Why are entertainers paid more than other professionals?

Because people are willing to pay them that money for the services they offer.

The entire world of professional sports, for instance, is a massive industry involving so many jobs across all fields that aren’t sports related. Graphic design, creating and distributing merchandise, delivering the games to both bars (thus supports some bar revenue) and people at home (thus supports the purchase of cable and better quality TVs), manufacturing the equipment and stadiums they use. It really is a huge industry, where the highlight is on the player’s ability to put on a good show, or game in this case. And their career is with risk – many athletes suffer injuries that threaten their life, let alone career. Just look at the average lifespan of an average NFL player.

So talent does play into it a bit. But it’s certainly not the defining point.

Only a few have the talent to achieve fame and fortune in those fields. We value those talents and those few who make it.

If we didn’t care, they wouldn’t get the money.

And why, in comparison, are doctors and teachers paid so little?

Poor values in my opinion.

@Allie. I clicked on the Great Answer link 1000x, but it gave you only one, sadly.

There are many more doctors and teachers than there are successful athletes and entertainers. Rarity is highly prized in our culture.

If we paid according to worthiness, perhaps garbagemen would make the most.

I pay shi in lurve.

@Marina: You clearly haven’t met my garbage men. Necessary, hard working, competent, sure…they are big fat meanies though. They like to comment on our neighborhood’s trash.

@asmonet I have been heard to complain about Florida, but I must say that it is the absolute zenith in garbage collection, better than any place I have ever lived.

First: Get this, they pick up the garbage twice a week.

Second: They take only two holidays a year when they do not pick up. So, you are not always wondering whether or not they will come on a given day.

Third: You can put appliances, furniture, whatever out at the curb. The regular garbageman then calls it in for a special “large item” pick-up. I have never seen such service.

Finally: All that and they still have a recycling program and provide places for hazardous substance drop off just as many cities do.

Speaking specifically about sports players, they really are entertainers. Their job is to entertain a bunch of people, as well as to give their town pride. They provide something of economic value – they generate business, and people who will pay to see them. I don’t think it’s wrong for them to get a cut of it, the rest goes to the hucksters of beer, the arena owner, and the bobblehead makers who ride in their wake, etc.

Also, they provide a certain caliber of entertainment. I can only really speak of hockey here (because that’s what I know), but NHL hockey players are some of the best in the world. They are so talented, that people will pay high amounts to see them. It’s capitalism at work. There are hockey players that play for free, and these are generally “youth leagues” or “beer leagues.” They just don’t have the same quality, but if you want to go watch them, I bet they’d love it!

Professional athletes have jobs that are hard on their bodies. They are sometimes more blown-out by age 35 than some people are at 50 or 60. Their career only lasts so long, but they need to sock something away for retirement (especially if they retire at 35!) and to support their families.

NHL hockey players don’t see much of their families during hockey season. When they are on a road trip, they can be gone for a couple weeks at a time, and even when they have a home game, their concentration is on the game, and they practice and drill for an insane amount of time. Soldiers in the army get special pay when they’re away from their families for an extended period, and I think of high sport star pay as similar. They’re making a sacrifice, not seeing their kids grow up so they can entertain beer-swilling masses, they should be reimbursed for that.

They work hard. It’s their job. Yes, it’s fun and a dream come true, but it’s also grueling and painful. I work hard at my job; I don’t do it for fun. There are times when I enjoy my job, but I wouldn’t do it for free, and I don’t blame sport stars for wanting as much salary as the market will bear. I’d take it too, if I could, but the demand is much higher to watch Johan Franzen score a hat trick than it is to watch Laureth enter data in her cubicle.

I bet it became a dream of many sports players, not just because it thrills the blood to play hockey or football or baseball, but because they watched their parents struggling when they grew up, and they didn’t want to live that way. They spent years, practicing on the street, shooting baskets in the schoolyard, going on a road trip in a cold drafty bus, and getting beat up on the court by the guy wearing the other colors. They did this to live the dream, yes, but also to buy a house, to send their kids to college, and to make sure they would be comfortable when they blew out their knees before they could hold a grandchild. I might envy their cash, but I don’t begrudge them. At least with hockey guys, most of them seem like upright citizens. They do charity outings, visit sick kids in the hospital, and make people feel better about themselves. They deserve to be paid pretty well.

“the demand is much higher to watch Johan Franzen score a hat trick than it is to watch Laureth enter data in her cubicle.”

Are you sure? Have you tried to sell tickets? It might be really interesting, like LonleyGirl15 or whatever her name was.

@Darwin You are right! I think laureth should put up a Web cam and see how much traffic she gets!

Har har.

People love them some laughs, drama, and escapism. Medicine? Education? Trash service? Too mundane, not interesting, not near delicious enough to suck on.

Strangely, ER, House, Grey’s Anatomy, St. Elmo’s Fire were (are) extremely popular TV shows. Medical drama -> high ratings -> lots of money for the actors portraying doctors.

<- Medical real life… me spending hours pouring over medical records, interviewing/examining patients, looking at x-rays and blood cultures…diagnosis…treatment…improvement. Boring.

I think your question is making a faulty assumption. Entertainers are not, as a rule, paid more than other professionals. For instance, musicians often don’t make very much money at all. Perhaps you should be asking, “Why are superstars paid more than other professionals?” Most entertainers are not superstars, and do not make millions of dollars.

It’s all about name recognition because that is what translates to higher marketability.
There’s no shortage of low paid talent, but the difference is that they haven’t engaged the masses.

When people want to go see a movie because of a big name star, the movie has the potential to make more money. If putting Jordan’s name on a box means that the sneakers can sell for 5x more than average, he will get paid well for the use of his name.

I think this is a commonly held misconception because part of the job description is that you are also famous, which means people more or less know how much you make. Sure, Madonna can make $1000000 per concert, but there are amateur bands out there doing it for free, and most semi-professionals will work for something like $100 per night, which come to think of it is not all that much, especially when you can’t do it every single night.

I think that, just like everything else, it’s a question of supply and demand. A guy who sells chairs can make $5–50 on a chair, but the chair upon which Louis XIV arse sat could fetch millions at Cristie’s. So yes, no lawyer makes as much money on one case as a movie star may make from one film, but most actors starve to death whereas most lawyers can at least afford rent. I believe that all jobs in a free market economy receive exactly the right amount of pay, for the simple reason that if a job sounds like easy cash, then more people will be competing for it.

FYI, I never consider offers to sing at a bar or restaurant for under 100 euros (a bit over $100), though I often play for free if it’s a charity or if I just feel like doing it. For festivals and so on it would have to be a little more. The most I’ve made on one night is 650 euros ($750). But part of that was petrol money. Oh and I get peanuts from CD sales.

Supply and demand.

@Marina: Oh man! They didn’t do that when I lived there! At least, I don’t remember it. They do that up here where I live now though! Northern Virginia.

They’ll take that couch, but they’ll also call you wasteful and comment on the color choice. Weirdos.

“The world is frakked, turned upside down,” says Felix Gaeta to Zarek.