I realize it varies a lot depending on how big the artist is. Taylor Swift probably pays her drummer, guitarist, etc. a lot.
Also do they get paid per show or per month/week/etc. ?
If a group or singer is on first major tour after a hit what do they pay? For example an artist like Lorde on her first tour?
Someone working with the big names you mentioned is going to make a lot. They get paid per show, but also aren’t paying for travel and housing. I’ve done several Broadway national tours and got about $150-200 per show, and we usually did 5-7 shows a week.
Someone with a band in your situation will probably do slightly fewer shows, to give the lead singer time to rest their voice, but will make way more per show… maybe $500-$1,000? Just a guess. So if they’re doing a year-long tour and play 200 shows, that’s $100,000-$200,000 that year. Again, just guessing based on my experience.
The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article about how a really top-end guitar tech could make more than the guitarist.
That said, your pay as a sideman is going to be based entirely on what the market will bear - the day rate for Omar Hakim (Kate Bush, Madonna, Daft Punk) is going to be far higher than the next drummer down the list.
Nashville is absolutely lousy with top players, some of whom would dig into their savings to get a Taylor Swift tour on their resume, and it would allow them to charge many times more for the next tour.
I do have friends who are touring musicians, and I’ve never stopped to ask them what they pay their drummer. But their manager negotiates with each venue to get the maximum amount per show (the manager gets a percentage of the gross for each show). They have ongoing fixed costs for their instrument tech (worthwhile if it leaves the lead guitarist free time to meet fans and do interviews) and tour manager/merch person (the only person who undeniably earns his pay every night.) The gross of all the shows in a week, minus manager percentage, minus expenses of getting to the show, feeding the crew, housing the crew - that leaves some amount of money to pay the hired musicians. And I don’t think it’s really all that much.