I feel like looking about the opportunity they were given, he really shouldn't be commenting on how the pay isn't good. People would love to be in his shoes, a lot I'm sure would do it for free.
I've seen the pay, and I gotta agree with him - it isn't good. The thing is, people think that Idol contestants live a very glamorous life while on the show, and that because of the tour or the album sales alter (if they get a record deal), they're set for life. No they're not. Very far from it. After the tour, a lot of these Idols do go back to odd jobs to support themselves and their dream of getting that record deal.
Also, another misconception out there is that, if someone lost their Idol money, it's because they didn't save hard enough or splurged on anything that they could see. Thus it's their fault they lose their money. Being in the business, when you go out there on your own after the tour, and without a record deal, truth is, you gotta pay a lot of expenses yourself. You have to hire an agent and a business manager. Then you still pay for vocal coaches and/or vocal schools. Then you also pay for studio use if you want to cut some demo songs to submit to a label hoping they would give you a deal. On top of that, you gotta live somewhere and you gotta eat. And it's hard to have a regular 9-5 job to support yourself because you're peddling demos to record labels or having meetings with agents or producers, or having auditions, etc., so that money is gonna fly fast. Pursuing this kind of dream is really blood, sweat and tears.
And that is already the ideal situation. Sometimes, it can go as bad as your agent/manger scamming you.
Being in a business related to the music industry, I now have much more empathy for these Idols who don't win. It's not easy. Are you gonna give up your dream so you can live comfortably with a 9-5 job? Or are you gonna pursue it all the way to the end even if it may figuratively kill you?
There's a slideshow on the Daily Beast about 77 Idol finalists back from Season 1 named Where are They Now. For anyone who's an aspiring Idol contestant, that is a good read, and maybe a good wake-up call to ground and prepare yourself for reality for life after Idol.