Roadies -- the touring crew who build, run and strike live music production, from local stagehands to backline, lighting and sound specialists and senior tour managers -- are almost entirely self-employed, paid a day rate that varies enormously by role, seniority and how many days of work they secure across the year. Entry-level local crew earn around GBP 100--GBP 150 a day, while senior tour and production managers on larger tours can command GBP 250--GBP 500 or more. Because touring work is seasonal and irregular, annual income depends heavily on how many booked days a crew member achieves, not the day rate alone. This guide sets out realistic UK day rates and annualised pay by experience level, shows estimated take-home after Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance for 2026/27, and explains the day-rate structure, expenses and the trade-offs of self-employed touring life. All figures are estimates -- use the linked calculators for your own numbers.
Day rates rise with specialism and seniority, but annualised income depends just as much on how many booked days a crew member achieves across the year as on the rate itself -- a specialist with 200 booked days at GBP 180/day earns more than a generalist with 80 days at GBP 250/day.
| Level | Stage | Typical pay | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local / Casual Crew | Entry-level, agency-booked | GBP 100--GBP 150/day | Venue load-in/out, festival build/strike, often part-time alongside other work |
| Touring Stagehand / General Crew | 1--3 years | GBP 22,000--GBP 28,000 equivalent | Regular tour bookings, day rate GBP 130--GBP 180 annualised across a touring season |
| Backline / Lighting / Sound Tech | Specialist, 3+ years | GBP 28,000--GBP 40,000+ | Day rate GBP 150--GBP 250, in demand for arena and festival-circuit tours |
| FOH Engineer / Head Rigger | Senior specialist | GBP 35,000--GBP 55,000+ | Day rate GBP 200--GBP 350, mixes tours with one-off show and festival bookings |
| Tour Manager / Production Manager | Senior, whole-crew responsibility | GBP 45,000--GBP 70,000+ | Budgeting and logistics for the tour, day rate GBP 250--GBP 500+ on larger tours |
Ranges are indicative and vary by genre, tour size and how many booked days a crew member secures across the year. Annualised figures assume typical seasonal availability, not year-round full-time work.
2026/27 England rates. Personal Allowance GBP 12,570. Figures assume the amount shown is self-employed taxable profit (after allowable business expenses have already been deducted from turnover), taxed with Income Tax plus Class 4 National Insurance -- not gross day-rate turnover.
| Scenario | Profit | Income tax | Class 4 NI | Net/year | Net/month | Keep % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-Level Local Crew | GBP 16,000 | GBP 686 | GBP 206 | GBP 15,108 | GBP 1,259/mo | 94% |
| Regular Touring Crew | GBP 24,000 | GBP 2,286 | GBP 686 | GBP 21,028 | GBP 1,752/mo | 88% |
| Backline/Lighting Tech | GBP 32,000 | GBP 3,886 | GBP 1,166 | GBP 26,948 | GBP 2,246/mo | 84% |
| Senior Touring Crew (FOH/Rigger) | GBP 42,000 | GBP 5,886 | GBP 1,766 | GBP 34,348 | GBP 2,862/mo | 82% |
| Tour/Production Manager | GBP 55,000 | GBP 9,432 | GBP 2,357 | GBP 43,211 | GBP 3,601/mo | 79% |
For a full self-employed profit picture including expenses, use the self-employed tax calculator, or for net income the sole trader take-home calculator.
Touring crew are almost always paid a day rate rather than a salary, covering rehearsal/build days and show days, with per diems (a daily food and incidentals allowance, commonly GBP 25--GBP 45) typically paid on top and not counted as taxable profit where they simply reimburse genuine subsistence costs. Because bookings are seasonal -- busiest through festival season and the autumn/winter arena circuit, quietest in January to March -- annual income depends heavily on the number of booked days a crew member secures, which is why two people on the same day rate can earn very different annual totals.
The large majority of UK touring crew are self-employed, booked show-by-show or tour-by-tour, and keep all the profit after business costs (tools, flight cases, insurance, training) but have no sick pay, holiday pay or employer pension contribution, and face real gaps between bookings. A smaller number of crewing and staging companies engage regular crew on PAYE casual or fixed-term contracts for specific runs, offering steadier (if lower) income and statutory employment rights for the duration of the contract. Use the sole trader take-home calculator to model self-employed net income after tax, National Insurance and business costs.
