I was wondering, besides the contract, the car and that customized motorcycle ( that I don't think should be driven) does anyone know what else David gets as perks and or gifts?

He got a guitar for being top 5, the Las Vegas trip for top 4, big honking fancy watch for top 3, car for top 2, and million-dollar contract for winning. I think there are also some endorsements for winning, like the Disney commercial, which presumably earned him some bucks. They also get paid per week, so he obviously made more for sticking around this long. He should also get the biggest paycheck for the tour. In past years, the winner has made a LOT of money for the tour, like 3 times as much as the #10 person. So the 3-10 (or something like that) may make $100,000 to $150,000 for the tour, while the #2 person makes $200,000 and the winner gets $300,000. (Those numbers came from ages ago and they may be paying them better now.)

He has a Guitar Hero endorsement!

Oh I'm glad to hear this. I was thinking he would be given a million at that would be it. Which, isn't bad except I'm sure his first album will be making more that just a million.

He also gets more promotion to radio than the runner up gets (of course we don't have the official label announcement just yet), but that is one of the perks as well.

Gah. They get paid for the tour. That is....different.

Wow! I'd Love to be Him!

WOW! What a load of perks he has there! Now I know that they get paid for each week that they are on the show. He deserves all the prizes that he got so far. Totally deserving of it.

Thanks for the info David totally deserves all the good things coming his way. He has worked so hard.

I think the million dollar recording contract is a bit misleading. I don't think that David himself gets a million dollars. Thats the amount of money the record company are willing to pay for making the album and promoting it etc. Thats what happens in the UK and I presume the US does things similarly? I'm sure David will make plenty of money from the massive sales that he will achieve when his first album is released.

you're right - artists often don't make much off of sales these days either but they do exponentially better if they have the rights to the songs they sing (like, if they've written them), so hopefully they'll give him free reign on writing/co-writing most of his tracks.

I Heard they only get 1,000 a week for the tour- I haven't counted how many weeks it is that they are on tour

I just found this - Check it out -

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17861805/

Q: There is lots of talk on “American Idol” about wanting to be in the Top 10 to make the Idol Tour. Is it really that profitable for the singers? Do all the singers get paid the same, or do those who last longer on the show get paid more? —Chris, North Carolina

A: First, the 12 “American Idol” finalists’ pay is a separate matter; the top 12 sign with TV union AFTRA and are paid at least $921 a week for each hour-long show, according to USA TODAY.

On tour, the stipend that the top 10 performers receive is not public, but rumors have placed the amount from $1,000 per show to $5,000 per show (that number was in reference to Ruben Studdard, the second-season winner, so perhaps the winners receive more).

Regardless, that’s still not much compared to other what non-“Idol” concert performers receive. Overall, the tour for “American Idol 5” made $35.2 million, according to Billboard, so there’s plenty of cash to go around.[size="5"][/size]

I remember that interview where he said that he was gonna pay some serious bills once AI is over... Now he can do that. He also wanted a car, now he has a hybrid! He totally deserves all the goodies coming his way.

I would tend to believe ( based on commercial value alone) that David gets at least $1 million plus a percentage of sales after a certain amount. In addition an apartment and all living expenses and plus his handlers etc. 10 years ago Carly Smithson, a virtual unknown, was given $300,000 plus an apartment and living expenses. With a percentage of sales, over a set amount, that she never achieved. It will not cost the label $1 million but rather millions and millions to make david's album and promote it. These writers alone take a fortune per song. TV personailities are getting millions per episode and even the lowliest actor is getting a like $65 grand per episode.
If you listen to what some of these former Idols are doing they have a lot of money to spend on making their own labels etc.That came from somewhere. Living in LA, or NY is extremely expensive. Even Nashville where the CM people live is expensive. My vote is He gets the million and is bargaining for more

Each one also made money for every Ford commercial during the season. He made nice change for the guitar hero commercial. Also during the season they were given a nice clothing allowance which got rather large in the finale. And right now he has a constant bodyguard, and AI is still "taking care of him" in some everyday expenses. Basically lets put it this way, he didn't really have to pay for anything during the season except for bills that he still has in Tulsa.

Hey,
I'm not sure if this is the right thread to ask about this, but when does our Idol get immortilised on a U.S postage stamp?

^Probably next year, for Idol Gives Back.

Does he get any percentage for the iTunes performances sales?

I'm so glad someone started this thread LoL I've been wondering about the money thing for a long time. I wondered if they got paid for the show every week, or how it worked, so I'm glad that's been established LoL

~Steph

Carly said on Larry King Live last week that this was completely untrue about herself.

thx for letting us know.. he's a rich man now. he deserves it!

When they were on Larry King, they did say that they do get paid for the downloads on itunes!

Ok good. I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one who heard that. lol