Interested in how much money American Idol finalists make for their time on the show?  Apparently, a reporter from the New York Times got a hold of the Idol contracts from last year, and is reporting a breakdown of the earning for the Top 10.  By far the most comprehensive American Idol information source, MJs Big Blog has broken down the figures more.   

Factoids:

• Kris has earned $650,000*
• Winners have never failed to earn $1M in the year or so after the contest
• Top 5 earn close to $100K from the show*
• Top 10 several thousand dollars.*
• Contract binds contestant to pay 15 percent of his earnings, not including those from recording and merchandising contracts, a manager’s fee. Contract is for 3 years, 19 continues to collect for 10 years for some of the earnings

*Not including the summer tour

Kris Allen:

• An advance of $350,000 for his first album, exclusive of recording costs, half of it paid soon after the competition ended and half when he finished recording.
• Disney paid Mr. Allen $100,000 to turn to a camera and shout, “I’m going to Disney World”
• He stood to earn another $100,000 for spending a day filming scripted dialogue segments for use in the attraction and for taping a vocal performance for the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade television show.
• Received a $100,000 advance on royalties from a three-year merchandising contract, which gives 19 Entertainment the right to use his image to promote goods and services.

Adam Lambert:

• Earned $300,000 in advance royalties for his album,
• $75,000 merchandising contract
• $50,000 in fees from Disney World for the Idol Experience attraction.

Top 12 Contestants:

• Receive a one-time payment of $1,000 and a $1,000 advance on royalties for each iTunes recording.
• Group number performance fees under the union contract with Aftra.
• Aftra contract pays the artists from $1,011 for a one-hour show to $1,540 for a two-hour episode