Keira Kenworthy has made her living as a professional bassist for over a decade, but only by combining several bands, dep work, teaching and a bar job. She sets out where the money really comes from, and why streaming royalties and post Brexit touring costs are squeezing working musicians harder than ever.

Keira Kenworthy is a professional bass guitarist. She has toured the UK and internationally and appears on several recordings. She excels at playing a wide variety of musical styles including rock, blues, funk and soul, has established herself as a go to bass player and is building a sizeable following.

She studied Popular Music at Leeds Conservatoire and is a registered teacher for RSL Awards, a leading international awarding organisation creating qualifications in music, performing arts and creative industries subjects.

She has performed two special charity concerts and appeared in a documentary for Women's Aid at Templi di Paestum with Italian actress and singer Valeria Altobelli and her project Mnemosyne and The Muses. In her spare time, she designs her own custom handmade jewellery out of her used bass strings for her page Steel Magpie Jewellery.

Find Keira at keirakenworthy.com and on Instagram at @keirakenworthyofficial.

I have been a professional bass player for over 10 years, and it is getting harder and harder for people to make a living out of it. I consider myself very lucky that I am making a living through music, but it is not of simple means, and even with all the things I do in the music industry, I still maintain a part time yet very flexible bartending job that I have had for just as long as I've been gigging.

More Than One Band, and More Than One Income

For me to make a decent income I am in more than just one band. I have had the benefit of performing as a touring bass player for blues rock guitarist Troy Redfern, and getting the joy of travelling to Europe without the horrendous hassle of Brexit with an AC/DC tribute called BACK:N:BLACK, based in Switzerland. Currently I have been performing the odd gig here and there with grunge band Red Giant, featuring revered guitarist and YouTuber Dave Simpson, and performed INFEST 2026 in Manchester with cinematic goth band The Gospel.

I also hire myself out as a dep bass player for people. The money for dep work tends to be alright; however, you may have to consider travel costs, and that sometimes can outweigh the fee. Some bands may cover your costs, some don't, so I must refuse a gig if it is not cost effective. I'd rather not do the gig than be out of pocket.

Teaching Online Pays the Most and Keeps the Diary Flexible

Probably the one thing that makes me the most income has been teaching. I am a self employed bass tutor, and I teach people of all ages, not just in the UK but internationally. The use of Microsoft Teams and Zoom has been beneficial, especially during the pandemic when I had no gigs on. Being able to teach people bass without needing to drive anywhere or do it face to face has made it more flexible, and I can also work it round what other projects and work I've got on.

The Real Cost of Being in an Originals Band

While it sounds like I am “living the dream”, it's the sheer volume of work and sacrifice of any spare time that may not be for everyone. I was a member of the band Joanovarc from 2019 to 2025, and when you are in an originals band you must invest your money and time for it to achieve.

It was very stressful for both me and the founding guitarist Shelley at the time the pandemic hit. We recorded a full album but never managed to properly tour it. Former members left just before a tour back in 2021, just when lockdown eased, and we needed to get a new vocalist and a dep drummer (as a dep myself, that is not cheap) to fulfil the tour. After we made a major loss and the vocalist moved back to Ireland, the original line up was put on the back burner until last year. But after 6 years with the band, it was time to move on. It took a lot out of me mentally and I wanted to go on to other things, but I was fortunate to get the experience of contributing as a songwriter for the band.

£1.03 in Royalties and the Trouble With Streaming

I wrote two songs for their last album ‘Invisible Enemy’ and did receive a royalty payment from PPL of £1.03 for a song I own 100% of the rights to. What was the media, it said? ‘New Media’, in other words streaming. I just had to laugh at how pathetic the payment was, because I couldn't cry. I am bitter about streaming even to this day, and a bit hypocritical of me too, because if there is a song you want to conveniently listen to instead of buying a CD, you go on Spotify, but I know that artist is probably not making the money they should be making, unless you're Taylor Swift. Obviously, streaming is here to stay, but microscopic royalty payments shouldn't be. I would at least expect better than $0.003 a play; it's criminal.

It's not all doom and gloom with financing the band. Patreon was sort of a saviour: our most dedicated fans sign up to a membership in return for exclusive access to videos of us rehearsing, photos, rough demos of songs and updates. The money has covered our rehearsals at least, so the only worry is paying for travel to get there. Merch and CD sales could be seen as our lifeline, but even that is under siege.

I recently did a festival with Troy in Leicester, and he relies on covering my fee and the drummer's fee, along with other costs, through his merch. But I overheard that the venue expected 25% of his merch sales, and that included the other bands selling theirs there too; as a result, prices had to increase for fans. Could the bar get any lower? Well, yes, it can.

Brexit and the European Tour That Never Happened

On the big issue of Brexit, I am thankful to be performing with BACK:N:BLACK, a renowned female majority tribute band to AC/DC. This band has been my golden ticket to doing European shows. Yes, the band is based in Switzerland, which isn't part of the EU, but France, Germany and the Netherlands certainly are, and we get asked to play there many times. I have managed to go backwards and forwards to do a couple of shows in Europe regularly with them. In a way it fills that void, and I don't have to worry about taking gear, as I'm loaned a lovely black Fender Jazz bass when I come along.

But for my UK bands, forget it. Back in 2022 excitement was in the air for Troy Redfern to plan a European tour with a band from the US. I pre planned to book the time off from work, and my boss is very understanding of what I do as a career. But sadly, and with great understanding, it was not financially possible. If Troy had done the tour, it would have financially crippled him, with the costs of carnets, merch to be checked, the possibility of visas in certain countries and no guarantee of successful ticket sales.

If one thing angers me more than low fees, venues closing and minuscule royalty payments, it's this once in a lifetime opportunity the UK public voted for, which has crushed the dreams of UK bands ever performing a full length tour in Europe again. You're lucky to get a one off festival show somewhere, and then go home afterwards with a short term sense of euphoria, leaving yourself hungry for another European gig which may come once in a blue moon.

Other Avenues That Let Music Stay Your Living

While I count myself lucky doing music as a living, I must consider those who financially struggle doing it. What makes my money is an added cost to the person who hires me, and I wish things could change for the better so those people can seek their financial rewards, and so that my own band and possible future projects could thrive and get their fair share. Being a musician is an amazing job. It's fun, but it is hard work, it is mentally draining and it is an investment, but there are other avenues of this industry you can explore to compensate for your own musical projects without sacrificing music as your living.

But this isn't the only way. Proper investment from the government, changing and regulating how streaming services run their cash flow, and working with EU countries to create a scheme for people in the arts and entertainment sector to easily work and perform in the EU all need to be addressed now!

Photo: Damian Sollis