Members The-Enforcer Posted April 28, 2012 Members Share Posted April 28, 2012 Do any of you guys actually do ONLY music for a living? If so, what is it that you do and are you happy with the amount of money you are making from it? I get into heated debates with parents about how making it in music is a long shot and they want me to get a real job and study science in college. I have confidence in my abilities to succeed, but honestly I don’t know what exactly do people do to make money with music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Council78 Posted April 28, 2012 Members Share Posted April 28, 2012 I have a relative who has worked as a musician only for years (bass player). He does all kinds of things: teaching, runs his own studio, sells merchandise and records music for some bands plus some other stuff. He told me that he makes decent money because he always has more than one thing going on. I guess it makes sense since these days it might be hard to make millions touring like you could in the 70s Hey The-Enforcer, here is something about your question: make more money with music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A. Einstein Posted April 28, 2012 Members Share Posted April 28, 2012 the honorarium of touring bands in the seventhies where very low compared to today, even when you include the inflation and price index Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dparr Posted April 28, 2012 Members Share Posted April 28, 2012 I play solo Chapman Stick for a living. I have four regular gigs a week and pick up other events along the way. I cater my music for an older crowd and make pretty good money for the time spent working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A. Einstein Posted April 28, 2012 Members Share Posted April 28, 2012 How many here do music full time? so about 18 hours every day, sometime more, saturday and sundays included, since about 42 years, it took me almost two years until I recognized that my first wife left me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ronan Murphy Posted April 29, 2012 Members Share Posted April 29, 2012 I have made the majority of my living in music for a bit over 20 years. Mostly making records, but the odd detour into multi-media work, film scores, video games etc. These days I think 90% of my income is still producing, mixing and mastering work, but I also run recording training program that makes some money as well. I do not know if I am happy with the money (you could always have more) but I am happy with the life I have. All that said, if you are thinking of getting into this in 2012, you need to be very realistic about how INSANELY challenging it will be for you to make a living wage career out of this. We are in the middle of a perfect storm of the revenue streams drying up and an exponentially growing number of people that want to get into the profession every year. If you decide to get into this and actually want to succeed, be prepared to work 3 times harder than all your friends and be prepared that there is a very very good chance you will live in poverty for many years. You also need to be prepared for the fact that if you have any other priorities you need to put higher than doing music for a living, things are going to be even more difficult for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The-Enforcer Posted April 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 29, 2012 I have a relative who has worked as a musician only for years (bass player). He does all kinds of things: teaching, runs his own studio, sells merchandise and records music for some bands plus some other stuff. He told me that he makes decent money because he always has more than one thing going on. I guess it makes sense since these days it might be hard to make millions touring like you could in the 70s Hey The-Enforcer, here is something about your question: make more money with music. This is really cool. The multi step of income idea makes tons of sense. Now I have to learn how to actually do it lol. Where to begin? I feel like I'm a pretty good guitar player but that’s about it. I don’t know if I need to go to a music school to learn how to be a professional musician or if there is another path out there to learn step by step how to make it work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Council78 Posted April 30, 2012 Members Share Posted April 30, 2012 This is really cool. The multi step of income idea makes tons of sense. Now I have to learn how to actually do it lol. Where to begin? I feel like I'm a pretty good guitar player but that’s about it. I don’t know if I need to go to a music school to learn how to be a professional musician or if there is another path out there to learn step by step how to make it work. I would ask the college you want to go to if they have something like this (although frankly I doubt it). At the site I linked above there is some kind of training program for people looking to build a music career. I haven’t done it myself but based on everything I’ve read from the guy running it (Tom Hess) it seems legit so you may want to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scarecrowbob Posted April 30, 2012 Members Share Posted April 30, 2012 One of the main issues with having a bunch of divers, music related businesses is that you might do much, much better with business other than music. My wife is a good example of someone making a great living with music: she has 47 students, plays in local orchestras, and makes okay money playing weddings. Of course, she also is almost done with an MA in teaching violin and is a certified public school teacher in Texas, as well as being proficient in a number of instruments. In short, she functions way better than most folks... Even then, she still finds it difficult to get, for instance, health insurance because she doesn't have access to a group policy. And she's very limited on how much income she could effectively earn because there are are only so many hours in the week that she can be teaching or gigging. So even with a massive amount of work, and being a beautiful, talented gregarious person, it is a tough road for her. Myself, I have made my living at times running sound.... ultimately I think that most folks who can do anything else with their lives to make a living do: it is -so- much easier for me to program computers or design graphics, or do any of the other things that I have done to make a living (teaching writing in a university, videography, recording folks) than it is to make a living playing music. This is something that you might find out when it is a bit late in life, but most of the really smart musicians I know make their livings doing something other than music just because it is easier. And, for what it is worth, I play almost as often now that I am billing 40 hours a week doing freelance programming... I just don't feel like an idiot for taking a $100 gig, mostly because I won't be starving next week (well, that, and my wife gets us the $$$ gigs, ) So IMO, you're much better off getting an education in a field where there are clear demands for workers than stringing together a bunch of so-so jobs; that can be done, but it is a tough road with no pay off. IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sventvkg Posted April 30, 2012 Members Share Posted April 30, 2012 I do it full time. I'm not making {censored} compared to what I used to when I was performing full time but this move to Nashville was the right choice and will pay off for me. I have no doubts. Stuff already happening Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members