371 - It costs HOW MUCH?! to be on Drag Race? - A Profit Report with guest star Bombae

On today's episode of the podcast I'm chatting with Bombae about her income, revenue and profit as a drag queen and former contestant on Canada's Drag Race. 

Bombae was on Season 3 of Canada's Drag Race. The audition process for Canada's Drag Race takes about three months, and it requires money. You submit a 20 minute video which includes multiple looks, a runway with several outfits, and a Q&A. The cost of this is also dependent on where you are, your current looks, and your skillsets. For example, do you need to rent a studio space to film, do you need to get your wigs redone, do you need to hire a video editor, etc. Bombae negotiated a free studio space, edited the video herself, and ended up spending about $500 to $800 on the video. 

Once you're selected, producers reach out and you get an NDA and other legal documents to sign. You don't get a list just yet of the runways for the season, they want to make sure everyone starts prepping for the show at the same time for fairness. 

When Bombae signed on for Season 3, Canada's Drag Race gave contestants $4,000 for the year. You weren't paid per episode, just the $4,000 to cover a certain date through when the NDA ends which covers the show, any press events, media appearances for the show, etc. 

For Bombae, this money went as soon as it came. She even called her bank to ask when it was coming, only to be told it had already been spent, it's not a lot of money for doing the show. Especially when you need looks for runways and mini challenges each episode. And these are all looks that need to be signed off on by the show's production team ahead of time to avoid copyright issues (unless you want to paid for licensing rights), meaning rushed production time for the looks once the mock-ups have been approved. 

Bombae had one look that cost about $8 or 9,000CAD but she didn't pay for it because the designers that made it offered to do it for free since it would be on Drag Race. Bombae's most expensive look she paid for was about $1200 to $1500CAD. A lot of it comes down to designer connections, where you buy from, what needs to be rushed, etc.

Fashion Expenses:

In total, Bombae estimates she spent $22 - 24000 CAD on looks for her season of Drag Race (compared to some queens who spent $45 to 55,000, and some who haven't even paid it all back yet). To break it down, it looks like:

Heels: $2,000
Wigs: $2,500
Nails: $1,000
Jewelry: $1,000
Outfits: ~$16-18,000

Contestants were allowed to bring five bags with them to the show, they Bombae did try to get in a sixth, back-up bag that was denied. 

When it comes to Drag Race, we also need to consider opportunity cost. Bombae had a full time job at Shopify that she had to resign from because the show requires seven weeks of filming. Even now, Bombae shares that in-person drag has never paid her bills. But, she says that the money you spend on Drag Race you often make back within the year from sponsorships, shows, etc. but that isn't the case for everyone. 

Additional expenses:

$2-3000 for going back to the studio to shoot the runway looks since you need a photographer and videographer
Rent - Bombae noted that she needed to pre-set money aside to cover the two months of rent for her apartment while she was gone since she no longer had her full-time job income. 
Once at the show, food and housing is covered. 

ROI
With brand sponsorships alone post-season, Bombae made $25,000 from viewing party appearances, merch, increases to booking fees and brand partnerships for social media with companies like Neutrogena, Absolut, and Trojan. Her booking fee for in-person events was $200 pre-Drag Race for a show with 2 to 3 numbers. After Drag Race, for corporate producers it would be $2,000 to $3,000. Now, 2-3 years after the season, Bombae is making that money with social media posts at a minimum, which out-pays any gig. 

Bombae was making a margin of $1-2 per merch item in her Shopify store, totaling about $4-5,000 over the last 3 years.  Viewing parties came with lower ticket prices than usual because she wanted attendees to have more money for tips. And for appearances, ~$100 of the $700 would go to her management. 

Bombae also had a booth at Drag Con and shared that there are very few queens who break even. It costs about $8-9,000 to fly there from Canada, pay $500 - $700 for the booth, plus assistants to fly with you, hotels for multiple nights, merch to come in, booth to be decorated, plus food and everything that goes on during the event. She even said some queens had minimum spends on meet and greets/merch. 

To hear more from Bombae, including the lightning round of questions we mentioned in the episode, check out the episode I did with her on the Business of Drag podcast. 

Get in Touch with Our Guest

Bombae 

Follow Bombae on Instagram: @bom.bae
Follow Bombae on TikTok: @bom.bae