MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Reference point needed from Americans.

Reference point needed from Americans.

posted 4 years ago by Artisan (3464)
6 replies | jump to latest

I have been reading a book about the late Randy Rhoads a guitarist from the 70's and eary 80's. Anyway, it states that he charged $8 for a 30 minute guitar lesson, this was prior to him being well known so his status is irrelevant to price.

It made me think that was quite high as I know American's even now don't get paid that much let alone in the mid to late 70's.

I have only been able to look up minimum wage rates for the time but of course not everyone is on minimum pay. So I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of a decent hourly pay rate for the time?

[–] Artisan (3464) 4 years ago

bump

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

In general, music teachers make far above the minimum wage, since they have a specific skill that takes years of practice to acquire. $16 hourly rate at that time does not seem out of line for a music teacher. I know people in the mid 70s who were getting about $4.50 an hour for unskilled labor. 4X that for a music teacher seems reasonable.

[–] Artisan (3464) 4 years ago

Thanks it gives me a better understanding. It seemed really high based on what I knew.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

That’s roughly $40 in today’s dollars. That was a decent rate at the time.

[–] Artisan (3464) 4 years ago

Thanks. Why do all of your posts come up as deleted where your name should be?

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

[deleted]