Studio Musicians: Who Are They and How to Become One?

A studio musician, also known as a session musician, is a professional artist hired often on a freelance or contract basis to work on projects for other artists, bands, or producers. Originally, the term ‘session musician’ referred to artists hired to support an artist during a recording session.

Nowadays, however, the scope of the role is not so straightforward. Session musicians are hired for both studio recordings and live performances, appearing on TV, in advertising, or on film soundtracks. They can also act as a ‘pit player’ (providing musical accompaniment in a play, musical, or opera), perform in house bands or specialty acts to entertain in clubs, bars, and cabarets, or record/make samples or backing tracks for others.

In fact, there is a wide variety of session musician types, often based on their main instrument, musical skills, or role in recording or performance settings. The most common types of session musicians are:

• Instrumentalists: These musicians are hired to play a specific musical instrument during recording sessions or live performances; e.g., session drummers, guitarists, pianists, etc.

• Session vocalists: They are brought to a project to bring backing or specialty vocal performances; e.g., backing vocalists, demo vocalists, lead session vocalists, or character voices.

• Programmers/electronic musicians: This type of session musician is becoming more common in today’s studios and settings. Such artists somewhat overtake the role of a digital specialist, focusing on MIDI programming, sample/loop creation, synth design, drum machines, or beat-making.

• Orchestral players/bands: This category is typically used for TV, film, or classical productions. Again, it can be organized based on the instrumental focus of individual players; e.g., session violinists, bassists, trumpetists, etc.

• Remote session musicians: These are often home-studio-based artists who work remotely and deliver stems and recordings online. They often offer their services through platforms like Fiverr, SoundBetter, or AirGigs.

• Live performance player (or a band): This category includes musicians or ensembles of musicians who support artists during live performances, whether it's for single concerts or entire tours.

As outlined before, a defining characteristic of all session musicians is that they are not permanent members of a band or an artist’s crew. Typically, their job doesn’t involve much creative work or engagement. They are rarely requested to provide any creative input, such as helping to write lyrics, compose melodies, or develop the recording artist’s original ideas.

Instead, they come into a project as backup musicians—either instrumentalists or vocalists—to support the main artist in achieving their artistic vision. They contribute their musical talents along with adaptability, flexibility, versatility, and, most importantly, proficiency in playing multiple instruments or delivering vocal performances across various genres and styles.

Their ability to interpret musical directions, adapt to others’ visions, and quickly understand and execute musical concepts makes them ideally suited for collaborations in high-quality music productions.

Now, for those who view music as a form of creative self-expression, a lack of creativity might make the role seem deeply unfulfilling. However, that’s often far from the truth for many session musicians.

“When you're pursuing your own artistic endeavors, it's incredibly exhausting. It demands an objective self-awareness where you view yourself and the things you make as a product, and that takes a lot out of you. It doesn’t have the same energy drain as when you’re working on your own stuff,” said Samuel Organ, a multi-instrumentalist and session musician, in James Cartwright’s article.

The point he’s trying to make is that being a studio musician gives one access to and opportunities for working on music without the stress, pressure, and ego of having to prove oneself creatively. For more introverted individuals who are not so keen on live performances and gaining notoriety, it also offers a chance to play and enjoy music without performing in front of large audiences.

In other words, for many artists, session work offers the perfect balance of what a music career provides. It brings the joy and excitement of creating music, performing, and collaborating, without the commitment that comes with managing one’s own musical projects or the pressure to succeed as a released artist.

Providing less creative input also doesn’t mean that a session musician's work is boring or monotonous. On the contrary, the role can offer a lot of excitement, diversity, and unique learning opportunities, enriching artists both professionally and personally.

One thing that’s usually not part of the package for session musicians is fame or notoriety. As mentioned earlier, their work is mostly behind the scenes, meaning they operate primarily in the shadows of the industry's big names.

As always, there are exceptions to this rule with highly requested session musicians like Carol Kaye, Hal Blaine, The Wrecking Crew, Steve Gadd, or The Funk Brothers, making a name for themselves as session musicians. From time to time, it can simply happen that top session musicians get more successful and publicly recognized.

Usually, having a career in obscurity isn't a deal-breaker for those who choose session work—in fact, it lets them live the life of a musician without compromising their own privacy or that of their loved ones. However, it’s important for those considering session work to understand that, more often than not, they will go largely unnoticed by the wider society and that sharing the spotlight and recognition with big stars is unlikely. If that’s something you want to achieve, a career as a session musician might not be the right fit.

Going back to our points about the lack of creativity and public recognition, we want to emphasize that these aspects of the job (which may be downsides for some) do not mean that session musicians are any less competent or talented than the artists or bands signed under the songs that fans love and listen to.

In fact, they bring skills and expertise that often play an essential role in shaping the final recording, whether that’s by playing a short guitar solo on a single track, providing drums or backing vocals across a whole record, or enhancing the overall sound of the recording. Regardless of the size of a project, a session musician’s role can be incredibly diverse, and their impact vast. These are just examples of the key aspects of their role as well as desired skills:

• Technical skills: Studio musicians are required to show exceptional technical proficiency on their chosen instruments (or simply in their chosen area of expertise).

• Genre flexibility: Often, session musicians are expected to switch genres as easily as hats and excel at each one. Their ability to adapt to different styles, tones, and creative directions within genres is essential.

• Interpreting musical concepts and directions: Doing a good job as a session musician doesn’t end at simply performing what they are told. Music is a deeply emotional art, and just playing or singing notes, or creating beats, will not cut it. A session musician must understand the desired emotional tone, dynamics, and nuances that a particular piece of music requires.

