Buster

Remarkably, Winston The Impersonating Turtle’s Creator Earns $122,000 Per Gig

Here’s the fourth installment of our “Who Earns What?” review of touring concert acts. As with parts I, II, and III, all performance fees were included in 2010 contract documents obtained by Buster.

For the uninitiated, MercyMe is a contemporary Christian band, Howie Mandel is a bald germophobe, and Terry Fator is a ventriloquist and former winner of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” show. Fator’s puppets include Vikki “The Cougar” and Winston the Impersonating Turtle (pictured at right).

The numbers:

Sheryl Crow         $146,500 *

Terry Fator           $122,000

Buckcherry           $100,000

Shinedown             $85,000

REO Speedwagon   $75,000 *

Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo   $75,000 *

Boys Like Girls       $65,000 *

Howie Mandel         $55,000 *

MercyMe                $50,000

Colbie Caillat          $25,000

* Represents a minimum guaranteed fee. This figure can increase based on bonus payments tied to ticket sales.