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Making a living out of Music
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Karen
Posts: 11
Joined: Feb. 4 2010
From: Adelaide, Aus
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 RE: Making a living out of Music (in reply to Reinhardt)
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quote:
if you wanna live on music then forget about having kids etc.
your gf or future wife should support you aswell otherwise
it's not possible.
I have to agree with Ricardo on this one...
I have been around musicians all my life, and I know many people with families who make a living solely from music. Some are married with children, some are single parents, but they manage to support themselves, making a living through music- teaching, performing, composing, recording etc. There are many avenues to explore, you just have to find what works for you.
Having said that, yes, it is a very good idea to try to keep a part time job until you are sure of your income.
Besides, they say anything is possible. 
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Date Mar. 2 2010 13:36:48
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RE: Making a living out of Music (in reply to buleria74)
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Family and making a living out of music can co exist. In fact it has heightened my experience by exploring other avenues such as teaching and composing for various media. Sure there's less sleep, shorter practice times but it does motivate you in a different way than if all your time was your own. I Think one has to embrace all that life presents....
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Date Mar. 2 2010 14:12:56
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Ricardo
Posts: 14822
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
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RE: Making a living out of Music (in reply to Ron.M)
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I have found myself in situations of starting a juerga at 12 am going on till 6am or later, non stop playing and singing and drinking....usually heavy strumming. Only breaks being to have a drink smoke or bathroom. Sometimes bulerias, a single "song" can go for hours. Same for tangos or rumba, even Fandangos. As many times as this has occurred for me, I will say the only thing I have noticed about my hands would be the glue coming off my nails, and perhaps a little chipping of the nail tips. Callouses perhaps a little sore, but not much else wrong with it for me....and others that like to play long and hard too. The one who plays the most or sings the most, seems to get to drink the least.
Anyway, I never practice that long or with that much intensity at home by myself. When I was a teen I played for many hours, but a different technique and style of music. 8 hrs of practicing Jessie Cooke and Rodrigo y Gabriela have me scratching my head though. 
I have to wonder about the idea of having a money making job vs the supposed "starving artist" route. I mean, anyone can fail or have bad luck in any venture. Music industry is not meant for making big money, unless you are going the pop star commercial machine route. Business, Law, Medicine, Computer tech, etc, those are more the persuites of people worried about having money. The rewards of being a musician for me out weigh what I might get doing something as a "fall back" for what others perceive as "security". Of course there will be compromises, but so there will be with anyone and their life choices. Give me a list of jobs BETTER recommended to anyone that was curious in this thread about making a living as a musician and being discouraged, and I will say there is a list of jobs I would suck at, compared to what I do now.
Why are people so quick to give up in music or art, because they MIGHT fail, vs say giving up on business, Law, or Medicine, where if they fail they could really screw up others lives worse then their own? Just because of this supposed "security" of their future?  People need to be true to themselves and do what they KNOW they can do best, and not what they think they should be doing because someone ELSE told them it was better.
IMO
Ricardo
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CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com
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Date Mar. 3 2010 21:01:41
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KMMI77
Posts: 1821
Joined: Jul. 26 2009
From: The land down under
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RE: Making a living out of Music (in reply to Reinhardt)
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quote:
Why are people so quick to give up in music or art, because they MIGHT fail, vs say giving up on business, Law, or Medicine, where if they fail they could really screw up others lives worse then their own? Just because of this supposed "security" of their future? People need to be true to themselves and do what they KNOW they can do best, and not what they think they should be doing because someone ELSE told them it was better.
IMO
I think things have changed a lot over the last 10 years. I know a duo here in australia. Great guitar players. Played some flamenco, rhumbas and john mc,PDL,al di meola stlye. And did it well. In the 90's they went around australia busking, doing gigs, selling CD's etc... People at the time were amazed by them. They would play two songs, stop, and people would line up to buy CD's. They made enough money to buy a house in just a few years.
I am not sure what it was, Perhaps it was peoples first exposure to flamenco style guitar music .The popularity of guitarists like Ottmar was huge at the time. This has all changed. Guitarists of the same and even higher level today seem to have limited success and struggle to sell CD's.
The cost of living has also risen to the extreme here in brisbane. between 1997 and 2002 all properties in brisbane doubled in value. I was in spain at the time playing guitar and missed the boat. They have doubled again now. Unfortunately the amount people seem willing to pay for gigs has not.
I could survive doing my regular gigs but it would just cover rent and food. I have one gig that i do 3 nights per week and have been there for 6 years now. I also do others when they come up. It would be a struggle to keep on top of all the other bills, electricity, internet,maintaining a car, insurance etc.. $300 000 would get you a one bedroom unit 10 kms from the city. In the 90's the same unit would have been $90 000. Funny thing is that i was making more from gigs in the 90's than i am today.
I probably play guitar better than anything else i do. I don't feel like i have given up on it by only playing part time. In fact, by working during the day it takes the pressure of the bills and allows me to play the music that i enjoy. I get to choose when where and what i play. That's the good part. Getting up for work in the morning isn't.
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Date Mar. 3 2010 21:56:55
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