What Does the Winner of ‘The Voice’ Get?

The winner of NBC’s The Voice will get a cash prize and a recording contract, but after that, they’ll need to be ready to fight for their professional lives.

Gina Miles (Team Niall) won Season 23 of The Voice earlier this year and received the same prize that each of the last five winners got: $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Music Group.

• The cash prize has not changed throughout 23 seasons of The Voice — Season 1 winner Javier Colon also took home $100K.
• Previous winners have signed with different record labels. For example, Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradbery signed to Big Machine Label Group.
• Winners are also eligible to earn royalties on future sales.

The cash prize has strings attached to it. New York Daily News reports that if a contestant violates the contract they signed with NBC, they will not walk away with the prize. Any contestant who reveals the details of the show’s contract can be sued for between $100,000 and $1 million.

Previous The Voice winners have been open about the fact that signing a label deal is not necessarily a springboard to riches and fame; in fact, more Voice winners have experienced lukewarm marketplace results at best than have shot to the top of the charts.

Sundance Head and Craig Wayne Boyd are two who expressed disappointment with how their label home treated them immediately afterward. Season 13 winner Chloe Kohanski had all but disappeared professionally before turning up to say goodbye to Blake Shelton during the Season 23 finale.

Along with the cash prize, trophy and record deal, for the most part, contestants still have the mentorship and support of their celebrity coaches when the show is over. Season 14 champion Brynn Cartelli opened mentor/coach Kelly Clarkson‘s Meaning of Life Tour along with Kelsea Ballerini.

Contestants are often seen appearing on The Voice with new music or collaborations after their season is done, so the association can pay off in future exposure for new products. Cartelli also says the show’s wardrobe department let her take “anything she wanted” home with her.

According to New York Daily News, contestants are paid a small stipend to cover expenses during the filming of the show, but they give up some basic legal protections in agreeing to take their shot at fame and fortune. The contract stipulates that the show can change the rules at any time, eliminate contestants even if they are winning via public votes and completely ignore the show’s voting system altogether, including the sales for the contestants’ iTunes songs.