beatpoet Posted April 30, 2012 Members Share Posted April 30, 2012 I have made the majority of my living in music for a bit over 20 years. Mostly making records, but the odd detour into multi-media work, film scores, video games etc. These days I think 90% of my income is still producing, mixing and mastering work, but I also run recording training program that makes some money as well.I do not know if I am happy with the money (you could always have more) but I am happy with the life I have. All that said, if you are thinking of getting into this in 2012, you need to be very realistic about how INSANELY challenging it will be for you to make a living wage career out of this. We are in the middle of a perfect storm of the revenue streams drying up and an exponentially growing number of people that want to get into the profession every year. If you decide to get into this and actually want to succeed, be prepared to work 3 times harder than all your friends and be prepared that there is a very very good chance you will live in poverty for many years. You also need to be prepared for the fact that if you have any other priorities you need to put higher than doing music for a living, things are going to be even more difficult for you. I turned full time last year (after ten years of sinking time and money into other people's bands) and agree with everything you say. Even if you think you're working flat out, you just have to work some more! I'd rather graft my arse off drumming for what 9-5ers would consider chump change, than have that money and live the same way as the rest of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SusieP Posted April 30, 2012 Members Share Posted April 30, 2012 I do it full time. I am lead singer in a Duo in the UK. I have been full time for 12 years. Prior to that I only gigged maybe once a week on Saturday nights. Now I get approx 3 gigs a week. Some weeks less some weeks more. I make the same money as I did working Monday to Saturday 9 to 5 in a Bank which I did before I gave that up to be a full time singer. And I pay less income tax than when I had a day job because more things are tax deductable. And of course I get WAY more time to post on forums now. And I am much less stressed than friends and family who are working 9-5 in jobs they don't really enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wein Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I do, although most of my time is teaching and running a music school that I own. I gig on the weekends, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A. Einstein Posted April 30, 2012 Members Share Posted April 30, 2012 http://www.smoothduo.co.uk/jukebox.html Poker face Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SusieP Posted May 1, 2012 Members Share Posted May 1, 2012 http://www.smoothduo.co.uk/jukebox.html Poker face Does that mean you like our version? Or are you jumping up and down because your feet hurt? :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A. Einstein Posted May 1, 2012 Members Share Posted May 1, 2012 I always love it when real people make real music !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SusieP Posted May 1, 2012 Members Share Posted May 1, 2012 I love the puppy in your avatar pic. And I can't help thinking you are teasing me. I hope your sore feet get better soon. :lol::lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A. Einstein Posted May 1, 2012 Members Share Posted May 1, 2012 That puppy serves the sole reason that people like you love me a little bit. And no no no... I always enjoy music when it is done by people and not by machines. I may not drop a penny onto the hat of a street musician when he bought the recorder 10 minutes ago in a music store. Okay, I may ooze charm, turn on the blarney because you're women, but that has nothing to do that I enjoy your hand made music. The whole computer made stuff kills my nerves within a few seconds, no matter how good the mock-ups are done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lephty Posted May 2, 2012 Members Share Posted May 2, 2012 A few quick thoughts jump to mind: 1. If you want to be a full-time musician, plan on not being rich. You can make a decent living, but you'll have to work hard for it and the likelihood of you having a vacation home in Aspen is pretty slim. And for most of us, that's perfectly OK. 2. Learn to teach, even if you just do private lessons. If you're good at that, you can always make some respectable coin doing it. 3. Keep your options WIDE open for income possibilities. Teaching, songwriting, doing lots of different gigs, selling music...most full-time musicians have several different income sources. 4. Get as good as you possibly can at whatever you do, if it's songwriting, playing guitar, teaching...if you're good at it, things might actually have a chance at falling into place for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lephty Posted May 2, 2012 Members Share Posted May 2, 2012 Sven's post at the beginning of the thread called "What's Been Happening With Me" is a pretty good insight into the life of someone working hard to be a musician for a living...I don't know if there's a way to link directly to a post, but it's in this same forum a couple threads down from this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SusieP Posted May 2, 2012 Members Share Posted May 2, 2012 That puppy serves the sole reason that people like you love me a little bit. And no no no... I always enjoy music when it is done by people and not by machines. I may not drop a penny onto the hat of a street musician when he bought the recorder 10 minutes ago in a music store. Okay, I may ooze charm, turn on the blarney because you're women, but that has nothing to do that I enjoy your hand made music. The whole computer made stuff kills my nerves within a few seconds, no matter how good the mock-ups are done. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A. Einstein Posted May 2, 2012 Members Share Posted May 2, 2012 Thank you. See you in Mallorca, or Tuscany in autum, or maybe in Santorini or Corfu... at the moment I am on the Matterhorn eating chocolate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members beatpoet Posted May 2, 2012 Members Share Posted May 2, 2012 Sven's post at the beginning of the thread called "What's Been Happening With Me" is a pretty good insight into the life of someone working hard to be a musician for a living...I don't know if there's a way to link directly to a post, but it's in this same forum a couple threads down from this one. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2904143-What-s-been-happening-with-me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A. Einstein Posted May 2, 2012 Members Share Posted May 2, 2012 http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2904143-What-s-been-happening-with-me. interesting oldies, was Sven an original member of Little Feet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sventvkg Posted May 3, 2012 Members Share Posted May 3, 2012 interesting oldies, was Sven an original member of Little Feet? Oldies? I'm writing for the commercial country/Heartland music market..Think American radio country-which DOES NOT EXIST WHERE YOU ARE...And then Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Steve Earle, etc...There's lots of NEW music being made and played on the radio here in the US in these genres......I {censored}ing HATE Europop music as well as American Pop for that matter but everyone's taste is their own... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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