thought that by being transparent and using my own experience as an example, I could let other musicians see what their options are - and how their decisions might pan out,' Byrne said.

David byrne's how music works