D&D General Professional DMs making $45k/year off it?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah 40-60 dollars a month locked up of your disposable income is a lot. People pay it obviously, but I cant imagine there is an overabundance of paying customers.

My guess is the demand will also diminish as the pandemic ebbs.

 

[tommybahama]

Cost per player - $10 per session.

Not bad, but would you pay $10 per game session?

$15/session is the going rate. There is a business that operates on Roll20 that I believe provides all the campaign materials to a DM and splits the $15 fee with about $12 to the DM and $3 going to the service. I can't vouch for the service, but it would be a way to get into paid DMing without a lot of startup costs.

The first articles on paid DMing I read were geared towards corporate team building events, birthday parties, bachelor/bachelorette parties and the like. I remember one DM quoting $300 a session.

I'm not a fan of the channel linked below but it was in my YouTube recommends a few months back. I just remembered it while writing my reply:

 

[Blue Orange]

Economics states that price is determined by supply and demand. The higher the demand and the lower the supply, the higher the price. (There are intersecting curves but that's the idea.) Now labor is a commodity as well, which helps determine wages. (There are other factors, of course.)
The fact that some jobs are more pleasant than others produces compensating wage differentials--a garbage collector gets paid more at least in part because the job is dangerous (people throw out lots of awful stuff), arduous (you have to lift trash all day), and smelly. A pleasant job, all other things equal, will pay less as the supply will be greater at any given price.

Now lots of people are willing to DM for free because they enjoy it. So I can't see it becoming a big moneymaker except for a few people.

 

[Maxperson]

…. And all of your D&D books are business expenses.

And game conventions! Write off Gen Con!

 

[Maxperson]

Yeah 40-60 dollars a month locked up of your disposable income is a lot. People pay it obviously, but I cant imagine there is an overabundance of paying customers.

$40-$60 is a dinner out or movie with the family. It's not a lot.

 

[payn]

$40-$60 is a dinner out or movie with the family. It's not a lot.

You are not doing this with your family tho; Its just you (unless you spend double, triple, quadruple, + to play together as a family). Also, you don't have the flexibility to spend that money in other ways month to month. The price itself isnt steep, but locking it up every month is a factor.

 

[Maxperson]

You are not doing this with your family tho; Its just you (unless you spend double, triple, quadruple, + to play together as a family). Also, you don't have the flexibility to spend that money in other ways month to month. The price itself isnt steep, but locking it up every month is a factor.

It's not a contract. You aren't forced to play month in and month out at that price. If it becomes too much, you back out.

 

[payn]

It's not a contract. You aren't forced to play month in and month out at that price. If it becomes too much, you back out.

People do, often.

 

[Maxperson]

People do, often.

Do often what? Contract to play D&D virtually? I find that hard to believe. Back out if it becomes too much? I can believe that.

 

[jgsugden]

Oh, please. If you're charging for admission, you're never going to make a decent living. Have we learned nothing from modern microtransactions and video games?

Getting into the game has to be free. Get them hooked on the story, on their PCs, etc... Then, you start putting the PCs up against challenges they can't beat without certain magic - and the only way to get it is to buy it from you with cash. If you find the right player, you can get $45K from that one player.