Question about pay
  • ElizabethS
    Posts: 48
    I know this has been discussed here a number of times, but I need to ask about organist pay.

    My parish employs me and one other organist. My understanding is that the pay hasn't been raised in 30ish years (I'm newer to the parish than the other organist). We are hoping to negotiate a pay raise. So, I have two questions for those of you who are paid per Mass, as that's how it would be set up, rather than a salary.

    1) How much do you make per Mass, and what type of area do you live in, if you don't mind sharing (rural, urban, east or west coast, etc.)?
    2) Is your per-Mass rate for every Mass of the year, or do you have a higher rate for Masses such as Holy Week or Christmas, where the Masses are longer and more involved, and require more preparation?

    Any information you can share with me would be very much appreciated. God bless you all, and happy new year!
  • MarkB
    Posts: 1,110
    I have the parish pay substitute director/accompanists $250 for the first Mass, then $200 for subsequent Masses on the same weekend with the same music. That includes a warmup with the choir for 30 minutes before Mass. Rehearsals would pay $200 each. That's the highest rate in my diocese, which is a medium-sized suburban region in the Midwest. I think it's important to pay a professional rate. Other parishes pay $75-$125 per Mass, which I think is way too low. For funerals I charge $275, and for weddings $325.

    If you also choose music and direct from the console, I think the rate should be $250 per Mass and $200 for each rehearsal.

    It's also very important to realize and factor in whether the parish will 1099 you or withhold income taxes. If you are 1099'd, you would be responsible for paying taxes on your income in a lump sum before April 15 of the following year that could amount to 50% of what you were paid all year long because you would be responsible to pay the self-employment tax as well as the Social Security, Medicare, and ordinary state and federal income taxes.

    The rate you are paid needs to be high enough to compensate for the tax liability that the income entails while still making it worthwhile for your time and skill. A $200 rate per Mass equates to only about $140 net per Mass, maybe even as low as $110 per Mass, depending on whether the parish treats you as an employee or an independent contractor.
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  • opus2080
    Posts: 16
    I am a part time director of music for a parish with two churches approximately 20 miles apart in New England. One big main church and a mission in a nearby village. I have 3 weekend masses, approximately 75 funerals a year, plus music for all weekday solemnities and holy days. I am paid $125 per mass, plus a salary of $87.50 per week for administrative duties and a rehearsal.
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  • davido
    Posts: 1,011
    $150 per mass. Seems like a standard rate around here. East coast, small town.
  • Magdalene
    Posts: 22
    Upstate New York, I get paid full time salary, but additionally compensated for Funerals and Weddings.
    $350 for Weddings, $150 for Funerals. Based off of that, I would say it is fair to pay extra for Holy Week, Christmas etc when more is involved, just as there's more involved with weddings than funerals. I second what MarkB said about taxes. Since I am already full time, the parish pulls that for me, since the checks are written out to the Church. There isn't much left after that.
  • Bri
    Posts: 113
    Here are the compensation guidelines for the Archdiocese of Chicago:

    https://pvm.archchicago.org/divine-worship/music/compensation-guidelines

    The "Musicians Compensation Guidelines 2024 – 2025" may be particularly helpful.

    Perhaps your diocese publishes something similar.
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,623
    I would not do a wedding at that price in Chicago particularly if it involves the five propers plus ordinary. That’s too cheap. Ditto funerals. The salary scale is perhaps realistic but it is insulting.

    Further, someone like me who is a regular volunteer or practicing Catholic paid to sing due to exceptional talent not a substitute, should be accounted for as well. (I would actually pay most subs less than someone coming from another parish that does the propers, for example. I’ve seen the subs get the full rate only to struggle with propers and even the ordinary.)
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  • RoborgelmeisterRoborgelmeister
    Posts: 211
    The schedule from Chicago seems low. I simply won't play anything for less than $150, and my scale goes up rather steeply from that.
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  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,653
    Here are the compensation guidelines for the Archdiocese of Chicago:

    https://pvm.archchicago.org/divine-worship/music/compensation-guidelines

    The "Musicians Compensation Guidelines 2024 – 2025" may be particularly helpful.

    Perhaps your diocese publishes something similar.



    Does this really say that 60k is the maximum salary of a director of music in the Archdiocese of Chicago?
    Thanked by 2MatthewRoth Bri
  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,345
    That's what it looks like, which is stunning to me. Folks in areas with lower COL have been making more than that for years and years.
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  • JaredOstermann
    Posts: 491
    Sometimes you think "it would be good to have some standardization and professionalism in the musician hiring process, promoted at the diocesan level." And then you see a document like the Chicago one, and remember "no, it's not good to have HR people and bureaucrats sit in a room together and make up guidelines for this job."

    A simple survey of job openings shows many jobs all over the country where $60k is minimum, not maximum. Not Cathedrals - just regular parishes. I just hope these are merely guidelines, and individual pastors can take or leave them. With COL in Chicago, those are crazy limits.

    To the OP, out here in South Dakota $100 is pretty standard for a funeral or a substitute organist. Weddings range from $150-$250 (a colleague just upped his fee to $300 for weddings - maybe I'm behind!).

    Also if your salary hasn't changed for 30 years, what you're talking about is not a raise. Input it into any inflation calculator, and that would be approximately the number you need to keep it JUST THE SAME as it was 30 years ago. This actually happened to me in my current job - the salary had been static for so long before I arrived that the very average request I made was a doubling of the salary budget. Keeping up with cost of living increases is both just, and protects the parish budget from that kind of shock.
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  • marymezzomarymezzo
    Posts: 237
    I'm music director (but not an organist) for a mid-sized parish of about 900 families in a small southeastern diocese. We need an organist to cover three Masses each Sunday as well as feast days, etc. I am leaning that what we've been paying per service is pretty poor, and I'm talking with a talented but inexperienced college freshman who is interested in the job.

    I'm looking for advice on price range per service, given talent, willingness, and great attitude but not much experience.

    What are your thoughts?

    thanks.

  • DavidOLGCDavidOLGC
    Posts: 111
    Let's just say I'm happy some parishes can afford to pay organists and any other musicians.
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  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,345
    If I were a college freshman, I might be okay with $100 per Mass. I have a lot more experience than that and I wouldn't do it for less than $150 per Mass. You wouldn't get any impressive organ literature at that rate, though. Something like The Liturgical Organist + hymns/chants.
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  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,623
    Help the college kid with the taxes too. This would likely be their first such job where taxes are not fully withheld.
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  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,345
    I'm sure that @MatthewRoth is correct that the college kid will not be expecting to have a (relatively) big tax liability if he's a 1099. At least take some time to educate him about that on the front end
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  • JDTJDT
    Posts: 7
    When I was a college freshman in 2009-10, enrolled in a sacred music program, I received $150 per Mass at my home parish. I would think the rate would have increased by now. I currently have a college student on my sub roster who receives $200 per Mass.
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  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,623
    Yeah. I get it, there are other taxes to pay if you put the person on the payroll, how-ev-er…
    Thanked by 1marymezzo
  • marymezzomarymezzo
    Posts: 237
    I appreciate the feedback. Please keep it coming!
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