• Collaboration skills: Session work involves collaborating with someone on their project, which often requires strong social skills, professionalism, and teamwork.

• Adaptability: A high level of adaptability is expected from session musicians across different areas. Whether that concerns genres and styles, technical advancements, or the ever-hanging trends in the music industry, it’s absolutely essential that a session musician is ready to tackle anything.

• Fast turnaround: People often say, “Time is money,” and that really applies in a recording studio. Recording time is valuable, and it’s therefore vital that it’s used in the best way possible. For that reason, session musicians are expected to have strong time management skills and aim to be as accurate and efficient as possible.

• Consistent quality: Whether in the studio or on the stage, session musicians are required to deliver consistent, top-notch quality performance.

• Technology familiarity: Session musicians often need to stay up-to-date with the latest technology and studio gear. This involves working with a computer, digital audio workstations (DAWs), and the sound system, as well as understanding different recording techniques and signal processing.

It’s common for studio musicians to have their own solo careers or music ventures outside of session work, but choose the latter as their primary income—whether that’s for the reasons mentioned above or simply because it pays better in their case.

When it comes to generating revenue enough to make a living, the music industry is generally not the most convenient or best-paying field—especially for creatives. However, for some, session work feels like an area where they can have more control over their earnings.

Don’t get us wrong, it can still be very unpredictable with projects and clients constantly coming and going, but that’s true for any freelancer, regardless of their field. With plenty of hard work, a proactive approach, adaptability, and networking skills, it is possible for session musicians to build a string of rather consistent opportunities and clientele that enables them to turn it into a profitable career.

Speaking of generating revenue, it’s important to take a closer look at the entire business side of session work. Most typically, session musicians, just like any other freelancers, are independent contractors who move between projects that are usually shorter in duration. Their potential clientele can differ greatly as they can be engaged directly with record labels, production companies, solo artists/bands, or even ad agencies (for jingles), and other commercial studios.

They can also be hired through fixers or music contractors, who are essentially middlemen connecting musicians with clients. Usually, this is for larger projects and productions and is most common in major cities like Los Angeles, Nashville, and London.

Perhaps less common but still important is union work, which tends to be more prevalent in certain sectors of the music industry, especially those with larger budgets and formal production standards. This includes film and TV scoring, video game soundtracks, major-label recording sessions, and orchestral or classical projects. Conversely, union work is rare in indie music or projects with smaller budgets.

An area that has been expanding in recent years and is becoming more prominent for studio musicians is remote or online session work. This idea involves session musicians recording tracks in their home studios and submitting files online. It is typically supported by online platforms that focus on freelance work both within and outside the music business, such as Fiverr, SoundBetter, and AirGigs.

Just as the client or ‘employer’ can vary during session work, so do the payment models. Most commonly, session musicians are paid a flat fee per song, hour, or day, depending on the scope of the session. For larger or longer-term projects, an alternative model is a full project fee, which covers multiple tracks or a complete album. Hourly or per-song rates are more frequent in short, one-off projects, while project-based fees are typically used when a studio musician is involved over several weeks or throughout the course of a full production.

In union work, there are usually set wage scales (or at least minimum rates, such as AFM rates in the US) that might include reuse or residuals. Reuse means that a recording is used in a different context or format, and the session musician is paid again for that use. Meanwhile, residuals represent ongoing payments for recorded performances, paid when the music is broadcast repeatedly, the performance is sold, or appears on digital platforms like Netflix or Amazon.

Rates can vary widely, too, depending on the location, project, type of employment, and the artist’s skills, expertise, and experience. They can typically range from $50 to $300+ per song or $25 to $500+ per hour. Experienced session players or those in major music hubs may ask for higher rates.

In the USA, session musicians are legally entitled to 5% of digital radio royalties paid through the Intellectual Property Rights Distribution. Outside the US, session musicians receive neighboring rights for radio royalties. However, there are no universal laws mandating that session musicians must earn royalties from the sales or streams of recordings on which they perform. This is also why they usually don’t earn any, unless they negotiate it during project discussions, and it is explicitly agreed upon in a contract.

Generally speaking, it is possible for session musicians to negotiate for streaming or sales royalties; however, this is unfortunately still relatively uncommon, especially in the context of major labels. It is more likely to occur in independent projects and settings, where artists may be more open to promoting fairness and sharing revenue.

Since they are usually hired on a ‘work-for-hire’ basis, session musicians typically do not own the copyrights to their performances unless it is specifically negotiated otherwise. Although rare, they can negotiate for a share of the publishing rights if they make a significant creative contribution to a musical work, such as composing. While they usually have limited copyright in their performance, they still possess certain rights, including the right to be credited for their performance or the right to object to derogatory treatment of their performance.

Networking is essential for a studio musician's career, especially in the early stages. More often than not, work opportunities and high-profile projects come through word-of-mouth or recommendations within local communities and scenes. Therefore, it’s important to actively participate in your community, be proactive, and consistently work on expanding your string of contacts.

In addition to networking, it’s important to create an online presence for yourself. Treat session work like any other freelance service and promote it thoroughly. Build a website or an artist page, and stay active on social media platforms that suit you, to showcase your work, expertise, and skills.

As we all know, music gigs and projects can sometimes be hectic and less conventional when it comes to schedules and deadlines. It’s therefore vital that you show your full availability and adapt to any scheduling conditions in your projects.

Next to that, versatility and flexibility are also highly valued in the field of session work, especially when starting your journey, and when building your portfolio is key. Not every project—especially smaller or entry-level gigs—may be interesting or intriguing enough, but they might play an essential role when it comes to your experience, skills learned or improved, as well as financial reward.