The Voice has been turning the chairs of its superstar coaches for 14 years now, and following Sofronio Vasquez’s victory in Season 26, fans are ready to meet a new crop of musicians when the singing competition returns to the 2025 TV schedule. The upcoming season is a special one, as The Voice welcomes back OG coach Adam Levine, who will join John Legend, Michael Bublé and Kelsea Ballerini in hopefully helping to boost the Season 27 contestants to success in the music industry. But with these singers leaving their jobs and families for this opportunity, many fans have wondered how much they get paid to appear on The Voice.
The short answer is The Voice contestants don’t receive an actual paycheck; however, compensation comes in other forms. Let’s take a look at what we’ve learned about contestants’ pay over the years.
How Much Do The Voice Contestants Get Paid To Be On The Show?
Technically the singers — including those who make it past the Blind Auditions and onto a team — don’t get any money to appear on the NBC competition. Past contestants, however, have said they did receive a stipend, per Newsweek, and also had access to catering and even a Starbucks on set. Jessie Poland, who competed as Charlotte Sometimes on Season 2, told Cosmopolitan:
It was fucking sweet. It was basically like being an adult without having to be one. Once you’re on the show for a while, you got money [a stipend] to go out and catering was really great. I ate really well.
It’s been kept pretty hush-hush how much money the contestants are or were given — and how far in the competition one had to make it before receiving any compensation — but some have spoken out about not being able to work during that time because of The Voice’s demanding schedule. Jessie Poland said she wasn’t even able to get a part-time job, saying:
I couldn’t make a ton of money. And even though I worked as a film writer and played shows, I couldn’t do that while I was on The Voice. I couldn’t really work. No one can work.
Not only does The Voice’s taping schedule prevent contestants from attending their regular jobs, I’d imagine it’s hard for the musicians to find the time to gig — if they’re even allowed to. However, it’s possible that contestants on more recent seasons of The Voice aren’t put in as tough a position, as there are fewer weeks of live shows that require them to be in Los Angeles.
For the past few seasons, only the Semifinals and Finals have been live, while when Jessie Poland was on the show in 2012, live episodes aired from April 2 to May 8, and that’s of course on top of the tape days for the pre-recorded audition and Battle rounds. Fewer weeks of live competition means less of a time commitment for The Voice coaches, but also less time the singers are taken away from their jobs.
More jobs have also gone remote in the past five years, since the pandemic hit (remember how singing competitions like The Voice and American Idol handled quarantine episodes?), so in addition to having to spend less time in L.A., it’s possible that more contestants are, indeed, able to take their work with them. I have to wonder if the stipend policy (or amount) has changed since then.
How Much Does The Voice Winner Earn?
The one exception to the rule of The Voice contestants not getting paid for their time on the show is the contestant who wins the season. While their coach gets little more than bragging rights, the singer leaves with a nice prize of $100,000 and a record deal. The dollar amount of The Voice’s prize money has remained the same since its debut in 2011.
National Exposure And Connections May Be The Most Valuable Part Of Being On The Voice
Any singers hoping to make it onto one of the celebrities’ teams to compete on the NBC singing show should be aware going in that they won’t be receiving a paycheck for their time there. However, the whole point of trying out for a show like that is the opportunity for exposure. Appearing on national television and sometimes getting to share your story of the events and circumstances that led you to the singing competition can be the most valuable takeaway — even if you don’t make it past Blind Auditions.
The value of the connections made on the show can’t be underestimated either. Many of The Voice’s singers have gone on to collaborate with each other or book shows or write songs together. Contestants also make contact with several people in the music industry, including their coach, and some of the mentors have a reputation for continuing to help their team members long after their particular season has ended.
Blake Shelton famously keeps in touch with the former members of his team, as Season 21 contestant Lana Scott saying that the “Boys ‘Round Here” singer even helped her book gigs at his bar Ole Red when she moved out to Nashville, Tennessee, after her appearance on The Voice. Many other former contestants have also taken the stage at different Ole Red locations around the country.
Despite the winner of The Voice being the only actual person to walk away with any significant amount of money for their time, contestants are given the opportunity of a lifetime. It doesn’t hurt that they’re apparently well-fed during their time on the show either.
Tune in to see if Adam Levine can recapture the magic, as he’ll be the only coach on Season 27 who’s won more than one season. Can Michael Bublé or John Legend notch a second victory? Will Kelsea Ballerini show up all the guys on her rookie season? Only time will tell, so tune in at 8 p.m. ET Monday, February 3, on NBC to see the first night of Blind Auditions. Episodes will be available to stream the next day with a Peacock subscription.
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